Prosperity or justice?

Rev Tim Costello is one of Australia’s most sought after public speakers and every year addresses tens of thousands of people. He has long been the voice of social conscience for many Australians, having led debates on domestic issues such as gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse.

He was awarded as Victorian of the Year in July 2004 in recognition of his public and community service and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in June 2005.

As the CEO of World Vision Australia he was recently in Perth for a number of meetings and he joined me by phone during my morning programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM yesterday morning. You can click here to listen to the interview.

Tim had some interesting things to say. He touched on his belief that many churches seem to have started preaching ‘prosperity for the believer’ rather than ‘justice for the poor’. Many have bought into the lie that being rich will make you happy when we know from the lives of so many that’s not the case.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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4 Comments

  • “Many have bought into the lie that being rich will make you happy…”

    That seems to be the case is the States as well, with several prominent “religious” personalities beating the prosperity drum: “You too can be rich, well-liked, and well-fed!” (Like Jesus?)

  • Who remembers Tim Costello going on about the evils of gambling especially during the expansion of gaming in Victoria?

    What seems to be forgotten in this message of “social justice” is that no-one forces people to go into a gaming venue and lose large amounts of money. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Is that a foreign concept for the bleeding-heart, lefty, social justice set?

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