Talk Show Christianity - . . . . Distorting The Gospel Of Ch

By Author: Doug Krieger
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TALK SHOW CHRISTIANITY. . . . Distorting the Gospel of Christ

Dear Friends: I know you were all expecting another monster blog on the HIDDEN TREASURES—Babylon's pursuit thereof. Well, that will be coming . . . but first, let's zero in on another bizarre only-in-Babylonia America phenomenon.

Last week Frank Reilly of 11th Hour Ministries (one of our affiliates on thetribnet) shared a side of the Prosperity Gospel that bestirred his spirit to outrage. (See below my response and Frank's initial comments.)

I turned on one of our local Sacramento stations the same day, and picked up an interesting exchange between an older brother in the Lord (apparently in the real estate business) and a Christian talk show host (I have no idea who the host was . . . only to say that there is a growing number of such shows dealing with Christian finances—therein lies the rub.).

Now, it's not that believers do not need such counseling on such earthly matters . . . however, the focus is so skewed from the riches of Christ that simultaneously while Frank was undergoing his revulsion, I too ...
... was repulsed in my spirit concerning the headlong rush into the gospel of green taken by American Christianity. Quite frankly, the deception of such claptrap passing for Christian edification is so abhorrent and even destructive to the human spirit, that to partake of its alleged spiritual value is like stuffing yourself full of Big Macs month in blessed anticipation of a major coronary . . . Please, don't Super Size Me!

If we are to be called the prisoners of hope (Zech. 9:11), it will certainly not be through this decrepit diet of deficiency, for it has NOTHING to do with the nourishment found in Christ alone nor can the sound of this Jabez Jazz play a tune to the Unsearchable Riches of Christ!

(Note: My initial response to Frank's comments has been a bit enhanced, however, the overall flavor, is the same.)


Dear Frank:

Today, I too turned on a Christian station (770 AM here in Sacramento) and heard an exchange between what sounded like an older Christian man and a Christian radio talk show host. The elderly gentleman told the host that the greatest joy in his life was the day he recently came to his pastor and discovered that the 30-something pastor, and his little family, did not own their own home (This all happened two years ago.).

Well, this older brother is in the real estate business. So, he set up the pastor by fixing up a new home purchase for him; redecorating it for the pastor, while he was at it.

The cost of the first home purchase by his pastor was $150K. Well, this older guy was now rejoicing because that same pastor, two years later, turned his initial home purchase around for $379,000 and made a killing.

They were sharing this as a total demonstration of the blessed Christian life and how much Jesus Christ was in this. The older brother said that escrow had just closed and the pastor's equity was in the bank. The Christian involved in real estate said that what he did for the pastor paralleled what someone years ago had done for him, and now he was returning the favor—he felt so good about it that he just had to share the story with everyone.

Well, increasingly, this is the claptrap that fills the airwaves in the Church of Laodicea. I am not saying that this was not a help to this pastor; however, what I am saying: High profile stories like this of alleged blessing are preposterous and bespeak not of Him Whom the Scriptures say: Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head!

So, where's the blessing? When we are content with NOTHING, but rejoice in Christ, Who is our all, then we are blessed indeed and in truth!

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count ALL THINGS LOSS for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Philippians 3:7-9). (My emphasis)

I do not find the emphasis in the New Testament upon such financial gain as blessing but, to the contrary, the RICH ARE PIERCED THROUGH WITH MANY SORROWS! (I Timothy 6:10). By any standard, American Christians represent the wealthiest of all God's people on the face of the earth (materially); however, the depraved Church in Laodicea is told that their boast: I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing . . . belies the FACT that they are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (Revelation 3:17). That's the wretched truth of the matter.

The prosperity gospel has now hit the talk shows; and the people are eating it like candy . . . entire programs on wealth management (and there are scores of such Christian talk radio ‘money shows') extolling the virtues of Responsible Christian Financial Management known as prosperity hype, as far as I am concerned. This is nothing more than an other gospel (Galatians 1:9).

Alas! What a sad ....

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