Secularists also have the right to test what is being taught in religious circles. If we were to ever admit it, we have made a lot of mistakes. I wish that more religious people would test things, even when it comes to religion, before trying to sell our belief systems, that vary, to other people. I deeply admire individuals or groups who are simply seeking after what is real!
Seek the truth, I believe, and it will find you, even the ones who believe that already know the truth!
___________________________
I. Pedaling God and Selling Religion: The Name of the God of the West is Money and IT is the Real American Idol.Is there something wrong with the sales force, or the techniques that are being employed to sell God to the masses? Today's thinking person is neither buying God, nor the sales force, and with good reason I might add. I seriously doubt whether God is buying it either.
I had the distinct pleasure of addressing an audience, of mostly television ministers, at a weekend stay over gathering, in Hunt Valley Maryland, roughly 4 years ago. The subject of my brief polemic was, American Capitalist Church Syndrome.
My talking points were taken from a sermon that I preached in Seaside California several years before. Even though I received applause from the minister filled audience, was taken to lunch ... that was not the reason for my brief polemic. Frankly, I believed then, just as I do now, that the wheels have come off in many of capitalist America's, capitalist churches.
And apparently, this auditorium full of ministers agreed with me, get it ministers aren't buying it either.The god of too many American churches today, appears to be 'the unabashed god of the acquisition of wealth by religious means'. After a brief pause, the pastors who voiced their opinions, after I finished stated, "you are right, some of our ministers have gone too far, and there are individuals that have chosen ministry as a profession, because of the wealth that could be accrued from preaching"
It was even acknowledged that several men of the cloth confessed ahead of time, explained the reason why they chose to become ministers, in the first place. Some said: "where else can you earn this kind of money, simply for putting on a suit and talking each Sunday". Pimping Jesus?
Now think about the implications of all of this, given what had been disclosed: In other words, while their parishioners were scuffling to make ends meet, these airplane flying, Rolls Royce buying, Cartier jewelry adorning, designer suit and gown wearing, gourmet food eating, seven thousand dollar hairdo adorners ... were living large. And at the same time they were insisting that the flocks that they were fleecing, bring more money to his or her Holiness God (and in this context, God appeared to be any one of them).
These guys and gals, put Reverend Ike to shame, and are not too far behind the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Reverend Moon, the Late Daddy Grace ... it was, and still is a shameful period for the so called church of God. These fellas could motivate God to become an atheist!
Reverend Billy Graham, I understand, insisted that his compensation be kept in line with the average income of his parishioners. Kudos to the Reverend Graham, however, his attitude differs far and wide from many of today's CEO preachers, who were far less talented and their reaches were far less spread out. But back to Hunt Valley Maryland.
I also pointed out to this august body, that religious organizations are often influenced by the political and economic systems in which they thrive. For example, I said, a church that exists in a capitalist system, will differ in many respects from a church in a non-capitalist nation.
For example, in America, where we tend to worship 'the American idol', money, along with its companion political system that has become an idol in its own right, money is king in and outside of the Temple. In the American prosperity system, which is analogous to the Church of American prosperity, God and wealth in both scenarios, go hand in hand. However, which flag will Americans die for first, the American flag or God's?
For just as it occurred in the past, the spirit of 'God and money together', are still being exchanged in much the same way that the moneychangers, exchanged currency in the Temple at God in Jerusalem.
God, and money, have long been a part of America's secular, and religious cultural ethos.Jesus, drove the moneychangers ... out of the Temple Court, reminding them that God's house (and he included the Temple Court in his proclamation), shall be called a House of Prayer". In many American churches today, all too often the parishioners are told that what God really wants is to be worshipped with the their sacrifice of unrighteous mammon!
However, does money really answer all things? Read the proverbs of King Solomon, and you will find him saying just that. Is it the money, American money in this context, that God really craves? Or, similar to the Temple priests in Jesus' time, or the papacy in Rome during another time, or looking all the way to Eli - politics and wealth appear to be inextricably tied to the American capitalist system and ''show me the money priesthood" of today!
About the same time that I addressed the ministers in Hunt Valley, the Christian evangelical church had gone through its latest iteration of, "Let me expand my territory, get rich ... prayer of Jabez". Just about a decade before, the Abundant Life ministry was the craze that consumed most American capitalist church leaders.
These capitalist ministers, maintained that God wanted his people to be rich,, prosperous, fat and happy - what they were really doing was explaining away the fact that they intended to be enriched on the backs of their parishioners.
