19AR24-10

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AR 24:10 - How Catholics are falling for the Prosperity Gospel

In this issue:

LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY - for believers in Canada, God is optional

MISSIONS - "by 2060 the world's largest number of Christians will be in sub-Saharan Africa"

WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT - as if Catholicism didn't have enough problems

Apologia Report 24:10 (1,418)

March 7, 2019

LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY

"O, Canada! And no, this 'God optional' story isn't from The Onion or the Babylon Bee" by Richard Ostling -- begins by reflecting on the headline that put the world on notice: "Clergy No Longer Need to Believe in God, Liberal Protestants decide" which announced the precedent set last fall by the United Church of Canada.

"The Rev. Gretta Vosper, far more publicized in Canada than the U.S., is the pastor <grettavosper.ca> of West Hill United Church in Scarborough, Ontario. She faced a church tribunal this month over her atheism. But a terse announcement Nov. 7 said Vosper and the UCC's Toronto regional body 'have settled all outstanding issues' and she 'will remain in ordained ministry.' Further explanation of the deal is sealed by court order. ...

"The UCC's former moderator (titular head) said it struggles with 'two core values, both of which are central to our identity,' namely 'faith in God' and status as 'an open and inclusive church.' To the conservative Gospel Coalition, the Vosper decision means 'the UCC no longer sees the existence of God as a primary issue.'" <www.bit.ly/2NNR3Z9>

Ostling speculates about what lies ahead. "As Vosper and colleagues in the Progressive Christianity movement hope, is cafeteria Christianity the 'mainline' future in Canada and south of the border? In an era apathetic about doctrine and hostile toward heresy trials, what limits remain for pastors' belief and disbelief?" GetReligion, Nov 24 '18. <www.bit.ly/2TrCv6K>

More insightful analysis here: <www.bit.ly/2H5n5zp>

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MISSIONS

"Soul-Savers from the South" (no byline, The Economist [UK], Jan 17 '19, pp51-52) -- cites the World Christian Database <www.bit.ly/2tMJXe8> to report that "it is clear that the growth in missionaries is coming from non-Western countries. The largest single exporter of soul-savers is still the United States (with 121,000 missionaries, around half of whom are Mormons). But the number of American missionaries is falling, as is the number of Europeans. By contrast, the number of missionaries from Asia, Latin America and other poorer continents is steadily increasing. In 2015 there were 27,400 African missionaries, an increase of 32% on 2010, and 30,00 Korean ones, an increase of 50% over the same period. The countries which received the most missionaries were the United States, Brazil and Russia. ...

"In 1910 two-thirds of Christians worldwide were in Europe and over a quarter in the Americas. Just 1.4% were in sub-Saharan Africa. A century later 37% of Christians were in the Americas and 24% were in sub-Saharan Africa, says the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank. <www.pewrsr.ch/2C6S2Pm>

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormon Church) was founded in America in 1830, but now has more members abroad, largely in Brazil and Mexico, than at home. This is true of other denominations, too. And the trend is expected to continue. By 2060 the world's largest number of Christians will be in sub-saharan Africa, Pew predicts. ...

"African missionaries are joining ... in evangelising their own continent. It is a struggle. 'There is still a lot of corruption, even more than Europe, in spite of the fact we say we are all Christians' says Stephen Msele, a priest from Tanzania, trained in Ireland and Kenya but has now been based in Uganda.

"Faced with Western irreligiosity, some missionaries have tried to soften their notions of what makes a good Christian." Ali Nnaemeka, a Nigerian Roman Catholic priest, says: "I think church should be something that one should be free to go to when you feel like going."

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WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT

"How Catholics are falling for the Prosperity Gospel" by Kate Kingsbury and Andrew Chesnut (Catholic Herald, Nov 29 '18) -- Fr Donald Zagoré, a priest of the Society for African Missions, reports that "After the post-Communion prayer which should mark the end of the Liturgy of the Eucharist - and evidently the end of the whole Mass, save the closing rites - another liturgy starts, sometimes even longer than the Liturgy of the Eucharist: the liturgy of money."

"Fr Zagoré is describing what happens when Catholics adopt the so-called 'prosperity gospel', a theological movement that originated in Pentecostalism. In a recent essay for La Croix, the priest explained that during the 'liturgy of money' lay people urge the congregation to make donations. The greater the gift, they say, the greater will be the divine reward. ...

"In September, at a theological congress in Ivory Coast, clergy lambasted Africa's prosperity gospel preachers. Bishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, president of the Ivory Coast bishops' conference, urged Catholic leaders to confront the 'heresies' promoted by 'communities which mushroom everywhere by roadsides claiming to be Christian, but which deny the centrality of the Cross, and preach that prosperity could come like a magic wand'. <www.bit.ly/2VG4ltt>

"Earlier in the summer, papal confidant Fr Antonio Spadaro SJ issued a similar warning in the Vatican-approved periodical La Civiltà Cattolica. Noting that the prosperity gospel had spread from its birthplace in the United States to Latin America, Africa and Asia, he said that 'Pope Francis has often warned against the perils of this theology that can 'overshadow the Gospel of Christ'.' ...

"Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Uganda are among those nations in Africa where Neo-charismatic movements have flourished, magnifying their message through televangelism and social media activities. ...

"One of Africa's most prominent advocates of the prosperity gospel is the Nigerian pastor Chris Oyakhilome. Known as Pastor Chris, he disseminates <pastorchrisonline.org> his charismatic credo via Facebook to more than two million followers and thousands of subscribers on YouTube. Combined with his three satellite TV channels, this ensures that his reach extends beyond Africa, including to Britain, where he has a large following. ...

"Over the past four decades the theology has quickly morphed from a controversial set of beliefs and practices on the margins of mainstream Christianity into a hegemonic dogma in Latin American Pentecostalism. It has become common currency among Catholics, especially those who belong to the Charismatic Renewal. ...

"In Latin America and much of the Global South, believers typically seek to receive divine blessings by forming contractual relations with sacred figures. For example, grassroots Catholics make a promise or vow to a saint or the Virgin Mary in return for a favour generally involving health, wealth or love.

"The same logic operates among Pentecostals, who say they deal directly with God instead of saintly mediators. ...

"Since the 1990s, the health and wealth gospel has grown in influence within Catholicism, most significantly through the Charismatic Renewal, which has adopted myriad Pentecostal beliefs and practices. Some Catholic churches in Brazil now hold 'tithers' Masses' which imitate Pentecostal fundraising tactics, albeit with a less hard-sell approach." <www.bit.ly/2TlYtbp>

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