Growing strain of evangelicalism preaches 'hostility' towards poor Americans: Report

[TomCADem]

You thought you knew the bible? Remember the well-known passage: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:3-5.

For Republicans this can be a bit awkward to accuse Democrats of being godless while pushing policies that coddle the rich and oppress the poor. But no need to worry, the right wing has come to the rescue with some paid-off preachers who are willing to preach that the aforementioned passage means the exact opposite of what it appears to say.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/growing-strain-of-evangelicalism-preaches-hostility-towards-poor-americans-report/ar-AA1iHT8E?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a2d8682bac924297b649aa96eff87b42&ei=20

The so-called "Prosperity Gospel," a strain of evangelical Christianity that argues material wealth is a direct sign of God's personal favor, has long been a controversial doctrine among more mainstream American conservatives.

Now The New Republic's Elle Hardy reports that there's a new strain of Prosperity Gospel that takes things a step further by not only seeing wealthy people as God's chosen, but singling out poor people as deserving of "hostility."

This "antisocial" new Prosperity Gospel, writes Hardy, gained more prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when believers were forced to go searching online for Sunday worship services and they were algorithmically steered toward churches that preached more extreme doctrines.

"Those who ended up getting their Christianity from Facebook rather than the pulpit found it all too easy to fall down into some extreme theological rabbit holes," Hardy explains. "And without anyone to bounce new ideas off, they had no mooring — there was no congregation to moderate radical ideas."