Do all protestants believe the prosperity gospel?

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No, not all by a long shot, although there are those who believe God wants everyone to be healthy and prosperous. This is one of the verses these folks use:

3 John 1:2 "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well"

However, my experience has been that good and bad things happen to both the just and unjust like Jesus says in Matthew 5:45:

“*He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. *

I know some Christians who love and serve God who are wealthy, some are poor, and most are somewhere in between in terms of health and wealth.

This is how I believe the Lord wants us to act at all times:
I Thessalonians 5:18
“…Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”.

In short, my feeling on the subject is summed up in the following Christian praise song, entitled “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman.

youtube.com/watch?v=7Qp11X6LKYY

Lyrics:
Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in
Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the “world’s all as it should be”
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say.
“Lord, blessed be Your name.”
 
Not to sound like a stand-up, but what’s the deal with Internet discussion forums? More specifically, with threads devoted to “Do all protestants believe the prosperity gospel?” or “Do all Catholics vote Democrat?” or “Are Orthodox all Communists?” and so on and so forth?
 
Peter_J said:
Not to sound like a stand-up, but what’s the deal with Internet discussion forums? More specifically, with threads devoted to “Do all protestants believe the prosperity gospel?” or “Do all Catholics vote Democrat?” or “Are Orthodox all Communists?” and so on and so forth?
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Devil’s advocacy. An attention-getter.
 
I believe the Christian life is going to have suffering. St. Peter and St. Paul both wrote about it. I also think the song “Blessed Be Your Name” is a great exampe of this!!!
 
Proverbs 30:

Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
 
One_point said:
Some seem to get upset and touchy when it is pointed out that Jesus lived a poor life, apostles too and even early Christians were not wealthy if we believe those verses that Paul is commanding Christians to provide for other believers. They respond accusing others of preaching poverty gospel. but poverty even by nuns is voluntary and is a calling and not for everyone. catholics believing in fighting real physical poverty with spiritual poverty. because when you give then you don’t have that thing anymore so you are practicing spiritual poverty. is this widespread among all protestants? some say you get wealth according to the faith you have but if this is true the apostles and early church should be the richest people in human history. they had martyrs, Mary and so many miracles.
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Absolutely not but it is increasingly more common
 
One_point said:
Some seem to get upset and touchy when it is pointed out that Jesus lived a poor life, apostles too and even early Christians were not wealthy if we believe those verses that Paul is commanding Christians to provide for other believers. They respond accusing others of preaching poverty gospel. but poverty even by nuns is voluntary and is a calling and not for everyone. catholics believing in fighting real physical poverty with spiritual poverty. because when you give then you don’t have that thing anymore so you are practicing spiritual poverty. is this widespread among all protestants? some say you get wealth according to the faith you have but if this is true the apostles and early church should be the richest people in human history. they had martyrs, Mary and so many miracles.
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I don’t think so. I grew up a Protestant (several different denominations) It was not something that I was taught. I was taught to love and trust Jesus but never imagined that I would be rewarded in a material way.

In fact I had not heard of this doctrine until about 15 years ago. I think it is a relatively new idea that has sprung up and taken hold. I know my son holds a great deal of store in this concept and I worry about him because some time or another life is going to bring him down and I fear that he will believe that Christ deserted him.
 
You are right that upwardly mobile people, both in the US and internationally, are attracted to these churches. In part, this is because the prosperity gospel gives them a spiritual explanation for the cause of their success and an ideological framework that both justifies that success and provides a religious strategy for continuing that success.
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Very interesting. But what if a person has no prosperity to speak of. Does God hate him. I don’t think so.
 
No, one thousand times over no! Prosperity gospel is heretical .
 
This one is interesting, because I personally knew a Protestant who probably did. Didn’t think it was that common, and I still don’t think it is that common. I would only ever suggest it if I had my tongue planted firmly in cheek.
 
Peter_J said:
Wait, you mean it’s Protestant?

(Couldn’t resist.)
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Actually, it is. 🙂 But it didn’t originate with them nor do all Protestants believe if, of course. It was a common belief among the Jews–one that Jesus corrected. His disciples believed that God prospers the good and destroys the wicked, and they had scriptural references to back it up–just as our Protestant brethren do who hold to it. But Jesus corrected his disciples thinking, giving balance to those references, especially under the law of freedom he established by his life, death, and resurrection.
 
So, all this time, Protestants, some of who in particular subscribe to prosperity theology, would accuse Catholics of being Pharisees, when really it ought to be the other way round? Hmmph, looks like some people ought to be careful throwing Pharisee accusations around.
 
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