An official with the Presbyterian Church (USA) has cautioned that Presbyterians should “tread lightly when criticizing the prosperity gospel.” Preached in some megachurches and televangelist ministries, the prosperity gospel is the belief that material wealth is gained by those who are especially faithful to Jesus. The Rev. Charles Wiley III, associate director of theology, formation and evangelism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, explained in a column published Thursday that
the prosperity gospel “is a dangerous heresy because it is so close to the truth.” “There is a tension in Scripture. Those who are faithful will often be blessed, often in outward ways. And those who are faithful will suffer, sometimes in outward ways,” wrote Wiley for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. “God is not obligated, is not forced, to give us material blessing simply because we say it out loud. How else can we make sense of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane where Jesus asks that the cup of suffering be taken from him? It is not.” READ MORE
