Former NBA star Kareen Abdul-Jabbar has condemned the prosperity gospel and those who preach it, including Creflo Dollar.
In a Time Magazine column titled, “Prosperity Gospel is War on the Poor,” the Muslim convert compared prosperity gospel preachers to the indulgence peddlers of the Reformation era.
"Like the professional pardoners of the Middle Ages who pedaled indulgences to the highest bidders, they pervert teachings for profit. These are the people that the word shame was invented to describe," Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
The basketball legend also said preachers such as Dollar are set on twisting “Christ’s teaching to fill their silk-lined pockets.”
According to prosperity gospel teaching, God will reward you with more money if you give to the church.
But Abdul-Jabbar slammed the teaching, saying, "According to the purveyors of prosperity gospel, your friends and neighbors will know how righteous you are by the size of your bank account and the make of your car."
Adbul-Jabbar pointed to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said, “Tend to what is permanent (the soul) over what is temporary (material goods).”
"Yet, those pimping the prosperity gospel are preaching the opposite,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
Publication date: June 19, 2015
