Cancer and the Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel has taken a religion based on the contemplation of a dying man and stripped it of its call to surrender all. Perhaps worse, it has replaced Christian faith with the most painful forms of certainty. The movement has perfected a rarefied form of America’s [read ‘the West’s] addiction to self-rule, which denies much of our humanity: our fragile bodies, our finitude, our need to stare down our deaths (at least once in a while) and be filled with dread and wonder. At some point, we must say to ourselves, I’m going to need to let go.

Read more over that the NY Times


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2 Comments on “Cancer and the Prosperity Gospel

  1. I just read this with my coffee this morning. It was really moving – I think one of the hardest things about the prosperity gospel is how good it looks, believe more and things will be right – isn’t that exactly what we want to do? Like she mentions, we want some sense of control, that we can change our circumstances. It is so much harder to trust and keep believing knowing that we have no control.
    Such a good article.

    • Yes, we want a divine mechanism rather than divine persons. Thanks for the comment bethany always appreciate your reflections.

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