A proposal on Effect of prosperity preaching on the growth of the apostolic church Gwarinpa assembly Abuja
Abstract
Prosperity preaching is a religious teaching that attracted a lot of concerns both from those who support it and those that see it negatively. There are different perceptions concerning what it is and its impact on selected Apostolic Churches and their members. This study examined the issue of Prosperity gospel and its impact on Apostolic church in Gwrimpa, Abuja. The study will adopt descriptive and analytic methods and relied on primary and secondary sources. A total of 30 respondents were selected from each of the seven selected Apostolic Church and these add up to a total of 210 samples. Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting this sample of 210 respondents. This study employs Draper’s tri-polar model, which in turn is modeled after Christina Grenholm and Daniel Patte’s tri-polar interpretive process. It is found in the study that an ambivalent relationship exists between the praxis of the prosperity gospel and believers attitudes towards poverty alleviation. Prosperity gospel appears to demonstrate elements of optimism, entrepreneurship, self-reliance and self-supporting attitudes among believers. On the other hand, religious rites espoused by preachers of the doctrine seem to be embedded with the exploitation of believers, individualism, and a pervasive emphasis on a “miraculous economy”, which impedes the socio-economic transformation believers themselves seek. It is, however, argued that the presence, nature, and activities of religious people need to be better understood, so that they can be taken into account in developmental activities. The study recommends that prosperity gospel needs to incorporate the reality of Christian suffering into its theology.
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