
I began to wonder... how would an indictment on US materialism correlate with the popular "word of faith" movement, that permeates a certain portion of churches around the country? The Word of Faith movement... a charismatic "Christian" movement... deals with having faith in God and believing that he will provide for your needs. At the core, the leaders of these kind of churches will say the main focus is informing people that God is able to provide for his people's spiritually and emotionally needs, but not surprisingly... material needs do not lag far behind. The idea of being blessed because of one's relationship with God. "You have not because you believe not... and if only you would trust... if you only believed like I believe... and how Sister Jones believes... if only your faith were stronger... you'd recieve more of God's spiritual and financial riches." Have money churches become more or less popular in the last year?

What do word of faith people believe of people in under-developed nations? I never understood this. Is word of faith God's American experiment, or do God's principles on financial blessings reign globally. Can you go to Jakarta... or Somalia... or the poorest part of El Salvador... and tell people that their current economic situation is only because they dont have enough faith in God?

We know how it affects preachers, but in real-life application, how does 'word of faith' affect someone working in the real American economy? The above picture is just a small example of the type of luxury that Creflo Dollar lives in. Imagine the rest of his mansion? People give to him, and he is financially "blessed" for it. How can you sit down with an economist and try to explain the concept of 'manna falling from heaven.' This idea, that... when you, with your REAL job... give to the person convincing you that giving brings money... the guy with no job... if you follow that example... even though your entire economic structure is different than his... you will get the same results. But we dont 'sell dreams' for a living. Why would a secretary who goes to one of these churches believe she's suddenly going to start receiving money like the guy in the pulpit who says he needs to be blessed by his 'flock'. Apropos term though flock is. Will God compel her boss to just write her a check? Will she get a promotion she otherwise wouldn't? Will someone get fired to make a way for her because of her faith? Jobs dont just appear out of thin air. "I believed on God, and the person above me got terminated... so, now I make more money. Praise Jesus!" The clever thing about it, the burden is on you the individual. God is waiting on you... so if you go to one of these churches, and your finances dont change... its not the preachers fault... look at him... he has money... you don't... whats wrong with your faith? What's wrong with you? By the way... in case you were wondering... Creflo Dollar's faith...? giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinormous.

What is our current American situation, compared to the rest of the world? Compared to the socio-economic situation of 1st century Palestine? Above, I mentioned trying to sell this religious mindset to other poorer parts of the world. How do... most Americans... how does the average American... in their CURRENT condition... stack up against most of the world? There is poverty in all nations... 'the poor will always be with you'... but, I mean... if the goal is to tell Americans making $25-40K how bad they have it...

We spend so much time looking forward at the wealthy few around us... we dont pay attention to the multitude of the impoverished behind us. We spend so much time looking at those ahead of us, do we really understand our current position in line? How a money preacher can look middle class Americans in the eye... and tell them they CAN be financially blessed, if only they had more faith... is beyond me.

This is Joyce Meyer's compound. I could say home, but this looks more like a fortified military installation. In the bottom left corner, I think I see a grotto near the lake. Joyce Meyers has a grotto??? Now, I know what you're thinking... official unemployment rate from the Department of Labor stands over 10%. Probably closer to 15 when you factor in those not looking for work (and thus, out of what is considered, the workforce). You're thinking... why can't Joyce Meyer's hear the cries of the poor. Well... duh... she's in the main building silly. You can't hear poor people from there. I could see if she was part of one of the satellite mansions... then maybe she could see the people living in tents across America. Here's a thought... why can't... the tent people live... in her backyard? She has that lake... they could use it as bath... I mean, if people are blessed when they give money to Joyce Meyers... pfffft!... well... can you imagine how blessed she's going to be... giving homeless people places to pitch their tents?
The world knows this crash was fueled by American Greed. Not just bankers, but consumers. We had to get the big house. We need to get the newest car. The finest clothes. Charge it. We must show that we are living the American dream. But now that the facade has deteriorated... and we can clearly see that our own selfish entitlement caused the biggest plight... since the Great Depression... can there really be preachers jumping around... today... a year later... telling people... they dont have enough... they should be looking for more... waiting for that next blessing? Still... in 2009? These guys are still around talking?

I would love nothing more than to take all of those guys... and put them in any nation that is considered in the bottom 10% of economically prosperous countries. Let them stay there and live as the average person in those nations. Live among them... for 3 years. Away from all their wealth and excess... away from American materialism and entitlement. And let them come back and see how their perspective on American life has changed.