Academic Seminar on Prosperity Theology

Academic Seminar on Prosperity Theology

An academic lecture on “Prosperity Theology” was delivered on February 26, 2020 at EGST Laing Hall.

Invited guest speaker, Dr. Daniel Salinas from Colombia, who published on Prosperity Theology and the Gospel, has discussed current issues on faith, wealth and health and participants debated on the issues in groups and plenary.

Dr. Daniel noted that belief in the Prosperity Gospel is wide spread among Christians and ‘a study showed that 70% of Christians in Ethiopia believe God will grant wealth and good health to those who have enough faith.’

In his lecture, Dr. Daniel listed the various definitions of the prosperity gospel in the academia. He mentioned prosperity gospel nicknamed as baptized form of capitalism, a new form of slavery for Africa, the best investment/business ever, God’s greatest plan for your lives, Christian karma, the gospel of greed, the false gospel and many others. He furthermore outlined what Christian response should be to tackle the distortion of the prosperity gospel. He said, “As the church, we should provide Biblical and Theological responses, analyze poverty, give economical and ethical analysis, teach Theology of wealth and theology of sharing, and most importantly as Christians we should be involved in all possible levels of policy making.”

As a Langham scholar, Daniel gained his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Trinity International University in the United States, some of the fruit of which can be seen in his first book with Langham, Taking up the Mantle. The publication chronicles the history of the twentieth-century evangelical church in Latin America.

The seminar included critical discussion questions in groups and reflection from the participants.

(Source: EGST Public Relations and Communications, February 27, 2020, Addis Ababa)

Leave a comment