More Evangelical Error and Corruption

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/27/life-surge-conference-evangelical-money-finance

American Evangelicalism has created a fusion of capitalism and Christian piety. Sacralism and Evangelical Dominionism place great stock in power and status, the middle class values of respectability and security. Those that understand this are not surprised by the so-called Prosperity Gospel. It is but an exaggerated expression of an impulse that already exists. It may be tacky, working class, philistine, and grossly overdone which certain cultural contexts tend to fuel – but in the end it's the same Cultural Christianity that produced ostentatious palaces, cathedrals in one generation and capitalist empires in another.

The Kingdom is cast in terms of an over-realized eschatology. The fact that many of these people are premillennialists has nothing to do with it. Their thinking is riddled with internal contradictions and in this case intuition, emotional commitment, and impulse override and dominate an eschatological theory that (in the case of Dispensational Premillennialism) is too complicated and removed (not to mention unbiblical) for most of them to understand. As such, it's the day-to-day that dominates, and in America it's a case of culture war, patriotism, and even gross nationalism being prioritised. And with these values and ideas comes an attachment to wealth and power – holding the reins of culture and society.

It is therefore hardly surprising that given the pop-culture orientation and values of the movement that it easily succumbs to the cult of celebrity even if its stars are of the lamest sort as seen here.

The Guardian is an outlet that is thoroughly secular and therefore hates Christianity and cannot understand it. But then given the Evangelical distortion of New Testament Christianity and its crude and often offensive morality (of the sort even the world can see through), it's not entirely surprising that an article like this would appear. As always it's frustrating because one has to wade through the Guardian's lame comments and misunderstandings with the actual errors of the Evangelical faction which are pervasive and glaring.

Tithing does not exist in the New Testament but has been often utilized by those who sincerely (or insincerely) appropriate the Levitical ordinance from the Old Covenant order. What strikes a secular journalist as foolish may (or may not) be in fact a Biblical command. Let's just say that as Christians we are certainly to give even if the explicit 10% command is no longer in effect.

As far as 'seed' offerings – that's just pure rubbish born of the huckster prosperity types and it is shameful.

As far as these conferences and these ministries. Yes, it's exploitation and worse than something you might expect to encounter on the street. These are false teachers making merchandise of God's people and using the framework and vocabulary of capitalism in combination with Christianity even though they are (when the New Testament is actually read and applied) thoroughly incompatible.

Apart from their own avarice, these leaders (who are connected to bigger money and political operatives) are thoroughly committed to Dominionist doctrine. They no longer try to hide it – they simply eschew the term in many cases. Their hope and expectations, their understandings of the Kingdom of Christ depend on money, pure and simple. You're not going to seize control of a legislature and shape cultural institutions without powerful influence and that means money and alliances. We've seen in recent years where this all leads. These wolves in sheep's clothing have led the already aberrant Evangelical movement right off a cliff.

The issue here isn't college degrees or financial literacy as they would define it. Rather the problem is a paucity of Biblical doctrine and understanding. Students of the New Testament are not taken in by this rubbish for even a moment.

'Surging' wealth involves making money by sleight-of-hand tricks and the evil alchemy of the capitalist markets – often relying on the labour of others. It means investing in a system that puts on a smiling face at home and seems impressive with its mirrored skyscraper facades, but in reality is quite brutal if one bothers to spend a minute looking into it. It's harsh in the domestic Western context but absolutely brutal and barbaric abroad where the banking and corporate sectors scheme to force people into poverty, remove them from their lands, steal their resources, fund political and military movements, manipulate politics, and when necessary overthrow governments and start wars. It's an evil system but people that are captivated by the idiocy represented by the likes of the Benhams, Tebow, and the Duck Dynasty clown troop are unlikely to see this.

The Guardian's concerns regarding opposition to homosexuality or Right-wing caricatures of Islam are a mixed bag. Homosexuality is sin and Islam is a false religion but when Christians cast these questions in terms of politicised Dominionism – the opposition takes on an ugly and at times misleading hue. This doesn't grant anything to the unregenerate thinking and values of the mainstream media but it does muddy the waters and let's face it most people in society and certainly within the Church are immersed in a confusing morass of cultural filth and can't see their hands in front of their face. Christian leaders like these are certainly playing their part in this and when one witnesses such a mix of truth and error, and such a distortion of actual Christian values (combined with a false Christian ethic and a pseudo-Kingdom) then we can be sure that Satan is behind it and he's laughing to boot.

The claimed martyrdom of these figures is sickening. They've been drowned for Christ – drowned in bills and coins.

There is an interesting line about learning economics from an atheist. It's true that the system they teach has nothing Christian about it. Many nonbelievers pursue the same goals by means of the same methods and values – some even attempt to be more ethical than these folks are. It's not the way of Christ, it's the way of the world and these events serve to remind us how far Evangelicalism is from the religion of the New Testament. They can claim to be Biblical all they want but the tree is known by its fruit and their fruit is rotten – a gospel of gold, guns, and vainglory.

It's also true that the Ponzi scheme is alive and well and many Christians have and continue to fall prey to this and many of the names associated with these scams are well known in the Christian community. What a shame. The whole thing leaves one dejected and sick. I'm not an Evangelical – having abandoned that movement before I was actually converted to Christ. Looking back I can see that it was always in error, and built on a bad foundation from its beginnings in the late 1940's. But to see how far it has fallen – it's hard not to be a little shocked by it, even if this is the logical end. Repeatedly in discussions with my wife and friends, I return to the fact that the movement which has long been in a theological decline has in fact taken a nosedive over the past decade. Its descent has become rapid, and it has now fallen off the cliff. At one time I would (through gritted teeth) attend Evangelical services. That no longer seems a viable option to me. The movement is about as far removed from New Testament Christianity as Roman Catholicism.