The Prosperity Gospel: The Modern-Day Golden Calf

The Prosperity Gospel, an impious doctrine that has gained prominence in recent decades, is a heretical gospel that focuses on material wealth, financial success, and the idea that God rewards faith with financial prosperity. This theological viewpoint, however, bears a striking resemblance to the biblical story of the Golden Calf, an idol worshipped by the Israelites in the book of Exodus. This week we shall explore the similarities between the Prosperity Gospel and the Golden Calf, highlighting the dangers of equating faith with financial gain and the potential consequences for individual believers.

1. Materialism and the Prosperity Gospel

“So Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me’” – Exodus 32:2 (ESV).

The Prosperity Gospel preaches a message that places an inordinate emphasis on material wealth and financial success. Adherents are often told that faith and prayer can lead to prosperity in this world, both financially and in terms of health and success. While there is nothing inherently wrong with desiring material well-being, the Prosperity Gospel takes this to an extreme, suggesting that financial success is not just a blessing but a divine right.

The Prosperity Gospel’s focus on materialism closely resembles the Israelites’ actions in the biblical story of the Golden Calf. In Exodus 32, when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the Israelites grew impatient and created a golden calf to worship. Their motivation was driven by a desire for a tangible, material representation of the divine. Similarly, the Prosperity Gospel encourages believers to seek a tangible, material representation of God’s blessings in the form of wealth and prosperity. This fixation on materialism diverts attention from deeper spiritual matters and values. In John Piper’s words, “[Material] prosperity cannot be proof of God’s favour for this is what the Devil promises to those who worship him.”

2. A Creation by Religious Leaders

“And he [Aaron] received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’  When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord’” – Exodus 32:4-5 (ESV).

The story of the Golden Calf reveals a significant parallel with the dynamics of the Prosperity Gospel. In both cases, it is evident that leaders played a pivotal role in crafting and promoting these concepts to draw the crowd’s attention away from a more traditional and spiritually centred figure. Just as the Israelite leaders encouraged the creation and worship of the Golden Calf to draw the crowd to themselves away from Moses and his moral God, so have the proponents of the Prosperity Gospel drawn congregants away from Christ to themselves, promising earthly riches and success. Modern-day pastors attract followers by redirecting their devotion and focus from Christ and His teachings that touch on the supremacy of spiritual wealth, the dangers of greed, and Christ’s call to generosity and self-sacrifice for those in need. They replace Christ’s teachings with a more self-serving, materialistic approach, emphasizing their personal authority and influence.

3. Moral Laxity

“And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” – Exodus 32:6 (ESV).

The religion centred around the Golden Calf in the biblical narrative had the troubling ability to combine the worship of God with loose moral living. While the Israelites initially intended to use the golden calf as a symbol of God, their revelry and indulgence showed how a false religion curtain-raises for moral laxity. The festivities that accompanied the worship of the calf, as described in Exodus 32, included feasting and revelry, indicating a disregard for the moral and ethical standards that God had given them through Moses.

Likewise, the Prosperity Gospel, with its emphasis on material success and financial prosperity, is lax on the issue of sin. This theological framework frequently downplays the importance of addressing and repenting for one’s moral transgressions, focusing instead on the acquisition of wealth and personal gain. By promoting the idea that financial success is an indicator of God’s blessing, it inadvertently encourages a disregard for the significance of personal responsibility, accountability, and the moral consequences of one’s actions. This lax approach to sin leads to a superficial faith that prioritizes material prosperity over genuine spiritual growth and moral rectitude, potentially missing the central message of repentance and forgiveness that is integral to Christianity. In their book Prosperity: Seeking The True Gospel, Michael Otieno Maura et al, write: “Some preachers are making promises of worldly prosperity to men and women and leading them far away from the Lord Jesus Christ and the genuine gospel that is found in the Bible. So widespread is this false teaching that many people may not even realise that they have been influenced by it.”

4. False Converts

“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.’ And all the sons of Levi gathered around him” – Exodus 32:26 (ESV).

Moses’ call to separate the faithful from the false demonstrates the presence of false converts within the Israelite congregation. Not all who had escaped from Egypt were truly devoted to the Lord’s commandments and covenant. The fact that Moses needed to make this proclamation underscores that many among the people had never given their allegiance to the true God and, consequently, had been swayed by the allure of the Golden Calf. Their commitment to the one true God was superficial, and thus they were easily led astray. Hence, the existence of the Golden Calf functioned as a mechanism to unveil the spiritual corruption within the Israelite nation, revealing the presence of insincere adherents.

In a manner analogous to the situation involving the Golden Calf, the Prosperity Gospel exposes the sad reality that the Church, encompassing both its congregation and clergy, is populated by individuals who do not genuinely adhere to the true Gospel. The Prosperity Gospel, with its emphasis on the pursuit of material wealth and success as a sign of divine favour, has spawned false believers in our churches today. It fosters a distorted version of faith, where individuals are drawn primarily by the promise of financial prosperity rather than a genuine, wholehearted commitment to the teachings of Christ. In his book Apostasy! Jeff Kluttz writes: “I have no doubt that those who are in pursuit of material wealth, health, glory and godhood will continue to gather around the Word-Faith message. But if your desire is for true spiritual regeneration and eternal glory, the WoF [Word of Faith] doctrine has nothing to offer you. Its teaching is devoid of a right gospel.”

In this context, the pursuit of wealth can become the primary motivation for adherents, overshadowing the importance of selflessness, compassion, and genuine spiritual growth. This distortion can lead to a shallow, self-serving faith, where individuals may claim to be believers but often prioritize personal gain over the core principles of humility, service, and love for others that are central to the Christian faith. The Prosperity Gospel’s focus on material success produces a form of faith that is more about personal enrichment than a true, transformative relationship with God.

5. The Consequences

“Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made” – Exodus 32:35 (ESV).

In the biblical story, the worship of the Golden Calf had severe consequences for the Israelites. God’s anger resulted in divine punishment, highlighting the dangers of straying from the true path of faith. In a similar vein, the Prosperity Gospel can have detrimental effects on both individual believers and society as a whole.

Just as God’s judgment was pronounced upon the followers of the Golden Calf in the biblical account, a similar judgment awaits all who subscribe to the Prosperity Gospel. This is because a faith centred on the pursuit of prosperity, where personal gain takes precedence over spiritual growth, compassion, and ethical conduct, is a false faith. True believers are characterized by a deeper commitment to the values and teachings of Christ that include humility, selflessness, and a genuine relationship with God rather than an unwavering pursuit of material wealth. To false prosperity gospel believers Jesus has this to say: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” – Revelation 3:17-18 (NIV).

Conclusion

In their book Prosperity: Seeking The True Gospel, Michael Otieno Maura et al, write: “The prosperity gospel distracts people from the God-centred truth of the gospel. It diverts their focus away from the death of the Lord Jesus at Calvary. It distracts from the substitutionary atonement, the crucified life, and holiness. It obscures the great future hope of Christ’s return and the age to come when we will be with Him.”

The Prosperity Gospel, with its emphasis on material wealth, bears a striking resemblance to the biblical story of the Golden Calf. Both place material gain at the centre of religious faith, leading to the idolatry of wealth and potential negative consequences for individuals and society. While it is essential to seek spiritual and material well-being, equating faith with financial success can be spiritually and morally hazardous. In our modern world, it is essential to recognize the potential pitfalls of the Prosperity Gospel and reevaluate the true priorities of faith and ethical living.