dermdoc said:

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From my reading, the only things Christ guarantees us is peace and eternal life. And I personally have found that Christ's peace is the "prosperity gospel". Nothing is more important.

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He guarantees us more than that.

When I say peace, I also mean the Holy Spirit, freedom, and a more abundant life.

What am I missing? And trust me, I am here to learn.

This is one of my favorite segments on Issues, etc.

Pr Chris Rosebrough does a critique of Prosperity Preachers most Fridays

This was a highly entertaining review of Hillsong and Brian Houston "speaking in tongues."

Issues, etc

Frok said:

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This documentary has been on Amazon Prime but just recently was added to Netflix. I highly recommend it. It's very well done and really exposes the prosperity gospel. Some of the personal stories of people who are suffering and have found peace with Christ despite not being healed are really moving.

It's easy to let a little health and wealth faith-thinking into your life. God should owe me for all the good things I've done right?

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I don't think this really gained much traction until Gen X did it? Boomers were somewhat inured to being poorer because of parents who went through the Depression. And getting some material prosperity is not difficult in America if you save and invest, give to God's ministries without expectation and have some decent financial planning advice. It wasn't part of Billy Graham's message for certain.

I wonder what kind of impact the internet and social media had on everything?

There was a recent report that the lead singer of Hawk Nelson came out saying he's no longer a christian. Couple that with the singer at Hillsong "losing his faith" as well and I can't help wonder in this modern society of "living through 5 minutes video clips" is keeping people from seeing the depth that comes with Christianity. The one thing I really took away from the classes I took at the local Orthodox Church is that this takes effort.

We certainly know the prosperity preachers are not going in depth and if the individual isn't searching on his own, they aren't going to see it. Of course if they do search, I can't imagine they stick with where they currently are.

There is a part two but it's not on Free on Prime or Netflix yet. It is about "softening" the gospel by avoiding challenging subjects or simply changing their meaning to suit modern beliefs. I haven't watched it yet.

Frok said:

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There is a part two but it's not on Free on Prime or Netflix yet. It is about "softening" the gospel by avoiding challenging subjects or simply changing their meaning to suit modern beliefs. I haven't watched it yet.

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So, basically, about Methodists?

Bethel Church stepped up and ended racism for us. How did they do that you might ask? By using Gandolf's staff to tell racism "You Shall Not Pass!!!!"

I like how Issues, Etc broke it down: Issues, Etc

However, I did find a video that showed it. I know nothing of this website or page, but at about 3 minutes in you see more or less what they are going to do. It's crazy.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/075864941X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vK8.EbYJJSEY6

this book on the subject is amazing.

Always appreciate a good reading recommendation

It was great!

Paul Washer is so good.. so clear, firm in conviction, but so kind and warm as he talks

Hope others are able to watch this and learn more about his ministry - but so many great preachers featured

Quote:

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The digital age is a huge part of this. Modern Christians seem a mile wide and a millimeter deep.

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I know this is a popular thing to regurgitate but the digital age has nothing to do it, imo.

Cultural Christianity (ie, being a "christian", attending on sunday and yet missing the entire point of Jesus) has been a thing for a long time and has rotted the church from the inside.

(note: I am referring to church is a very general sense. I get that your church is perfect and nothings wrong with it or that you're part of an apostolic tradition so you're protected blah blah.)

I was able to watch it on Netflix yesterday and thought that overall it was good.

My main "negative" comment on it was that while it was clearly designed to go after the prosperity gospels preachers (which is good), it takes a very rosy picture of a unified Protestantism that really doesn't exist.

For example, when they show the graphic to differentiate between Roman Catholics and Protestants, they almost seem to show a "Once Saved, Always Saved" situation which is something that I'm not sure any of the Reformers would have agreed with.

Overall though, I thought it was good and really paints a good picture of just how bad prosperity preachers are.

good observation

I learned recently that a lot of it was filmed during the G3 Conference so that's how they got all of those heavyweights together

For me - it was all of my favorite guys together sharing the truth - some I don't know much about so I'm glad to see them too

Frok said:

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This documentary has been on Amazon Prime but just recently was added to Netflix. I highly recommend it. It's very well done and really exposes the prosperity gospel. Some of the personal stories of people who are suffering and have found peace with Christ despite not being healed are really moving.

It's easy to let a little health and wealth faith-thinking into your life. God should owe me for all the good things I've done right?

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Frok, why do you think this is a distinctly American phenomenon? I attended church in Africa and noted it there. I had a discussion in the Amsterdam airport with an Australian missionary to Kenya who said it was a problem there. The only places the prosperity gospel is not a problem are those places where Christians are under cultural, social, political or physical attack. But Netflix has no moral problem running "Cuties".

I'm not sure if I said it is distinctly an American phenomenon. The documentary focused on the US and John Piper has a comment in there that says we are exporting it.

I'm not familiar in detail with these other countries. Some of it could be American-influenced however there is a natural tendency to view God's favor in relation to our faithfulness. That of course falls apart when you are in a region where you are persecuted for your faith.