Review by KariNicole -- Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Pov...
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KariNicole
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Review by KariNicole -- Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Pov...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa" by Elijah Oladimeji.]
I recently completed Jesus, Prosperity Gospel, and Poverty in Africa by Elijah Oladimeji, which positions itself as a lightweight book displaying various scenarios of struggle and faith within a large church in Nigeria. The book switches between Oladimeji’s discussion of poverty and the belief system known as prosperity gospel, and scenes of a senior pastor and his flock, where financial and familial struggles provide ample opportunity to demonstrate the importance of faith. The members of the church pray for a visa for a student accepted to an American university. A husband who attends the church throws his wife and children out onto the streets after an argument. In between these and other scenes, Oladimeji meditates on the issues that wide-scale poverty wreaks on families, as well as the attraction that it gives a life of faith, particularly a faith that claims wealth and well-being will follow one’s conversion.
Oladimeji’s meditations on poverty and the prosperity gospel were where my interest was at its highest, and his fearless opinion-sharing was the most positive aspect of the book. He has plenty of passion for his subject, and spends pages bemoaning a myriad of poor outcomes linked with poverty. He implores local groups within Nigeria and elsewhere to find innovative solutions that do not require foreign bankrolling and involvement. He unfortunately fails to cite any scholarly work on the subject at all to support his assertions, which made many of his heart-felt proclamations fall a bit flat.
While the book is written with passion, it apparently was not written with the assistance of a professional editor. One major negative I found was the large number of typos at the beginning of the book; it was a distraction. Basic typos included repeatedly placing periods and commas outside of closing quotation marks. There were also several instances later in the book where the wrong word was used (for example, there is a reference on page 41 to the “African world believe system,” where it is clear that the phrase should have read “African world belief system.”) It’s an unfortunate series of errors that prevented me from enjoying the book nearly as much as I could have.
In his discussion of one of the titular topics, prosperity gospel, Oladimeji asserts that the true gospel in Africa is a prosperity gospel; God will provide for faithful believers and will not just meet, but exceed their needs. He argues making the expectation of persecution and hardship part of one’s faith would ultimately weaken the gospel, leading to a diminished faith and fewer converts. It’s hard to argue with the fictionalized church members’ characterizations of strong faith, but it raises a question for me; why are these devout believers still living in abject poverty? Oladimeji sidesteps this question altogether. Wrestling with the topic, even if the question was ultimately unanswerable, would have made this book more compelling and honest.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to Western readers who would like a quick introduction to the practices and beliefs of African Protestant Christians. I appreciated his excitement and desire to see widespread improvement in the daily lives of his fellow citizens. However, the lack of professional editing, the failure to reference any scholarly works focused on poverty, and his own inability to anticipate the apparent disconnect between believing a prosperity gospel and the lived reality of local believers left me wanting.
******
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I recently completed Jesus, Prosperity Gospel, and Poverty in Africa by Elijah Oladimeji, which positions itself as a lightweight book displaying various scenarios of struggle and faith within a large church in Nigeria. The book switches between Oladimeji’s discussion of poverty and the belief system known as prosperity gospel, and scenes of a senior pastor and his flock, where financial and familial struggles provide ample opportunity to demonstrate the importance of faith. The members of the church pray for a visa for a student accepted to an American university. A husband who attends the church throws his wife and children out onto the streets after an argument. In between these and other scenes, Oladimeji meditates on the issues that wide-scale poverty wreaks on families, as well as the attraction that it gives a life of faith, particularly a faith that claims wealth and well-being will follow one’s conversion.
Oladimeji’s meditations on poverty and the prosperity gospel were where my interest was at its highest, and his fearless opinion-sharing was the most positive aspect of the book. He has plenty of passion for his subject, and spends pages bemoaning a myriad of poor outcomes linked with poverty. He implores local groups within Nigeria and elsewhere to find innovative solutions that do not require foreign bankrolling and involvement. He unfortunately fails to cite any scholarly work on the subject at all to support his assertions, which made many of his heart-felt proclamations fall a bit flat.
While the book is written with passion, it apparently was not written with the assistance of a professional editor. One major negative I found was the large number of typos at the beginning of the book; it was a distraction. Basic typos included repeatedly placing periods and commas outside of closing quotation marks. There were also several instances later in the book where the wrong word was used (for example, there is a reference on page 41 to the “African world believe system,” where it is clear that the phrase should have read “African world belief system.”) It’s an unfortunate series of errors that prevented me from enjoying the book nearly as much as I could have.
In his discussion of one of the titular topics, prosperity gospel, Oladimeji asserts that the true gospel in Africa is a prosperity gospel; God will provide for faithful believers and will not just meet, but exceed their needs. He argues making the expectation of persecution and hardship part of one’s faith would ultimately weaken the gospel, leading to a diminished faith and fewer converts. It’s hard to argue with the fictionalized church members’ characterizations of strong faith, but it raises a question for me; why are these devout believers still living in abject poverty? Oladimeji sidesteps this question altogether. Wrestling with the topic, even if the question was ultimately unanswerable, would have made this book more compelling and honest.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to Western readers who would like a quick introduction to the practices and beliefs of African Protestant Christians. I appreciated his excitement and desire to see widespread improvement in the daily lives of his fellow citizens. However, the lack of professional editing, the failure to reference any scholarly works focused on poverty, and his own inability to anticipate the apparent disconnect between believing a prosperity gospel and the lived reality of local believers left me wanting.
******
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