And as result, church members, unabashedly, began engaging in networking, selling, buying, advertising in the church and often in the vestibules, christian works ministries. And the prosperity preachers, I won't name any names, assured their audiences that God wanted them to prosper financially, so that they could give more to the church (them). Move over Reverend Ike ... One of my favorite preacher business types, are the ministers who promote their sermons on CD, in the pulpit, just before they begin preaching. Eek!
JC, during a period, which is beginning to taper off thank God, stood for Jesus Capitalist, instead of Jesus Christ or Jesus anointed!And just how were these ministers of the 'sell me that power 'Annanias Sect', getting away with it? To be frank, the wave of individuals who became members of churches, during the Mega Movement (sounds like something that one does in private), didn't actually join for God's sake, they joined for money/businesses sake.
One thing that was accomplished was also this, church became cool during that period, you could dress down, play funky music, become a part of religious sanctioned dating services, pursue wealth, sell in the church ...
During a discussion that I was engaged in with a men's prayer group early one morning in Centerville Virginia, the pastor admitted that none of what was written in the books or recorded on the tapes, with regard to the indulgent, Prayer of Jabez craze, came true for him, even though he followed the accompanying instructions. Who made the most money, the authors of the modern day book with film rights, Raptured, The Davinci Code or the Prayer of Jabez merchandising.
The fact of the matter is that too many Americans joined the church during the networking, Prayer of Jabez, get rich, capitalism gone amok in religion period. And those who imbibed, did so, in order to acquire wealth, networking capital and 'to think and grow rich'. The latter is the God that they have been waiting for. Help ME, to enlarge MY Territory!
I was working in Washington DC at the time, when Bishop T.D. Jakes was quoted in the Washington Post as saying, "The church is a business". And most people believed that a business, was exactly what he meant. Now, I believe that what the Bishop was doing, was a playful attempt at engaging in a play on words, which when interpreted meant, that the church was a 'busy-ness'.
But still, his comment was offensive to individuals who had been taught that the church was a spiritual organization and God's body
Whatever he was doing offended Washingtonians, and within a few days his comments appeared in the Washington Post as follows, "Bishop Jakes said, that the church is a business". What happened to the church was 'a spiritual organism', or a body of baptized believers', as many Christians were taught to believe?
The Bishop's comments were untimely, to say the least. Did he really say it: Yes, he did - I was there sitting with a group of ministers when, not only he, but his accomplices said it to.
During the same time, a slew of new converts were added to church rolls, and dozens of magnificent mega-structures popped up around the nation, (some of them are being foreclosed upon today, following 2 decades of abundant life, expand my territory and church is a business teaching. It would appear that God hasn't been paying his bills, just collecting moolah.
Sadly, the influx of people who came at the time, were motivated by the teachings of the God of wealth ministries, and where are they today. Kweflo Dollar, actually had church parishioners waving currency, that was held in their hands in the air, while shouting, "The Money Is Coming".
I got into a heated debated with one of his parishioners during a trip to Buckhead Georgia several years ago. While we were in flight, she let me know that she did not appreciate me talking about the Dollar Man. Whatever happened, I thought to, "Jesus is coming", isn't that what believers, especially Christians were taught to expect, Jesus, not money, before. Reverend Dollar is appropriately named Dollar. Along with the American Idol, he is the American dollar preacher!
Sadly, smaller churches began to lose their members to 'the money is coming', networking, expand my territory, bring me some seed money, drive a luxury car, mega ministries. In fact, some of the smaller churches were cleaned out - their people followed 'the money is coming ministers', instead.
Parishioners learned and sought after a new paradigm, and subsequently joined 'the church of the God of the money stream', in the instances where their former ministers would not adapt to the new contemporary God of the money ministries..
Many other evangelical preachers, teachers and writers caught the wave, and their congregations and followers began to explode, well grow then. All of the sudden, the new CEO minister and his ministry swelled to incalculable numbers. A ministry with one thousand members became a small congregation, having been replaced by ministries with tens of thousands of ministers and sprawling campuses.
Were the transplanted members of new mega churches there because they were sent, or was it because they went where the action was. In the book of St. Matthew, Jesus warned the people about following rumors with respect to where Jesus was, in the desert ...
A few years ago, Ted Koppel while on location in the Republic of China, asked a native Chinese convert, why he chose to become a Christian? The man didn't hesitate, his answer was short, rapid and sweet, he answered "Because Christians have all the money"!
