Short Take: How does the prosperity gospel distort the Beatitudes?

No on page 10 of your book Troy.

You talk about this, the blessed life.

In contrast to what is become a very popular movement today. The prosperity gospel movement, and you say the worst of the teaching of the prosperity gospel that reduces the Christian experience to simply getting something from God as you think you just mentioned last answer. Getting something out of God trumps our loving God with all of her heart mind soul and strength in loving our neighbors as ourselves.

You going to send the same page.

The concept of blessing in religious America has been notoriously equated with the American dream instead of the gospel of Christ today blessing seems to mean something altogether different promotion not persecution. Success not suffering getting invited not getting insulted bigger, not smaller health, not pain more, not less.

Now, not later. So talk about this book is not of a polemic against the prosperity gospel it but you do use that contrast just talk briefly about how that popular movement today would get these Beatitudes all wrong. Yeah, I think there's such a truncated understanding of what blessing is especially in America today and I think we assume that it's rich in cash. Those reported all the time those who are strong those who are full and in need of nothing, rather than poor in spirit morning being meek. I think that we just have to broaden our understanding of this concept and idea of blessing to include both so I don't I don't try to say that a God doesn't bless people material, exactly, does I don't think that he blesses us materially all the time and then I also don't want people think that ate the only way that God does this, is that he runs it through the grid of the American dream. So when you're blessed you get up get a nicer car needed and you know a brand-new pair of shoes, a bigger house is the limit. I'm just trying to kind of broaden our sending this the word blessing to actually include these categories that Jesus introduces to us in the Beatitudes where he says that blessing can be accompanied by persecution and suffering and then Sultan smaller in pain unless that those are actually part of the biblical equation of blessing to us are the a lot of people then because they don't understand that they assume that God's against them or forgotten them when reality is actually giving them an insight into the Christian life and exactly setting us up to be blessed in a way that the American dream. Can't blesses Ray to silk that was cut to the heart needle in and point out the distinctions between the two as I think, to the end of the danger from the prosperity gospel is, I think it just it distorts that the character nature of God.

I think it distorts how God actually works. Isaac treats God is a cut like a code to crack and we just cracked the God code in a dot has to blesses and ethics set people up for all kinds of frustration and misguided striving for. So if you aren't getting blessed.

According to Wright the American dream idea of blessing, then it is a you didn't have enough faith or it was a lack of leanness may be in the sewing and in reaping department on your end. So what does that is it. It creates this driving this I'm using God to get something for myself rather than finding rest in God and seen that God is blessed me in ways I don't even know or realize Eddie's ghetto blessed me in a way that's actually way more satisfying than something that's bigger better faster or more horsepower