CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I was watching my Christian TV again, praise the Lord such a blessed message was on.

Title : How to Find Personal Happiness, Part 1
Info : From the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, Pastor Greg Laurie reveals how to find true happiness.
Link : http://www.harvest.org/tv/watch/how-to-find-personal-happiness-part-1.html?autoplay=1

If this is some "You'll be truly happy when you find Jesus!" tripe I'm gonna be really annoyed.

EDIT: This video keeps hanging when it loads and I haven't been able to get very far in it but it seems like it's pretty much going in the whole "Prosperity gospel" garbage route.

Nate wrote:If this is some "You'll be truly happy when you find Jesus!" tripe I'm gonna be really annoyed.

EDIT: This video keeps hanging when it loads and I haven't been able to get very far in it but it seems like it's pretty much going in the whole "Prosperity gospel" garbage route.

[redacted]

The video seems to be created as extremely optimistic in an attempt to make it enjoyable to watch (it's made for TV and thus to supposedly appeal to a wider audience. I'd hate to use the term "feel good Christian TV", but it can often be like that at times). I mean, it's a bit gloomy about "life will suck sometimes" as well, but at least it's not fire and brimstone crap. XD;
Overall, the pastor in this video doesn't seem too far off track, but there could be misunderstanding in what he means by "personal happiness". I'll agree it's not the best term to use. For a lot of people, it's the easiest term to relate to, since everyone knows generally what happiness is (and its different degrees, short and long term).
Though, while I disagree with his terms ("lasting happiness" or "joy" may have been better options), I can agree with the underlying point he's driving at (that a lot of preachers talk about, especially ones that preach to a massive audience), happiness in this world is only temporary. Once you die, supposedly, you may have no opportunity to experience happiness again. YOLO, in a nutshell. XD;
But the happiness/joy/whatever in God is lasting even past death and I think that's the difference that should be more emphasized (instead of his current main driving force which was all the stories saying "Look at all these people that didn't have God and how sad they were about life", etc).

The one huge critique I have for these types of programs and styles of preaching are that they can cause a common misconception that once you believe and become a Christian it's all rainbows and sunshine FOREVER and you'll never have anything sucky and terrible happen to you again (along with that, it's assumed that you'll never feel super sad or like a failure ever again either). When you become a Christian, I don't think your life changes at all, instead, your view on life changes.

Personally, I don't think God wants us to be happy, He wants us to rest in His love. [/romanticizing it a bit, but close enough]

Or something. .~. Sorry, I rambled a bit too much for a post not in Christian Growth Q and A. Please PM me if you have a comment on my post, please.

Zeldafan2 wrote:Isn't calling someone else's opinon a "garbage route" a bit harsh? I mean, I personally believe people can find true happiness through Christ.

Finding happiness in Christ and prosperity gospel theology are two different things. The joy God gives us, I believe, is more of a state of mind, a way to live our lives in contentment, being able to push through hardship and keep your head above water no matter what. That's what the happiness of Christ is, a center of stability stability and source of comfort.

But prosperity gospel defines that happiness in physical, personal terms rather than emotional ones. It says, follow God, and He'll guarantee that you'll always be happy and healthy, which goes against the Bible when it says that being a Christian is neither easy nor a path to be taken lightly. What's more, a lot of preachers in the movement extend this guaranteed happiness to material blessings, especially if you donate to their organization, so it becomes more like, follow God (and give me money), and He will shower you with solid gold Ferraris and superpowers. That's when things get problematic.

Davidizer13 wrote:

Zeldafan2 wrote:Isn't calling someone else's opinon a "garbage route" a bit harsh? I mean, I personally believe people can find true happiness through Christ.

Finding happiness in Christ and prosperity gospel theology are two different things. The joy God gives us, I believe, is more of a state of mind, a way to live our lives in contentment, being able to push through hardship and keep your head above water no matter what. That's what the happiness of Christ is, a center of stability stability and source of comfort.

But prosperity gospel defines that happiness in physical, personal terms rather than emotional ones. It says, follow God, and He'll guarantee that you'll always be happy and healthy, which goes against the Bible when it says that being a Christian is neither easy nor a path to be taken lightly. What's more, a lot of preachers in the movement extend this guaranteed happiness to material blessings, especially if you donate to their organization, so it becomes more like, follow God (and give me money), and He will shower you with solid gold Ferraris and superpowers. That's when things get problematic.

Okay, that makes more sense. I definitely agree with that, but I wasn't completely sure at the time what 'prosperity gospel' was.

Davidizer13 wrote:solid gold Ferraris and superpowers. That's when things get problematic.

A solid gold Ferrari would be problematic. Gold is pretty dense and heavy when compared to the materials typically made to manufacture a car, especially Ferraris. This would not be a good thing. Shame on you prosperity gospel preachers.

Davidizer13 wrote:It says, follow God, and He'll guarantee that you'll always be happy and healthy, which goes against the Bible when it says that being a Christian is neither easy nor a path to be taken lightly.

This also implies one thing the Bible has spoken against, but is a necessary element of prosperity gospel. That being that if you're not happy, if things are going wrong in your life, it's because you aren't right with God. Now, obviously anybody who has read Job and understands it knows that this is absolutely not the case. However, in prosperity gospel, the only way bad things can happen is if you're not really saved or not following God right, because if you were then you'd be happy and things would be great.

Unfortunately this point of view is a lot more common than it should be in today's world, and it sickens me.