1. The Contemporary Pentecostal Church
By: Vita Angula
People have been disillusioned and somewhat deceived by the contemporary
church into thinking god is a genie. The prosperity gospel speaks of instant
riches and miracle money as a means to self-fulfillment and happiness and
ultimately oneness with God which could not be further from the truth as there
are no biblical accounts whereby god promises instant riches that have not been
worked for.
This is the stuff of fairytale movies, folklore, dreams and an over-active
imagination. What makes’ these heresies so appealing is the bits of truth they
contain which are backed up by scripture not entirely read or taught in its
context.
Who are the victims of these so-called men of God, apostles, Bishops,
Shepards? It is the poor, the destitute, the desperate, the lonely, the afflicted, the
mothers with troubled children, women with dysfunctional marriages, young
men trying to get their lives back together. These myriad of characters are
susceptible to the notion that for a fee in the form of an offering or a consistent
taithe as a sign of obedience will somehow oblige God to shower his blessing
upon them.
Beware for god is not mocked. A sober conversation with oneself is enough to
convince anyone that God, whoever or wherever he is cannot be coerced into
action by a mere offering. A general understanding of God has always been that
he is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. So we ask ourselves. What
makes the Prosperity gospel so appealing as a brand of Christian evangelism the
world over that people have been willing to deplete themselves in-order to
further the agenda of a church that claims to be the body of Christ on earth but
lives in total contradiction of who Christ was during his short time on earth?
A revolutionary of his time who’s only act of rage was when he confronted the
priests for daring to use his father’s name to quench their lust for money by
soliciting offerings in return for blessings. Much has been said and much still
has to be said to dig deeper into the psyche of those susceptible to the prosperity

2. gospel and the main protagonists of the movement the so-called men and
women of God. However it will take a deeper introspection of universal truths
that create an enabling environment for these churches to thrive . Whether in
Namibia, Africa, or the third world in general.
So the question that has to be asked is what are the social conditions necessary
in-order for one to part with N$ 80 for a bottle of miracle water in a container
no bigger then a bottle of nail polish in the hope of a miracle whereas you
could’ve just gotten on your knees and prayed for free.