One has to wonder, if Jesus were here today, would he overturn the offering tables in most Christian capitalist churches and in their vestibules, or how about in the family life center, particularly the ones that serve alcohol one night, and host Alanon and Alcohol Anonymous the next night? Or would he on the other hand, remind today's church leaders that his house was and is still to be called a 'House of Prayer', not a get rich scheme?
II. The Danger of Mixing the Two
I can recall when a mega church in Maryland, was also publicly exposed in the Washington Post newspapers. The public was informed, as a result of a news article, that this unnamed mega church had applied for a liquor license for its Family Life Center. Well, what could the church do under the circumstances?
In order to rent out the space in the Family Life center for different event, in order to accrue more wealth for the church (the groups who wanted to rent the Family Center, that sat on church property, wanted to serve liquor when they rented the Family Life Center). Well, in order to break even, the church's board decided, well then liquor it is. The embarrassing article in the Washington Post resulted in their having a change of mind. Sadly, they had to be embarrassed by a secular newspapers to change their minds
Oh, what a slippery slope .. wouldn't you agree? Besides, what if one of the drunk visitors left the Family Life Center, crossed the street, rode and fell off of a ride at Six Flags? That would have been most embarrassing. Imagine how that article would have read in the Washington post?
Luke, there is a disturbance in the force, or better yet a spirit of error in the church today, I believe, and that could explain, why only the groups that I mentioned above, are still coming to the church or believe that there is a real God. These people are so amused by God's sales force, that tend to stay away!
And it crept into the American church while men and women were sleeping. In too many Christian churches today, "it is all about the Benjamin's, and the size of the Congregation". And, guess what, the new paradigm has been working for several decades now? However, of late, the air is beginning to come out of the American capitalist church's sails.
IN God We Trust is inscribed on the back of American currency. The real question is this: Is it God or the money that Americans trust in. The American preacher, too many of them, teach their people that the God that they are selling, actually wants more and more of the unrighteousness mammon. After all, God cannot build his house without money, correct? Interestingly enough, God's last instruction to his disciples before departing was, to go to Jerusalem and wait for an infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Get it? Jesus, did not send his people to 'the Temple' or to Synagogues, instead he sent them to a room, without any apparent religious connotations or accoutrement. He ignored the order of Priests, Levites and Rabbis, instead, he chose to start something new. I suspect that we are just about at the point where we are going to have to start something new, or to put it another way, to go back to the future perhaps.
Today's religious system in America, is any many respects identical to the secular system that it is a part of, and just as you have the have and have not citizens, you also have the have and the have not churches, and Christians.
Am I jealous of a church that has thousands of members, who have been brought there given the allure of belonging to a prosperous church, that promises a prosperous return on the investment in it, for its members? Answer, nope! What I am concerned about is this, that too many individuals in America's unabashed American capitalist churches, are where they are in order to worship the God of prosperity, and waiting to see what they will get in return by doing so. In other words, they are looking for a financial return on their investments of time, tithes, offerings, sacrificial offerings, monetary pledges ....
Jesus informed his disciples, that the crowds that were following him, were only following him, much like the crowds of today, for food and miracles. It any wonder, that thinking individuals who have the ability to see through this ruse, do not accept American Christianity as being viable, neither the institution, its God of mammon nor its sale force.
I don't know Ananias, it would appear that you are not the only one who sought after an ability to perform miracles, for example by laying hands on people, so that you could enrich yourself. I thought we were past that before, but anymore, I know that we are not.
Remember, when Ananias, after seeing the working of the Holy Spirit immediately asked the Apostles to , "sell me some of that power so that on who I lay my hands ..." In other words, ching ching, he immediately, recognized how he could cash in using the name of the Lord! Perhaps he, prophetically, saw, dollar signs!
The Apostles, rebuked him for demeaning the gifts and the power of God, that he desired to use for financial gain. Today's Apostles don't rebuke anymore, instead they are encouraging individuals, all to often, to use whatever gifts they possess, in order to accrue wealth for themselves and the ministry.
In other words, preaching, teaching, the laying on of hands, singing ... is there for financial gain. Richard Pryor, and the Church of What's Happening Now, wasn't too far off from many religious churches today. God wants you to give until it hurts, some pastors teach their congregations. It hurts alright, but not for the reasons that they think!
