Greed Is Christian Duty, Says Gilded Age Gospel: Lewis Lapham

[Joanne98]

April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Entering the Kingdom of God, as Jesus noted, has usually been tough for the rich. During America’s Gilded Age, however, some ministers saw the capitalist light and started preaching the gospel of wealth. Adoring money is not a sin but a virtue, and the more you accumulate, the better you are.

“Love is the grandest thing on God’s earth, but fortunate the lover who has plenty of money. Money is power,” pointed out Philadelphia Baptist minister Russell Conwell and first president of Temple University. His upbeat sermon, “Acres of Diamonds,” delivered more than 5,000 times between 1900 and 1925, explained that it’s every Christian’s duty to get rich.

Some American churches still prosper by preaching the gospel of Mammon. I spoke with Frank Lambert, author of “Religion in American Politics,” on the following topics:

1. American Pluralism

2. The Gospel of Wealth

3. Religion vs. Science

4. The Power of the Religious Right

5. Free Market of Religions

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