“A man got to heaven, and saw the richness of other people there. He asked Jesus, ‘Why didn’t I recieve these riches?’ Jesus replied, ‘Because you didn’t claim them.’ That’s why Honduras hasn’t recieved the blessing of other countries, like the United States”
-Honduran Pastor
Theology like this makes me shiver. First, it’s not exactly a biblical view.
Second, it completely ignores the fact that the excess of the rich is not inspite of the lack of the poor; it is because of the lack of the poor. The work of Andre Gunderfrank shows that the rich become rich by taking goods from the poor. So claiming that God gives excess to those who ask necessarily means that he will be impoverishing those who don’t ask.
Third, it also reveals a tendency of evangelical mission churches in third world countries to suppress social activity. By telling people that God will provide, it turns other methods – such as looking into the systems of empoverishment – into a lack of faith.
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