I’m on a roll with the issues today.
“From Christ’s Church to iChurch: How Consumerism Undermines Our Faith and Community”
The link (I can’t believe I just linked to Christianity Today).
A few quotes:
“When we approach Christianity as consumers rather than seeing it as a comprehensive way of life, an interpretive set of beliefs and values, Christianity becomes just one more brand we consume along with Gap, Apple, and Starbucks to express identity. And the demotion of Jesus Christ from Lord to label means to live as a Christian no longer carries an expectation of obedience and good works, but rather the perpetual consumption of Christian merchandise and experiences—music, books, t-shirts, conferences, and jewelry.”
“Approaching Christianity as a brand (rather than a worldview) explains why the majority of people who identify themselves as born-again Christians live no differently than other Americans. According to George Barna, most churchgoers have not adopted a biblical worldview, they have simply added a Jesus fish on the bumper of their unregenerate consumer identities. As Mark Riddle observes, ‘Conversion in the U.S. seems to mean we’ve exchanged some of our shopping at Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Borders for the Christian bookstore down the street. We’ve taken our lack of purchasing control to God’s store, where we buy our office supplies in Jesus name.’ ”
“In every aspect of the religious life, American faith has met American culture—and American culture has triumphed.”
“According to Finke and Stark, the American church adopted a consumer-driven model because the First Amendment prohibited state-sanctioned religion. Therefore, faith, like the buying of material goods, became a matter of individual choice and self-expression. And ‘where religious affiliation is a matter of choice, religious organizations must compete for members and … the ‘invisible hand’ of the marketplace is as unforgiving of ineffective religious firms as it is of their commercial counterparts.’ “
Dude. If this at all interests (or perhaps outright disgusts) you, you should totally read the whole article. I love the line about the Jesus fish.
***update***
perhaps this is one reason I feel so out of sync with so many people who call themselves Christians and I identify more with many people who don’t. many of my friends are people whose religious and spiritual beliefs are vastly different than my own, yet despite our core beliefs we can (1) have intelligent, respectful conversation about those beliefs and (2) care about many of the same issues. I still disagree with many of my friends on many issues as well, as i assume will be evident from my previous post… and okay, I no longer know what iI’m saying. someone help me out here. what? oh yeah. it’s articles like this that make me feel more connected to my non-Christian friends than most Christians I know.
it also makes me very glad that the people who follow Jesus that I have made efforts to get to know (I will purposefully not lump them into the “Christian” category as a way to distinguish them - you all know who you are) see the fault with consumerism and it’s soul-sucking effect on the Church.
that’s not all said very well, sorry. mostly just some though vomit for you.
July 26th, 2006 at 7:05 am
Wow, is THAT what we’re doing wrong? We need a new marketing strategy…
Ooh! We could make one of those dreamy commercials where people are sailboarding or mountain biking, or doing other things that people with genital herpes or erectile dysfunction apparently love to do… and then we could have the silky-smooth voiceover lady say, “Jesus said, ‘I have come that you may have life, and life abundantly!’ Follow Jesus today!” Then, like in the pharmaceutical ads, there would be the quick and hushed disclaimer: “Following Jesus may have side effects, including being ostracized from your family or being asked to give up all your worldly possesions. Exile or beheading may also occur. Small children should only follow Jesus under the care of a licensed pastor.”
Marketing as we understand it has to be one of the most insidious Trojan horses the modern-day church ever accepted from the devil… didn’t any of these people ever read The Screwtape Letters, where the demon Wormwood is instructed to encourage his “patient” to become a connoisseur of churches so that he will lose focus on God?
Please forgive the mini-blog. Be a dear and help an old friend down from her soapbox…
July 26th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
selling seats through god
this was just on marketplace. i’m a little pained.
July 27th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
It is beyond me why people are not taking this issue seriously. I have conversation after conversation with folks about this and their like “Yeah, so . . .” Thanks for the link Kristen. I will add this to my resource list no one wants to read.
greg