Often When I look at the dizzying level of religiosity in my environment, I remember my lessons in Secondary School economics classes.
One in particular is "The Law of Diminishing Returns."

Here is the principle in a nutshell.


An economic law propounded by David Ricardo, also called the law of diminishing marginal returns. It expresses a relationship between input and output, stating that adding units of any one input (labor, capital, etc.) to fixed amounts of the others will yield successively smaller increments of output.

And here is Another angle.


The principle states that further inputs into a system produce ever lower increases in outputs. Any extra input will not produce an equal or worthwhile return.
In common usage, the “point of diminishing returns” is a supposed point at which additional effort or investment in a given endeavor will not yield correspondingly increasing results.

Thus, while early applications of fertilizer may increase yields, further applications will not see a corresponding rise in output, and even further applications may actually damage the crop, as excessive fertilizer can burn plant tissue.



In the context of religion in general, and in particular, the upsurge of pentecostal christianity and their "Name It and Claim It Prosperity Theology" in Nigeria, the bolded is a very poignant.

It seems that The law of Diminishing returns is embedded in religion and faith.
Religion and Faith, in very minute doses maybe good for the individual as he or she contemplates and tries find his place in an impersonal universe. It might uplift his spirit, his humanity and common brotherhood to all creatures great and small.
However, as history clearly attests, in increasing doses, the returns decrease to the point where they become mildly and then very harmful.

I have witnessed this much too many times among friends and relatives. As soon as they pronounce themselves born again christians, they honestly try to be better in terms of their outlook, attitudes and behaviour. But soon afterwords, because faith demands an infinite number of regular recharging, the law of diminishing returns sets in, and the individual begins to regress both in outlook and attitudes.

Thereafter, the devil begins to lurk in every corner. Witches and wizards begin to hide in every dark corner, ordinary dreams become hidden signs, prayers become more frequent, much louder and more desperate.

After a while, prayer becomes just a lottery ticket: For, despite the great odds, the more you pray the more likely hood that something good and beneficial will happen to you at any given time.
And, of course, god is always there to take the glory.

I have said it before that Faith and Doubt, though inversely related, come as one package to the faithful.
Whereas, the person outwardly expresses faith, deep within lies doubt about the authenticity, efficacy and durability of such faith.


For, why else would a person go to a priest or pastor to pray for him or her? Is is not because the person has serious doubts about the authenticity, efficacy, reliability and durability of his or her own faith?

This is what every person of faith is burdened with.

You have said it well.


I have seen people join these born again churches, that demand servitude and chastity. They tithe, donate their cars, donate slaries when the going is good......until the point of diminishing returns.....they are not getting promotions at work and so they put in more effort with praying and but nothing happens...no bountiful blessings......but their pastor convince them to have faith and sow harder......this happens untik they become impoverished slaves of a tithe fraud preacher

Hmm..... Plaetton has come again with another theory.....and I must admit you're right to the extent that you mentioned the appropriate culprit: The name it and claim it prosperity theology'

The message of the cross is not the promise of a fat bank account, garage full of cars or a catapulting to high levels of influence. American pentecostals imported the american dream into the gospel to arrive at the greed and self centered 'Christianity' on display today and its unfortunate its spreading like wild fire all over Nigeria. It came to Africa and mixed with our recent superstitious past to create the mania on rampage as we see around us.

Unfortunately men and women ruled by their belly and narcissistic desires hijacked it and started peddling it to line their pockets. However the good thing is that there are still many Christians who refused to sell out and they are still leading a lot into true relationship with God.

A Christian indeed will have peace because he'll remember that 'a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesses'. He learns to live his life irrespective of his circumstances. He's not plagued by thoughts of demonic oppressions because he knows that 'greater is he that is in him than he that is in the world'. He knows God is not a vending machine where you can get whatever catches your fancy. He's not a jackpot machine where you slot in some coins in hope of reaping profits. Such a man's faith can never suffer diminishing returns because its based on the eternal love of the father which no calamity or deprivation can sever us from.

True Christian faith isn't based on a better now but on a glorious new after.

Logicboy03: You have said it well.


I have seen people join these born again churches, that demand servitude and chastity. They tithe, donate their cars, donate slaries when the going is good......until the point of diminishing returns.....they are not getting promotions at work and so they put in more effort with praying and but nothing happens...no bountiful blessings......but their pastor convinve them to have faith and sow harder......this happens untik they become impoverish slaves of a tithe fraud preacher

Well said. I call it The Vicious Cycle of Faith.

Candour: Hmm..... Plaetton has come again with another theory.....and I must admit you're right to the extent that you mentioned the appropriate culprit: The name it and claim it prosperity theology'

The message of the cross is not the promise of a fat bank account, garage full of cars or a catapulting to high levels of influence. American pentecostals imported the american dream into the gospel to arrive at the greed and self centered 'Christianity' on display today and its unfortunate its spreading like wild fire all over Nigeria. It came to Africa and mixed with our recent superstitious past to create the mania on rampage as we see around us.

Unfortunately men and women ruled by their belly and narcissistic desires hijacked it and started peddling it to line their pockets. However the good thing is that there are still many Christians who refused to sell out and they are still leading a lot into true relationship with God.

A Christian indeed will have peace because he'll remember that 'a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesses'. He learns to live his life irrespective of his circumstances. He's not plagued by thoughts of demonic oppressions because he knows that 'greater is he that is in him than he that is in the world'. He knows God is not a vending machine where you can get whatever catches your fancy. He's not a jackpot machine where you slot in some coins in hope of reaping profits. Such a man's faith can never suffer diminishing returns because its based on the eternal love of the father which no calamity or deprivation can sever us from.

True Christian faith isn't based on a better now but on a glorious new after.

You have said it in the best way possible.

You have to agree that the true message of Christianity has almost completely drowned in these prevailing cacophonies of themes and memes.

It is quite ironical that I, an atheist who neither believes in the virgin birth, the resurrection nor the messiaship of Jesus , many times consider myself a better follower of Jesus than the millions than call upon his name everyday.

That is why for many, Jesus is nothing but a slaveship, as far as I am concerned.

The slave ship "Jesus" berths in our waters every Sunday to carry the willing slaves to the land of nowwhere.

Bump

plaetton:
The slave ship "Jesus" berths in our waters every Sunday to carry the willing slaves to the land of nowwhere.

to get crushed under metal bars