I just finished reading A Hope in the Unseen, and there is one main character who did not sit well with me, even until the end: Bishop Long. In Chapter 6 (pages 148-153), the Bishop is portrayed in a light that is very disturbing to me. He verbally puts each congregant's battle into God's hands, which is commendable, but not when it is followed by asking the people in his congregation of they have "given the last $10 in their checking account." Meanwhile, the disparity between the poor and the rich only grows; Barbara Jennings gives money she doesn't have hoping for salvation, and instead it gets her eviction. Meanwhile, Bishop Long, by page 363, has "upgraded to a Rolls Royce," but what has he done to help his congregants out of the poor slums in which they live? Nothing, except to promise them salvation in exchange for all their money. As a church-goer and a lifelong Christian who has met many skeptics and agnostics over the years, I can say that the contrast between the socioecionomic conditions of Barbara Jennings and Bishop Long is the problem that many people have with the Christian faith, and particularly with those who use it for their own personal profit.

Logan, you don't know how mad the Bishop Longs of the world make me. The scenario you mention happens more than we could ever imagine. I wanted to scream at my aunt that sending money to a thief who smiled really big on Television was not going to get her one step closer to heaven. These religious piranhas are despicable and I just want to shake the innocents and wake them up. However, their willing gullibility is exactly what makes them easy prey.

Stephanie, it's not only how gullible they are, it's also the fact that many of these people are so desparate that they cannot see another way out. They cannot see the preacher's rolls royce - they only see the stories of the mission work. They cannot see that they are paying $25 for a 1 foot by 1 foot piece of fabric - they only see the "Prayer Cloth" title stamped on it.

For some of these people, they want to believe so desperately that they cannot see they are being taken advantage of.

Logan, I'm like you - Bishop Long infuriated me. God can help and will help, but it's not going to be the easy fix of "give me your last $10." God will guide you on decisions and money management. People like Bishop Long only turns people off of God in the long run.

I agree wholeheartedly with all of you. There are many people that use the word of God as a way to gain something for themselves; however, we have to look at this from another perspective. The book of Malachi 3:8-12 says



There has to be some sort of hope in the Christian faith. How can we ask people in poverty to believe that their lives will change when we do not allow them to hope for more than they have. Have you ever asked yourselves if these people believe that taking care of their pastor is a responsibility of the congregation and that the Lord will take care of the rest? Don't down someone for believing in the impossible or in something that doesn't always sit right with you. They did not believe in Jesus either; He did miracles right in front of them. They crucified the Messiah, because he did not come in the way that they thought that he should.

The issue is that we cannot save every person from being taken advantage of, but we can teach our children and the adults in their lives ways to break the curse of poverty-belief in more to come-Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. Let that be your focus and not on where they spend their money. I would not want someone to scrutinize over where my money goes and they may see me as successful.