The Prosperity Gospel: Tithing To The Black Community

The Prosperity Gospel
Introduced in the post civil rights era, The Prosperity Gospel was preached to the Black community as a scripture in which to live their lives. Mainly, this religious practice was based upon having faith in God without any sin in your life and in return God will deliver to you all things on Earth. As this gospel developed over time it became more evident that preachers sought to make out that when “God delivers to you all things on Earth” these things would be in the form of material riches. The preaching of the Prosperity Gospel has been made out to emphasize individualism with conservative Christian values, subtly create inclusion & exclusion throughout the black community, and elevate corrupted African American pastors
Tithing is the act of giving money to the church and in return God will shower you with all things in abundance. In the case of the Prosperity Gospel receiving material items in abundance is God’s blessing in return for your financial contribution to the church. Many people are very involved in the act of tithing because they truly believe God will bless them in the future for their current financial sacrifice. Within the black community tithing creates inclusion however it also can create a sense of exclusion. The act of tithing is a way to show a level of devotion to God within the church. Many attendants in the church that tithe feel a sense of inclusion with there black community because they can feel as if their faith in God is no less if they participate in the act. As a result they feel that by participating in tithing all their blessings will link directly to their financial sacrifice and those who grow within the black community will feel a sense of inclusion within the faith. However, those in the black community who do not tithe are seen as people who truly do not give full faith in God and a feeling of exclusion with their community church can occur. Another feeling of exclusion within the African American community can come from the act of tithing as well. The Prosperity Gospel states that if you do give faith in God and follow the act of tithing but God does not return you with
These status’ are not within the normal social hierarchy. These preachers are seen as having a spiritual presence within them and are supposed to be a direct link from God to their followers. Preachers have even become so devoted to thinking they inhabit the spiritual presence of God that people are forbidden to even touch them. Sometimes these preachers will even come out on throws that are holden up by other men so they will not be touched even entering these sermons. This style of preaching has become widely incorporated as the one of the main practices by most Prosperity Gospel pastors. Many of these preachers have become this way because Televangelism has grown very quickly in the modern era and so many followers within the black community have bought into the hype of these “direct messengers of God”. The pastors of these Mega Churches invite all to tithe and spread the ideals of individualism in an overall plan to benefit for their own prosperity. Becoming extremely wealthy and known on a global scale are the prime examples as to why the followers of Prosperity Gospel strive so hard to be blessed by God through the ways of this gospel. However, what many do not know is that these preachers did not “tithe” to be blessed with such fortunes or have complete faith in God to be awarded these extremities. Men of this financial stature within Mega Churches come to be this way by simply