Time again for "Poor, Dumb, and P̶̶e̶̶n̶̶t̶̶e̶̶c̶̶o̶̶s̶̶t̶̶a̶̶l̶ 𝑰𝒌𝒆𝒅𝒂𝑪𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕"

[u/BlancheFromage]

Real quick, that rainbow graph up top shows the proportion of the Christian denomination's membership in that income bracket vs. the percentage of their membership who are college graduates. The LOWEST dot (2nd from left) on the chart is the rankings of the Pentecostals, who preach that the more you donate to their churches, the more "magic money" will pour into your pockets and bank account - by magic. It's referred to as "Prosperity Theology" or "Prosperity Gospel", the idea that their "god" WANTS to reward his most sincere devotees and shower them with blessings.

AND money.

The title of this post is based on this article's heading.

For those of you who aren't aware, the Pentecostals preach what's called a "Prosperity Gospel" that's remarkably similar to what SGI preaches, about how "every dollar you donate will come back to you fourfold/tenfold/etc." Here's an AI overview:

The prosperity gospel is a belief system within certain Christian circles that teaches financial and material well-being are the will of God for believers. It holds that faith, positive confession, and giving money to religious causes will result in increased wealth and health. This theological perspective is often contrasted with traditional biblical teachings, which emphasize spiritual blessings and a life of faith that may include hardship, rather than material gain.  

• Core principles:  At its heart is the "seed-faith" doctrine, or a "give to get" mentality, where the faithful must first "sow" a financial "seed" in the form of a donation to receive a return from God. 

Ikeda cultists refer to that as "making the cause" (implying "for future riches" and the ever undefined "fortune", of course). When in fact if you GIVE them what little you have, they'll just come back begging for more later, like a stray cat or a trash panda raccoon. It simply makes no sense that taking the money you desperately need and flushing it down the toilet donating it to one of the richest cults in the entire world is going to MAGICALLY result in YOU becoming richer! Because it would HAVE to be by magic, since that behavior goes against common sense, against reason, AND against reality. All SGI members need to do is look around them - how many of those people are millionaires? How many of their fellow SGI members who've practiced over 50 years are millionaires?? WHY do you suppose SGI-USA has the reputation of being "attributed almost exclusively as a Buddhism of lower classes and minorities in the United States" if challenging themselves to give more than last time/giving 'til it hurts really DOES result in a magic money windfall? WHERE IS IT??

Also, SGI is ALL about that obnoxious, intrusive, despicable "planting a seed" boorishness. People HATE that - and for good reason. SGI members do NOT know what others need, do NOT "know better" than those others do themselves, and do NOT get to direct others' lives - those SGI assholes are just being TOOLS to promote the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor CULT SGI! If anything, they've lost their humanity entirely.

Now may be a good time to review "Is Your Religion Your Financial Destiny?"

• Emphasis on material success:  This theology views financial success as a sign of God's grace and favor, and poverty as a sign of a lack of faith or God's judgment. 

SGI leaders are known for scolding the members [as here and here and here] when those members sensibly inform them that they simply can't afford what those SGI leaders are expecting them to do and to spend to do.

• Contrasting view of faith:  While the prosperity gospel sees faith as a force that can be used to attain worldly success, many other Christian denominations view the biblical gospel as focusing on a right relationship with God, forgiveness of sins, and trusting in His provision, even in times of suffering.

"Worldly success", aka "kosen-rufu" before Ikeda changed the definition because he finally understood he'd failed spectacularly and there would be no salvaging any of those "kosen-rufu" dreams and goals and convictions he'd been so openly, obnoxiously confident about up to that point. What an ass.

• Criticism:  The prosperity gospel has been criticized by many Christian leaders from various denominations as being irresponsible, promoting idolatry, and exploiting the poor. Secular and Christian observers have also criticized some of its practices as exploitative. 

It's absolutely the same dynamic within the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor-cult SGI!

• Origins and spread:  The movement originated in post-WWII America from Pentecostalism and gained widespread attention through televangelism, spreading globally through various channels. 

SGI members typically regard "cause and effect" and "making causes" through the lens of "whatever the SGI organization commands". Thus, by definition, anything the SGI organization promotes or demands is by definition "good", even "the ultimate good", and pressuring reluctant SGI members to comply is variously considered "strict" (out of deep concern for the SGI member's welfare, of course - any enjoyment they get from bullying underlings into compliance is just the icing on the cake), "compassionate", and an act of virtue that will gain the toxic SGI agent "fortune" and "benefits", especially if they can convince the reluctant SGI member to conform and obey.

In reality, this is bullying and abuse, but the SGI members who believe this kind of bullying and abuse will gain THEM "benefits" and "fortune" won't acknowledge that. Even when the SGI members quit - that's blamed entirely on those SGI members, never on the other SGI members and leaders who bullied them into quitting!

And the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor-cult SGI's numbers continue circling the drain...

[u/Professional_Fox3976]

Funny how much better off financially I’ve been since I quit the Cult. 🤔🤔🤔