Christianity Without the Cross: Fulton J. Sheen on Suffering and Truth

A theological critique inspired by Fulton J. Sheen exposing how the prosperity gospel rejects the Cross, redemptive suffering, and authentic Christianity.

*Listening to an old, old sermon by Fulton J. Sheen.*

After all, he died 46 years ago, on my birthday.

Did I ever tell you my baptismal name is *Fulton Sheen*?

But I digress.

That sermon gave me fresh insight into Jesus’s rebuke of Peter:

 *“Get behind me, Satan.”*

Below is an edited excerpt of the sermon. Read it slowly:

Fulton Sheen: 

One analysis of the demonic is this:
the break-up of religious communities,
the fracturing of fellowship,
the shattering of the oneness of Christ.

That is one way to understand the demonic at work.
But there is a second, deeper, biblical analysis.

I take you now to the sixteenth chapter of Matthew,
where our Blessed Lord asks the most important question ever asked:

 *“Who do men say that I am?”*

Eventually, Peter gives the right answer:
 *“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”*

Then our Lord announces what must follow.

He says that He is going up to Jerusalem,
that He will be delivered over to the Gentiles,
that He will be crucified,
and that He will rise from the dead.

Peter was willing to accept a divine Christ.
But he was not willing to accept a suffering one.

The moment our Lord spoke of becoming the victim for our sins,

the moment He spoke of the Cross,
Peter protested:

 *“This shall never happen to you.”*

In effect, Peter was saying:
*We do not want that kind of Christ.*

 “Get Behind Me, Satan”

Imagine this.

Within the space of a minute and a half,
Peter goes from being blessed
to being called Satan.

Why did our Lord say this?

How could someone who had just spoken
by divine revelation
be rebuked so sharply?

To understand this,

we must go back to the beginning of our Lord’s public life,
to the three temptations presented to Him by Satan.

From those temptations, we learn something essential:

 *The essence of the satanic
 is the hatred of the Cross of Christ.*
Let that dwell in your mind.

From the biblical point of view, what is the satanic?

• Contempt for the Cross
• Resistance to redemptive suffering
• A Christ without sacrifice

*The Final Word*

The satanic is not merely immoral.
It is not merely violent.
It is not merely divisive.

At its core,
*it is anti-Cross.*

And wherever the Cross is removed,
softened,
explained away,
or replaced with comfort, power, or success....
....THERE you will find its shadow.

*End of excerpt.*

You may watch the Full sermon here:

Click: https://youtu.be/WQA9nxUtIew?si=zqW3-9j4-sCN1f9T 

Conclusion (OldManInTheMolue)

The prosperity gospel…

Because it turns God into a vending machine.

Turns faith into a transaction.

Turns suffering into a moral failure.

Because it is contempt for the Cross.

Because it resists redemptive suffering.

Because it offers Christianity without sacrifice.

It hates the Cross.

And because it hates the Cross, (that which it claims to worship)

it is a lie.... 

The Prosperity Gospel is a lie!

Hey! I’m only repeating what you know,
deep down....
In your heart,
to be true.

Have you considered that perhaps

Jesus’s strident rebuke of Peter

was meant to echo through the ages,

to keep us from falling

for the lure of Mammon?

Here’s an interesting thought I must share with you:

Jesus did not say, “You cannot serve God and the devil.”
He said instead,  *“You cannot serve God and mammon.”*

Why mammon and not devil?
I will not spell out why.
You already know the answer (If you are honest with yourself).

You always have known the answer....

Hear Fulton Sheen again:

And wherever the Cross is removed,
softened,
explained away,
or replaced with comfort, power, or success....
....THERE you will find its shadow.

The Molue is noisy,but some truths still cut through the noise.

Here's an audio-video link put together specially for you: https://youtu.be/5wEZ-mXRPlk?si=HSt3ScOBPVIjvBqY

I rest my case.

Don Kenobi

#MolueMonologues 2026

#MyFrancisEssays

#RunFromTheProsperityGospel