Faith in God leads to prosperity?

[Happy UnBeliever]

Prosperity for who? The people that attend or the Church itself? Only one that reaps the benefits of prosperity here is the Church. I have often wondered how they get on TV and tell people to send their money to the Lord but yet they give you their address! Whats up with that?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

@Welsh cake

Jesus [really] said :"It is easier for a rich man to pass through eye of a needle than for a camel to enter the kingdom of heaven"

Prosperity theology is not new. I look at it as Calvinism lite.

I think the idea comes from Calvinist predestination. IE God knows if you're saved or not. If you're saved God will favour you and your endeavors and you will prosper.If you are damned,why then,you will be poor. It's from that broad belief we get the Victorian notion of 'the deserving poor'.IE those who demonstrably subscribe to the work ethic.


"The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit of Capitalsim' is highly recommended.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a book written by Max Weber, a German sociologist, economist, and politician, in 1904 and 1905 that began as a series of essays. The original edition was in German and has been released. Considered a founding text in economic sociology and sociology in general, the book was translated into English for the first time by Talcott Parsons and appeared in 1930.

In the book, Weber wrote that capitalism in northern Europe evolved when the Protestant (particularly Calvinist) ethic influenced large numbers of people to engage in work in the secular world, developing their own enterprises and engaging in trade and the accumulation of wealth for investment. In other words, the Protestant ethic was a force behind an unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that influenced the development of capitalism. This idea is also known as "the Weber thesis". Weber, however, rejected deterministic approaches, and presented the Protestant Ethic as merely one in a number of 'elective affinities' leading toward capitalist modernity. Weber's term Protestant work ethic has become very widely known. The work relates significantly to the cultural "rationalization" and so-called "disenchantment" which Weber associated with the modern West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_...capitalism

[tackattack]

@Paul and bozo-When was a life of helping others, self-sacrifice, higher standard of morality, bettering yourself and your society, teaching freedom and love a wasted effort?

@Padriac- I completely agree +1 kudos

[Violet]

@Paul and bozo-When was a life of helping others, self-sacrifice, higher standard of morality, bettering yourself and your society, teaching freedom and love a wasted effort?

Perhaps... but only if you were not intending to help others, sacrifice 'self?', have a high standard of morality, better yourself and your society, or teach freedom and love.

So the question is instead, "did you intend to do such things?"

[tackattack]

Are you saying all intent to do good is selfish by nature? I think you can intend to do good for the betterment of the other person or society as your intent, without thought of self.

[Violet]

Are you saying all intent to do good is selfish by nature? I think you can intend to do good for the betterment of the other person or society as your intent, without thought of self.

Not at all... I only intended to suggest that it would only be a wasted effort if you did not accomplish what you intended to accomplish.

I don't disagree with what you say in your post

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Are you saying all intent to do good is selfish by nature?

ALL? No. Most? Yes. The philosophical position (with which I agree ) is called 'egoism' and has many facets.

There are altruistic acts, many,but there are few if any altruistic people.The same applies to evil people. My observation is that people tend to be boringly predictable in our every day virtues and vices. Extreme circumstances bring out the best in some,yet the worst in others.



I recommend 'Egoism and Altruism' edited by Ronald D Milo, an interesting moral philosopher.

[tackattack]

I will add that to my list. I would defintely say I'm no egoist (although I might consider universal or personal egoist) I'm probably better defined as following an altruistic philosophy. What's wrong with predictably virtuous? I think I agree though that altruism should apply to the act not the person. A person's nature and focus shift so fast it would be hard to place such an absolutest definition of altruistic on a person for too long before proven wrong.