House of God or House of Entertainment Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

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House of God or House of Entertainment
In Black Church, Inc. documentary that has been published recently, the financial secrets of the biggest Black churches have been exposed. The documentary portrays controversial issues that surround the church. These issues include the deification of the mega-church pastor, financial abuse as well as the "love offerings". The portrayed issues have raised a question on whether prayer-for-profit is moral. The documentary outlines to the viewers how the days are gone when the working class preachers were offering spiritual guidance without expecting a financial gain. Today a new breed comprising of mega-pastors has emerged. This kind of pastors is aiming to get rich through selling their religious brand.
The Black Church, Inc. documentary compares the origins of the black church to its cultural relevance in the modern day as well as focusing on the modern mega-churches. It also questions on the service against the extravagant lifestyles led by multi-million dollar ministries offering the service. As the nation tries to come out of a recession, various mega-churches are still raising a significant amount of money to fund the exorbitant lifestyles of their pastors. Through interviews with community leaders, journalists, politicians and clergy members, the documentary explores whether the communities, parishioners or the preachers are the benefactors of the generated revenue by the religious organizations.
Black Church, Inc. focuses in justifying the dichotomy of the prophets' profits. It points out at pastors who are perceived as activists including Pastor Raphael Warnock, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Taharka Robinson, as well as other pastors including Rev. T.D. Jakes, Rev. Creflo Dollar, and Rev. Eddie Long. The documentary ascertains that black church pastors are not actual Christians but hungry and greedy people who are aiming at accumulating wealth in the name of spreading the word of God.
Mega-churches capitalize on entertainment because most of the Mega-church pastors are treated like superstars (Barnes 177). These pastors are pretending to preach the gospel that they are unable to adhere to. They have been deceiving people that they possess holy powers. The church has been turned into a profit-making business where pastors conduct the business in the name of preaching the gospel. The church institution is at the black America's soul, for whom the church has been a means of upward mobility, escape, as well as a celebratory community where the humanity of members is affirmed, and its leaders respected (Bialecki 973). According to Dr. Anthony Pinn, a Religious Studies professor at Rice University, many reasons lead to the difference in Black Churches. The first one is the need to address the political, social, economic, as well as cultural ramifications of the United States' anti-black racism. The other reason is the need to spread the word of God and convert many people to Christianity.
The original image of the Black Church is gradually fading way. In the past, the church was a place that could bring hope to the African Americans who were under the pressure of racism. In the church, the African Americans could human, could have solidarity, could have community and could be leaders (Drewery 187). However, today the church has changed into a different place compared to the past. It has been characterized by Pastors and Bishops whose primary focus is to tickle ears and collect tithes rather than preaching prophetically, as well as being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Giving tithes and offerings is a personal decision depending on one's heart. However, tithes and offerings have been turned to a mandatory practice in most mega-churches. False prophets and pastors have emerged. They quote a specific amount of money that one should pay to receive the spiritual guidance (Hagley 358). This practice has indicated the biggest area of corruption. The pastors cannot preach without requesting for money. This can have observed from pastors who are seen in screens and after finishing to preach, they demand money so that one can receive a miracle. They are fond of giving false promises on a condition that a certain amount of money should be paid first.
Most megachurches also capitalize on entertainment through the type of music played. There are hip-hop songs that are composed for praise and worship in these churches (Price 26). It is worth noting that various celebrities have emerged in the music industry. These music...