Reasons for the financial collapse: subprime mortgages, over-speculation, bad financial instruments, and of course, Jesus.
Wait. What?
The feature article in The Atlantic this month is Hanna Rosin’s “Did Christianity Cause the Crisis”. It makes a case that the prosperity gospel was another factor in our economic meltdown. In particular, she suggests its message encouraged people to agree to subprime loans on mortgages they could not afford. Here are several quotes from the article that struck me:
“It’s a curious mix of active (a step of faith) and passive (“It started happening!”).” That is, the riches started ”happening” because of faith.
“The message at prosperity churches [is] to be quintessentially American.”
“They get swept up in manifest destiny, this idea that God has lifted Americans above everyone else.”
“… a faith that, for all its seeming confidence hints at desperation, at circumstances gone so far wrong that they can only be made right by a sudden, unexpected jackpot.”
Some Thoughts:
The prosperity gospel conflates faith with financial reward. Though Rosin makes a thought provoking article, I doubt many are going to come away from this pointing fingers at Christianity. That said, we should be very mindful of what is going on here. We’re dealing with an amalgam of symbols, religious and secular, all of which carry emince meaning and power. Much of it, moreover, swirls around American mythology. I find it vexing when Jesus gets wrapped up in these modern day symbols of Mercedes Benz signs and fine Italian suits. It’s vexing precisely when I take a minute to remember exactly who Jesus was: a poor carpenter in Galilee, who was put to death for making the Roman Empire nervous in some way, shape or form.
But that’s not the Jesus we are dealing with here. There is little humility in this Jesus, only boldness–Wall Street-like boldness. Prosperity gospelers bank on a personal Jesus that conquered death and consequently will conquer their financial insolvency.
This is another one of those instances of “who speaks for Christianity?”. If we pretend that the prosperity gospel does not speak for Christianity, we are fooling ourselves. Their numbers are growing in popularity and the message of unending gain (without thought to satisfaction) is intoxicating in our consumer culture.
“Did Christianity Cause the Crisis” by Hanna Rosin
If you are looking for a shorter read, a very similar (though less recognized) article came out in Time last month by David Van Biema: “Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess“.
Other Links:
“Prosperity Gospel Self-Examination” by Jonathan Walton
Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism by Jonathan Walton
Time: Q&A with Joel Osteen
