I think that the prosperity Gospel is a reflection of our cultures values, not the other way around. 

It probably was not a significant contributor to the collapse, but certainly folks who buy that stuff where likely to be suckered in.  They likely would have been suckered in anyway, because In consumer church we tend to pick the preacher that reflects their values.

I think that there is a danger in even the statement of “God opens doors” —Usually God’s way is not the easy way.

Karl, that is brilliantly put.  thanks

That’s right, it’s the fault of some Christians rather than the irresponsibility of those that approved the loans or those that could not afford the loans. It’s not the fault of the sleeping members of Congress who failed to heed warnings about the unethical lending practices of the companies that bundled the paper and sold it to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It’s not the fault of the leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who restructured their bonus structures to be based on how many loans were insured allowing all of them to leave these institutions bankrupt while they enriched themselves. It’s not the fault of the greedy CEO’s who bailed out with millions while watching their stock holders take massive hits in their portfolios. It’s not the fault of the SEC leadership and subordinates who looked the other way while this was going on. It’s not the fault of some members of Congress who pushed and in some cases threatened some lenders to open home ownership to those they knew could not afford it. It’s not the fault of our artificial economy built and run on debt from the Federal Government to the corner drug store.

Further, the message of God’s provision is a covenant issue grounded not in American pop religious culture but deeply grounded in the Hebrew traditions and writings, originating from the Ancient Near East (not the U.S.). Additionally, the message does not trumpet debt as a substitute for prosperity, but rather identifies debt with man’s attempt to prosper himself.

Therefore, God’s provision for man is far from an American Syncretism. It is in fact part of the Gospel and part of our redemption. Abuse of a particular doctrine or practice does not discount the truth. Theologians abuse the doctrine of salvation (adding to or taking away from the Biblical pathway), but we don’t rail against and reject the salvation message. In fact, the bath water surrounding almost every doctrine is clouded by the distortion of some party, but we are wise not to start throwing out the baby with it and we certainly should stay away from characterizing something incorrectly as a near jerk reaction to some loaded (but often inadequately defined) term like prosperity.