The Prosperity Gospel: Oxymoron, anyone?

Should Prosperity and Gospel ever be used in the same sentence? Well according to one prosperity gospel preacher - the answer is no. Or at least it is now. For years Preacher Benny Hinn had been urging his followers to part with their hard earned cash. Well no more. The 67 year old has received a revelation that it’s all wrong. “I think it's an offence to the Lord, it's an offence to say 'give $1,000'. I think it's an offence to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the Gospel.”

Now there’s much that could be said at this juncture, but I’m not sure how helpful that would be. Suffice to say that in a world where, according to the Food Aid Foundation, “Some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth. The vast majority of the world's hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished.” Something needs to be done and the ‘prosperity gospel’ certainly ain’t helping. 
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Better late than never, you might say - but legacy, the desertion of his nephew from his ministry, and the greater scrutiny through social media has, I imagine, all paid a part in Pastor Hinns change of heart. This is good thing for the church and helps to redress a terrrible imbalance that gives over exposure to a distorted message by those able to purchase air time on some of the Christian media channels around the globe. There’s a long way to go but one feels a change in the air and with such a prominent voice of the prosperity movement making such a public confession - I expect there is more to come.

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