Decisiones de Inversión

This research refers to prosperity teaching as a theology, however, this definition needs to be qualified. There are various kinds of theologies, especially under the brand of Liberation Theology (LTh), for example, Black Theology (BTh), Ethiopian Theology (ETh), Feminist Theology (FTh), Ecological Theology (EcoTh) to mention a few. “All of these theologies see liberation as a key concept in the Bible, and take it that one can formulate the entire gospel, or at least important aspects of it, in terms of the concept of liberation” (König 1998:12). PT may be categorised under LTh as its emphasis is on liberation from poverty, sickness and suffering.

What makes a specific view to be referred to as a theology? This is a difficult question to answer. It is much easier to label a view a theology but to qualify it is not that easy. Most of the scholarly works that deal with theology do not explain what makes a theology a theology. Rather they all answer the question: “What is theology?” Therefore, the branding of prosperity teaching as a theology will be derived from what is implied by the various definitions of what theology is. The researcher will use the following definitions to help categorise PT:

(1) Brian Gaybba

All theology is ultimately a reflection by Christians on their faith. This reflection can take many forms, and that is what distinguishes one type of theology from another. It can take the very basic form of a personal

attempt to apply one’s faith to one’s own life. Or it can take the form of a very abstract, detailed and highly sophisticated analysis of a particular aspect of faith, utilising the latest philosophical insights or whatever other insights contemporary knowledge can give us (1998:27).

The above is a general explanation of the discipline of theology. Thus, it is the reflection of how Christians can apply their faith to everyday life. This reflection can be subjective, highly academic or philosophical. In this reflection, the reflector should consider the subject concerned under the scrutiny of Scripture. What separates bad theology from good theology in the evangelical community is that Scripture ought to govern our application. On this basis PT is surely a reflection of those who belong mainly to the WoF movement concerning issues of wealth, health and success. This reflection is raised by the social context of the people and although the Bible is used to propagate this sort of theology, there appears to be a great measure of subjectivity and hermeneutical dissension.

(2) Tite Tiénou

Theology is the reasoned statement of biblical revelation, in specific places and specific times, which makes possible the transmission of the Christian faith to future generations. We may compare the Christian faith to a beautiful song. Biblical revelation forms the words of the song and theology represents the music and rhythm. Both revelation and theology are needed. In our cultures, music and rhythm serve to support the transmission and instruction of the messages. Likewise, theology is the indispensable support of the revealed Word of God (1982:12).

Tiénou’s definition of theology takes the approach of doing theology from the message of Scripture. It is not just doing of theology for its own sake but in order to remain faithful to the revelation of God in Scripture. The emphasis is that theology should develop from Scripture and the context of Scripture should not be sacrificed at the expense of changing times. Thus, while theology ought to be practical and relevant it is only relevant if the context of Scripture is not corrupted in the process of application. It could be said of PT that it is a reasoned (although not systematic) collection of biblical material concerning the issue of prosperity. Whether this reasoning is done with the overarching message of the Bible in view is what many biblical scholars are in disagreement with.

(3) Millard J. Erickson

[Theology is] that discipline which strives to give a coherent statement of the doctrines of the Christian faith, based primarily upon the Scriptures, placed in the context of culture in general, worded in a contemporary idiom, and related to the issues if life (1985:21).

Although PT is represented by multiple voices and lacks congruity in definition by those who advocate it, it holds to an underlying belief concerning the Christian faith. That is, Scripture promises all who believe in Jesus Christ lives defined by prosperity (financially), health, success and happiness. It endeavours to be relevant to the contemporary issue of poverty but this attempt to address poverty can be said to be moving into hyper-capitalism, transnational-capitalism, materialism, abuse of Scripture and exploitation of people (Maxwell 1998:350-373; Meyer 2004:453-454; Piper 2010:15-32).

PT is a very recent development that has various features and may never find its way to being systematised as a theology except in the loose sense of the word. With this loose sense of the word “theology,” prosperity gospel qualifies to be termed as a theology in that it is an attempt of some Christians, reflecting upon the relevance of their faith, to address the issue of poverty in Namibia. This reflection is with reference to certain passages of the Bible. The conclusion from this reflection is that the central message of the Bible is redemption but it is a redemption not only limited to the soul but also including social and economic elevation. Thus, Christianity promises emancipation from poverty, sickness, failure and suffering because God who is the owner of this world can only give good gifts to His children. As a theology within LTh, it is concerned with the attempt to help people achieve emancipation from present struggles and have them experience heaven on earth. (That is, it may be considered an over-realised eschatology).

PT is a theology that promotes prosperity as the central or overarching message of the Bible. Although it lacks a symphonic message, there are key factors to which all its advocates hold, regardless of their different ways of expressing it. The underlying factor is that God desires to bless all believers with prosperity, which includes financial freedom, absolute health, wealth and success. Even where Jesus

is said to be preached, He is presented as a giver of health, prosperity, protection, business success, etc (Oyedepo 2006:127-204; cf. Osteen 2009).

Theology is definitely important for the believer as it aims to enhance his or her relationship with God. However, it is important that our theology should be right. That is, we need to have a theology that stems from Scripture and is in agreement with the overarching message of the Bible (the grace of God shown in Jesus Christ). Any theology that departs from Scripture and improvises methods that are considered politically correct to our present day culture will result in incorrect beliefs about God. While PT may have some commendable aspects, it is generally constructed upon a defective theology.

While Prosperity adherents usually emphasize the importance of a literal interpretation of the Bible, they also stress the authority and inspiration of the spoken word, as deployed either by God or by believers themselves. Key to this assumption is the doctrine, based in part on Romans 10:8, that whatever is spoken by faith can address and have an influence on all situations. So-called positive ‘confession’ is therefore not an admission of sin…but rather a statement that lays claim to divine beneficence, giving prosperity to the person but also equipping them to be more effective in converting others to the faith. Inspired words are therefore seen as literally creative, so that the believer must be careful to speak positively at all times in order to avoid the dangers of ‘negative confession’ (Coleman 2004).