I have also been a part of religious services, where receiving the offering, outlasts the time allotted for the sermon and prayer. In fact, one minister in our nation's Capitol, explained what he was going to do beforehand, when he was invited to preach to a mega audience one Sunday Morning.
The New York minister said, I am going to speak for only 5 minutes, and afterwards, I am going to pray for the people, however, with this caveat, everyone who desires prayer, must bring me $101, if they wish to be prayed for,Er herm!!
Let me see, conversion, or pay your way, which is it, I thought? The other side could make a fair argument, by saying, where a person's treasure is, there will his heart be also. And therefore, when he or she gives their money to the church, a seed offering, he or she is also giving their heart to God? So what is it that God wants? Does God really need money, or is that simply a man made construct.
And what about the tithe and offering that many of these parishioners gave in the offering earlier, wasn't it worth a healing, and now God wants another one-hundred and ten, aherm. And before you criticize the church, Senator Orrin Hatch, has been one of its guest, ministerial, lecturers.
III. The Test: Prove All Things
The secularists that I have listened to, believe it or not, do not seem to have an argument with God, they simply do not believe that there is a God, and there is a difference, if you listen closely to what they are saying. For what they are really saying is, I don't believe in what the sales force is trying to sell me. True secularists believe that God has been made up over a period of time, as a result of fear, myth, misconstructions, religious zealotry, fear .
And when secularists, observe the religious sales force of today, purportedly, but not always God's sales force in actuality, they feel even more convinced that there is no God. Well, consider what the religious world has demonstrated over 6,000 years, when it comes to God, and I have already given you several examples.
I find that at times, that in an unusual kind of way, my mind operates more like that of the atheist in this regard: I'm not sure that religious groups and individuals know what God is either. Seeing how too many religious individuals and organizations positions God as an invisible, angry, strident entity that hopes that people will fall, so that he can ultimately burn them up in the end, or raise money.
And isn't that the reason that most individuals surrender to God, either for the benefits, wish fulfillment, or to avoid any negative sanctions. .
I believe that the entity, for lack of a better term, that we refer to in Christianity as God, is much bigger than the God of bring me some money, drink some juice on Sunday, fulfill my wishes, or I will burn you in an everlasting lake of fire God ... The neat little package that we have put together to sell God, speaks to a God of human wish fulfillment and rewards, or negative sanctions. In other words, humans are taught to believe and to worship God, in order to get what they want, to be healthy and happy, and to avoid punishment.
And where most religious groups have stopped, because they already know God, I am under the impression that the real work has just begun. And, the latter includes moving beyond some of the primitive and primordial ideas, myths and legends that most religious people still wish to associates themselves with, as opposed to pursuing what is real.
what has been passed down by myth, religious tradition or otherwise, is a good start for a beginner, but for someone who loves the truth, likely dishonors God.
As I mentioned before in several of my other writings, religious people, particularly in the Christian tradition, are still awed by one's ability to have a spirit leave one mentally ill individual, go into a herd of pigs and to run down the hill ...
And, religious people, in the Christian tradition, are excited over the ability to convert water into wine, and there are other examples that I could refer to that excites Christians.
But how about synchronicity, the ability to merge with and to understand what the will of what we refer to as the divine is ... but for heaven's sake, we don't need a God of the offering plate, or one to help us to expand 'our territories'. I can think of many individuals who have been satisfied with, and able to love a God, who left them in abject poverty or cripple.
Others, I know of, their territories were never enlarged, but on the other hand were satisfied with what they had, even birth defects, congenital blindness, encephalitis ... as opposed to believing only and up to a God that would supply their needs or enrich them.
I am especially concerned about individuals from my own racial group, who oftentimes, know very little about about their own history, and therefore are too quick to embrace the traditions and beliefs of other racial groups, simply because the collective memory of their own traditions have been lost.
Most black churches, from the time that Bishop Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal church, followed the God of the Eurocentric model of Christianity.
On the other hand, another religious icon, the late Bishop T. W. Phillips, from Mobile Alabama, named the religious organization that he began as, the Ethiopian Overcoming Holiness Church. Frankly, both Bishops are to be commended for what they started.
However, the Ethiopian model resonates with me, because in the Christian bible, the Holy Spirit specifically dispatched, Deacon Evangelist Philip, to go into the Negev and to connect with this black Ethiopian.
