We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
On Consumerism
Werner Kunz via Compfight
As we enter the upcoming holiday season, most of us will be bombarded with advertisements attempting to convince us that what we have isn’t enough, that our lives are incomplete without the newest and most updated products, and that our main goal is to find the “perfect” gifts for everyone on our lists. We are already hearing Christmas music on the radio. “Black Friday” sales now start on Thanksgiving evening. The relentless push of consumerism sometimes feels inescapable.
In this reflection, Tony Campolo encourages Christians to push back against consumerism, which he calls “the enemy of the church”.
Here is an excerpt:
I have heard a lot of teachers condemn the secular humanism of our world. The truth is that secular humanism is not the primary enemy of the Church. Instead, the enemy of the Church isconsumerism. We have made an idol out of the things that are being sold. We bow down and worship the commodities that are paraded before us on television. We are enslaved to a mindset that tells us that we must possess more and more because we can never have enough. These are the things that are dragging us away from Jesus.
Category: General
Tags: Discipleship, Social Issues
Related Reading
Is homosexuality a sin?
There are three passages in the Old Testament (Gen. 19: 1-13; Lev 18:22; 20:13) and three in the New Testament (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; I Tim. 1:10) that have traditionally been read as prohibiting homosexuality. On top of this, the entire biblical narrative presupposes that sex is supposed to take place between a man…
Who Are the BEST Teachers of What It Means to Be a Follower of Jesus? —Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards’ ReKnew Cross Vision Conference Keynote Dennis Edwards shares a fantastic message on why, generally speaking, marginalized Christians are the best *teachers* of what it means to be a follower of Christ. ____________
Worst Sinner Award
Jesus taught: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank…
homosexuality, truth telling, and love
A Guy Taking Pictures via Compfight A couple weeks ago, we posted a portion of Greg’s sermon (and his comments) on the marriage amendment in Minnesota, homosexuality and finding a “Third Way”. Today we’re continuing the conversation by linking to a blog post by Sarah Bessey called In which I tell you the truth about…
Giant Jesus
Yesterday’s post featured a video of Greg sharing about the role of the church in manifesting God’s character to the world. Here are some follow-up thoughts on that topic. The NT often uses the metaphor of “the body of Christ” to describe the church. When Jesus walked the earth, he did so in an ordinary…
What Does it Mean to be a Disciple?
http://youtu.be/zZVBV3zByys Here’s our good friend Bruxy Cavey talking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and to call him “Lord.” It’s less than three minutes, but it’s a good reminder of what we’re doing when we enter into a submitted relationship with Jesus. Check it out!