by Ann Johnstone

Created on: April 30, 2010   Last Updated: May 02, 2010

The so-called ‘prosperity doctrine’ is a comparatively new term when compared with the total age of Christianity. Interestingly, it is rarely found in poorer nations. While I was living in India I did come across one man, a Pentecostal minister, who believed in this doctrine.

 One day the people in his church were gathered in a small room awaiting his words of wisdom. Most of them had struggled to pay the one rupee bus ticket across Delhi in order to get to the meeting. All were poor, even by Indian standards. Our man of God stood up in their midst and said proudly, “If you have enough faith you, too, can be like me. I have 14 suits like this one.” I shuddered. If ever such a comment were inappropriate, it had to be in this particular setting. And this incident set me on a journey of learning …

 Three scriptures are often given in support of the so-called ‘Prosperity Doctrine’. Let’s look at each of these:

 III John 2

 The word used here is the Greek euodoomai, which means, literally, to have a successful journey, to enable, or to make possible. Most older versions of the Bible translate this word as ‘to prosper’. This was appropriate back in 1611, when the King James Version was printed. In those days ‘to prosper’ had a meaning very like the original Greek. Today this has changed vastly.

Romans 1:10

 The same Greek word is used here as in III John 2. Most New Testament versions translate it as "(so that) the way may be opened (for me to come to you)”. In other words, it has the sense of enabling a particular course of action.

 Psalm 35:27

 The Hebrew word used in this verse is “shalom” which, literally, means to be well, contented, at peace, whole, happy, or to fare well. Any Jew today will tell you that ‘shalom’ covers a broad range of words in English.

 To translate any of these as ‘to prosper’ is to give them a far too narrow meaning, especially since today the meaning of ‘prosper’ differs greatly from what it did four hundred years ago. Nowadays ‘to prosper’ is generally used in the sense of prospering financially; in other words, becoming wealthy, or having a lot of money (be it in the form of property, possessions, other assets, or cash in the bank).

 I am glad to say that some of the most recent translations of the Bible take this change of meaning into account. For

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