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VAuroch comments on Open thread, Sept. 1-7, 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: polymathwannabe 01 September 2014 12:18PM

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Comment author: VAuroch 05 September 2014 01:24:08AM 1 point [-]

Yes, but the section I was responding to was this:

Contrast "just world" culture where people compete to gain esteem by showing off their success with "beggar culture" where people compete for sympathy by showing how unfortunate they are.

And in ordinary Christianity, there isn't much 'competing to show off your success', since it will show up later. In Prosperity Theology there is much more emphasis on miraculous financial rewards in the present day.

Comment author: Lumifer 05 September 2014 01:31:34AM 2 points [-]

Ah, I see. By the way, didn't Prosperity Theology have a predecessor somewhere around Reformation? I have a vague memory that some offshoot of Calvinism was explicitly treating wealth and worldly success as signs of God's favor and so were an indicator of being predestined to be saved...

Comment author: VAuroch 05 September 2014 02:01:33AM 1 point [-]

I'm not familiar with it, nor is it mentioned in the Wikipedia article, but it's a plausible story.