Review of Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
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Aldo Vinchristo
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Review of Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
[Following is a volunteer review of "Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa" by Elijah Oladimeji.]
It’s well known for a fairly long time that poverty in African countries is very complicated. A large number of people are living below standard and they are continuously struggling to have proper basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter. On the light side, more African people have been turning to Christianity in the last century or so. As a result, some pastors and leaders in churches regularly promote the prosperity gospel in order to hold people’s faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, they have used their members’ tithes and offerings for the wrong purposes. That is why Elijah Olidameji intends to share the dark reality of how poverty and faith influence the views of many people in African churches.
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa is based on a true story. The writer ran into plenty of evidence about the corruption found among pastors in different churches. What I truly appreciate about this book is the context, where the readers would go through real dialogues of senior pastors, businessmen, government officials, and many more. Furthermore, the author mentions one of the obvious reasons why a pastor manipulates his church members with the prosperity gospel. It is simply because he is also not immune from the routine struggles of life himself. Personally, I am blown away by the findings of this book.
However, there are several flaws that I discovered in Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa. First of all, the narrative seems way too short. To be honest, people will be able to complete it easily in an hour, or even less if you are a fast reader. On top of that, this book is targeting mainly Christians because it is heavily orientated on Biblical references and Christianity values for each chapter. Therefore, readers who are not religious or atheists may find the text boring as well as unamusing, but I could be wrong.
In addition, I would give this nice book with 3 out of 4 rating. As a Christian myself, I notice that Elijah Olidameji really speaks out on behalf of Christian African people regarding their faith in Jesus Christ amid poverty. Since being poor is a harsh reality in the lives of many Africans, most church members believe the prosperity gospel can set them free. Sadly, the corruption inside some churches is still a serious concern. If anyone is intrigued by this kind of topic, I strongly recommend the book.
Aside from everything that I write above, I feel that Elijah Olidameji could share the feelings or opinions of non-Christian people in African countries regarding the prosperity gospel and how churches may be improved in the future. I am very certain that some readers, including myself, are extremely curious about their life perspectives too.
******
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It’s well known for a fairly long time that poverty in African countries is very complicated. A large number of people are living below standard and they are continuously struggling to have proper basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter. On the light side, more African people have been turning to Christianity in the last century or so. As a result, some pastors and leaders in churches regularly promote the prosperity gospel in order to hold people’s faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, they have used their members’ tithes and offerings for the wrong purposes. That is why Elijah Olidameji intends to share the dark reality of how poverty and faith influence the views of many people in African churches.
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa is based on a true story. The writer ran into plenty of evidence about the corruption found among pastors in different churches. What I truly appreciate about this book is the context, where the readers would go through real dialogues of senior pastors, businessmen, government officials, and many more. Furthermore, the author mentions one of the obvious reasons why a pastor manipulates his church members with the prosperity gospel. It is simply because he is also not immune from the routine struggles of life himself. Personally, I am blown away by the findings of this book.
However, there are several flaws that I discovered in Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa. First of all, the narrative seems way too short. To be honest, people will be able to complete it easily in an hour, or even less if you are a fast reader. On top of that, this book is targeting mainly Christians because it is heavily orientated on Biblical references and Christianity values for each chapter. Therefore, readers who are not religious or atheists may find the text boring as well as unamusing, but I could be wrong.
In addition, I would give this nice book with 3 out of 4 rating. As a Christian myself, I notice that Elijah Olidameji really speaks out on behalf of Christian African people regarding their faith in Jesus Christ amid poverty. Since being poor is a harsh reality in the lives of many Africans, most church members believe the prosperity gospel can set them free. Sadly, the corruption inside some churches is still a serious concern. If anyone is intrigued by this kind of topic, I strongly recommend the book.
Aside from everything that I write above, I feel that Elijah Olidameji could share the feelings or opinions of non-Christian people in African countries regarding the prosperity gospel and how churches may be improved in the future. I am very certain that some readers, including myself, are extremely curious about their life perspectives too.
******
Jesus, Prosperity Gospel and Poverty in Africa
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Red Wave Imperative by Alan Schein
