Did the Prosperity Gospel cause the market crash?

This month's issue of The Atlantic has a provocative article by Hannah Rosin suggesting that the Prosperity Gospel, with its belief that those whom God loves, God blesses with material wealth may have had a significant role to play in the economic meltdown the world experienced last year.

(We posted earlier about this here on the Lead.)

The Immanent Frame has gone a step farther than we did and asked a number of leading religious scholars for their thoughts on the points made by Rosin in her article:

What can we say about the relationship between contemporary Christianity and Americans’ economic attitudes, behaviors, and notions of responsibility?

The respondents include John Cobb, Harvey Cox, and Sarah Posner among others.

You can read their thoughts here.

Posted by Nicholas Knisely on December 28, 2009 12:00 PM | |
Comments (2)

In part, I'm sure it did. Seems to me that what caused the crash was unmitigated greed and not just that of the homeowners.

As for the Prosperity Gospel... it emphasizes the exact opposite of that which Jesus emphasizes. Jesus never says "Go forth and become prosperous." Nope. Jesus says to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, provide for widows and orphans, visit the prisoners so that they do not despair, share the Gospel will all nations."

Posted by SisterGloriamarie [TypeKey Profile Page] | December 28, 2009 1:43 PM

This is an interesting collection. So many folks from so many different perspectives, all of whom agree that the "prosperity gospel" does not provide the Gospel, much less prosperity!

Marshall Scott

Posted by Execute [TypeKey Profile Page] | December 28, 2009 2:27 PM

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