Get it, the spirit sent Phillip, directly to an African, who apparently was responsible for introducing Christianity into various parts of Akeebaland (Africa). The Spirit did not instruct the African to find it, by taking a detour through Europe. Perhaps, twain the two would have met someday, who knows? However, we will never know now, will we? The Eurocentric model and its God, has always been a God of money.
Most African Americans, have come through churches, even with black leaders, that have the Eurocentric imprint on them. Bishop T.W. Phillips, not a racist, once chided black Christians by saying, "Anything that a white man will do, you will do"! The comment was not meant, I believe, to disparage whites.
However, it was to say that blacks lacked a history of their own, and therefore blacks were simply too accepting of and often simply modeling the behaviors of their counterparts, without applying any critical thinking to what they were doing.
Now if you look around you, particularly in an ethnically diverse nation such as the United States is, you would notice that other cultures assimilate only to a certain extent. And the fact that their assimilation is limited, is not considered to be racist, or a rejection of the dominant culture. On the other hand, the reason that most cultures continues to practice what has been a part of their historical cultural ethos, is to retain, and to strengthen their uniqueness. God apparently liked different flavors, bone structures, patois ...
Black Christians, with the exception of Coptic Christians and a few other minor groups, have appropriated the religion of the God of Capitalism. Informed blacks, on the other hand, simply want to worship a more balanced God. The Nation of Islam, provided a cultural-religious ethos for blacks, wherein the black man was considered to be a whole man.
And that relationship was near perfect, but not exactly. Why? Blacks, some of them have discovered that even within Islam, that in certain circles they are still viewed as inferiors. Sadly, even in Islam, blacks have once again, accepted someone elses understanding of what God is, and what God wants, instead of making the effort to find that out for themselves!
So, where is the just God of blacks, females, non-whites in the West or in other cultures? Where is the God that relies less on the unrighteous mammon, instead of love, peace and grace? Some individuals will ask, "well, if there is a God, how come he stands by and watches all of the tragic events take place, and does not intervene, particularly, if he is a God of love and judgment'? I suspect that is a fair question. It certainly is reasonable in light of all that is taught in most religious circles about God.
The answer could be, and I believe that it is, that religious groups today, have been left back. By left back I mean, that similar to what children used to experience, when I was in school, if you underperformed, it was not uncommon for a student to be told that they would have to 'be left back' in order to repeat a certain grade level.
When I consider religion, not just Christianity, and where religious groups and people are today, it appears to me that religion is comprised of individuals who have been left back. And because we are so retrograde in terms of behavior and understanding, it is hard for the individuals that we are trying to sell God, to take us seriously.
Until we move beyond judgmental, retrograde teachings, greed, wish fulfillment ... I suspect that we will continue to draw converts from a limited pool of the gullible, the impressionable, the unreasonable and those who wish to get rich!
To be fair, we have done a lot of great things on earth, however, in some senses, we keep going around the same mountain over and over again, whereas we should have taken our point of departure long ago, and have become far more advanced as a people, or whatever else we should have become by now, transformed perhaps.
If we ever get to that point, we will be more advanced and better equipped to explain to would be converts, or even cynics, why they should listen to us, instead of relying on superior research, scholarship and positive proof, of the kind on which they can base their beliefs. Look at us, look at our history, who would trust us to provide them with the answers that apply to the universe or to God.
Isn't that a reasonable position? What we refer to as God, is so much bigger than what we are attempting to sell, a God of religion only. I often wonder, will religion or religious people ever get past this stage in order to explore the vastness of whatever this God thing, actually turns out to be.
Does a minister, within God's sales force, know when he has gone too far? Here is one way to tell. When people are starving, living outdoors, broken-hearted (even members of your congregations), and you are driving a Rolls Royce, have your own airplane along with a fat bank account in addition to one of the largest estates in the nation, you might want to look in the rear view mirror, because something is amiss!
And you are God's salesperson? Or are you a salesperson of a Babylonian, Jewish, Pagan, American dollar ...god?
Solomon
Now some of you are thinking that Solomon is upset because he didn't get his. But, au contraire mon frere. Frankly, I am writing because I am intrigued by what has been and is still taking place in today's church. Frankly, I am a skeptic of the church, not what we refer to as God. I am also a church historian, one with keen insight and an ability to know when the ship has been or is being steered off course. Why did our Chinese Christian friend become a Christian again, he did so for the love of money god!
Hopefully, when most of the 'selling God in order to get rich ministers' get to heaven, the ones who are guilty of doing so, hopefully, will be able to afford their mansions in the sky too!
Peace & grace,
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