Member-only story
The Happy Ending Conundrum
A Modern Construct of Evangelical Protestantism
Introduction
I was an Evangelical Protestant for nine years before I became a Catholic.
My conversion story is long and I shall not bore you with its sordid details (for now).
Of note is that persecution and hardship were present during that time and that gave rise to a firm conviction to stick with fidelity to Catholic teachings on my spiritual journey.
As time passed, I saw Jesus and his teachings in a new light. Hence, I was mildly surprised when I stumbled upon stories of Protestant pastors giving thanks to God for worldly success and assuring their followers of similar success if they hold firmly to the faith.
I would like to name this manner of preaching as “the happy ending sermon”.
The Old Testament
It is true that in the Old Testament, believers of God were rewarded by God for their faithfulness with worldly success.
Consider the story of Job. When disaster struck, his friends assumed that he had sinned in some manner and that sin had led to punishment from God.
In that cultural climate, that was the knee jerk reaction. Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad.
