This month’s feature story in the Atlantic is a classic case of great article, horrible title! It’s a great story insofar as Hanna Rosin carefully makes the appropriate connections between the sort of hyper-consumerist, greed-induced, Mcmansion sensibility that fueled both the housing crisis, and the explicit and implicit messages of the prosperity gospel in America. The latter is indeed an important ideological cog in a larger culture of American optimism, excess and indulgence that dates back to the late 19th century.
Yet the title of the article, “Did Christianity Cause the Crash?” is inappropriate to the point of irresponsibility.
Sure, I get it. Everyone loves a provocative and sexy title. But what happens when the shock value of the title obscures the substance of the actual article? What’s more, one has to wonder if the Atlantic’s title choice places on the defensive the very Christian faith communities that would most benefit from Rosin’s superb analysis concerning the confluence of a larger culture of greed and the sort of theological entitlement found in prosperity ministries. Herein lies the problem. This title contributes to the kind of evangelical defensiveness and victimized posture that prosperity adherents are all too willing to embrace. Thus, rather than challenge their myopic morality and gilded spirituality. Such articles will only increase their sense of martyrdom at the hands of an antagonistic "world" that despises "their God." Sigh....
Tags: atlantic monthly, economic crisis, hanna rosin, prosperity gospel
Recently I was confined for two days in a local hospital. Trista Joy Lathern is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, nor the brightest bulb in the box. She also won't be passing go or collecting $200 – and is going to jail! Trista Joy Lathern was arrested on suspicion of defrauding charities – and the reasons why are at least sort of romantic, but not intelligent. She and her husband had been having problems, so she told him she had breast cancer, faked hospital bills, shaved her head, and raised funds to pay for medical bills and – the kicker – a breast augmentation. Authorities caught on to Trista Joy Lathern, and after her arrest for defrauding charities with money to lend – her husband filed divorce papers – surprise, surprise. Don’t be like Trista Joy Lathern, and deceive God.
Asking did Christianity cause the financial crash is a distraction. We should stick to the important questions, like did Christianity cause the Iraq war? Did they elect their fundamentalist President because they want end times and rapture? The polls show they seem to be the most supportive segment of society regarding Americans torturing Muslims. Did they make a mistake by selling their soul to the party of the rich? Was the writing on the wall when they got so wrapped up in reading the rapture novels?
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