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What is the Prosperity Gospel and Why is it So Popular?


The prosperity gospel is widely practised throughout the world, and hugely popular in Africa. It has also gained a foothold in Europe via certain modern movements that emphasise the 'health' aspect of 'health and wealth' teaching i.e. the idea that God doesn't want anyone to suffer, but for all to be healed. We are probably all familiar with TV evangelists who ask us to give, and God will reward us by giving back. The proof that it works is the large house they themselves live in, and the executive car they drive.

The trouble with this teaching is that it does not line up with the overall message of Scripture. The so-called proof texts used by prosperity teachers are often taken from the Old Testament (nothing in and of itself bad about that), turning descriptive teaching (a description of what God did then) into prescriptive ideas (God wants that to happen to everybody). "God made Abraham prosperous. He wants to make us prosperous too!"

Now, there are a lot of blogs and videos out there about prosperity teaching, so I don't want to repeat what is written and said there. Instead I have a question. Where did this teaching come from? When did it originate, and why? The answer is that it began in the early 20th century in the States, when an over-optimistic view of modern history ("things can only get better") combined with Christianity to create a mix that resulted in the prosperity gospel. This teaching spread throughout the world via mission work.

What a lot of missiologists miss, it seems to me, is that there is often something in the host culture (the culture of those in e.g. Africa) that makes this teaching very popular. Two possibilities:

  1. Poverty is a massive issue in the majority world, so prosperity teaching appeals to those wanting to climb out of the poverty trap
  2. Traditional African religion includes an emphasis on the role of ancestral spirits in a family's everyday life, which includes fertility (more children are needed to work in the fields), good harvests (if you have more crops come in then  you need to eat, you have a surplus you can sell), and protection from evil. All three of these are, or can be, included in prosperity teaching
Probably both are to some extent true. The problem with (2) is that people are likely to turn to God on a Sunday, and the ancestors Monday - Saturday. Or turn to God, and if their prayers are not answered, turn to the ancestors for help.

One of the worst results of prosperity teaching is a complete lack of a theology of suffering. I don't see how 2 Cor can make any sense if suffering is not part of God's plan for us. In 2 Cor Paul teaches that suffering and victory are inextricably linked.

This does not mean that we have to preach about suffering every Sunday. Instead, let's focus on the 'now and not yet' of the kingdom. Now we may need to suffer, but when God's kingdom is fully realised (at the second coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah), we will never have to suffer again. Alleluia!

Image by bertin23 from Pixabay

More info here from the Lausanne movement.

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