Glocal Christianity

Parents splashing out on ‘manger chic’ for nativity plays

This is the sort of thing I am used to reading in Lark News or Ship of Fools.

"Competitive parents are spending as much as £150 on luxury items to make sure their child is the best dressed Mary or wise man in the school nativity play ... 'The amount of money that some parents want to spend on their child’s nativity play appearance would enable Baby Jesus to leave the stable and check into a five star hotel,” said spokesman Ed Watson.'"

But no, this report comes from Christian Today. Sheesh, how can you keep satire edgy when real life keeps trumping it! I think I hear Jesus slapping his forehead in heaven.

Related links:

Santa Jesus art 

Unity in Community

What does it mean to be a unified Christian community? It's interesting to note that when the issue of unity comes up in the Acts of the Apostles, musical conformity NEVER rates a mention. Nor does language, dress, social structure or even, dare I say it, theology.

So what does rate a mention? Read it for yourself, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

To be unified was to share one hope and one wallet, to share one love and one way of life.

In a sense I exaggerate, there is a sort of theological conformity expected here. But it's  theology of a very basic and very practical kind, a theology that requires no college degrees, that even a child can understand. To be unified as Christians means to trust in Christ and to live like Christ, together, with one another. Our unity should be gauged by how we live Monday, not by how we sing Sunday.

Countercultural Economics

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

We’re often warned, when approaching the book of Acts, that it’s descriptive not prescriptive, that it’s an account of how some Christians lived, not a command for how all Christians should live, that we need to respect the genre. I agree - that is a sound rule of interpretation. But are you disturbed, as I am, when Christians use that truth to dodge the questions the account raises? Oh, it’s not a command, phew!

This may not be prescriptive for everybody, but is it okay for it to describe nobody? This may not be prescriptive for everybody, but does that make Christ irrelevant to how we do business? How we run the economy? How we consume? How we respond to world poverty? How we invest?

Communal living is not for me, but in my own life I am exploring what it means to participate in the gift economy. Yesterday, I decided to give away my fish tank as soon as my last fish dies. So, rather than try to sell it off on eBay or ditch it or something I put up a message on Facebook. Within hours another member of our local Christian community had very keenly put his hand up. Some months ago we did the same thing with a fridge. We benefit ourselves from this informal gift economy through hand me down kids clothes, toys and videos. It saves on landfill, saves us money and, more importantly, teaches me heaps on what it means to live as family, to live in community. This giving often spills over to the nonChristians who surround us. Giving has a multiplication effect.

Giving is part of our worship on Sunday, but how we worship one day should not be disconnected from how we live everyday. As I understand it, Sunday should be a climax, not a contradiction.

Church-Business Separation

In past eras Christians did some careful thinking about church-state separation. In our era I think we need some careful thinking about church-business separation. What does it mean to be "in the market, but not of the market"?

Who said Fair Trade was mean't to be easy?

Last week one of the women in our local Christian community brought my attention to an article highlighting how a large number of the Make Poverty History wristbands were manufactured in sweatshots. This has lead to subsequent discussions in our discipleship group about how hard it is to unravel the systemic exploitation we are all caught up in, in this consumer society of ours. I think though, that the first step is raising awareness.

Life Transformation, Death Transformation

Some time ago Jolly Blogger posted this picture under and accompanying text under the title of "failed gospel tract".

Not sure I'd call it a failure. It shows up the unbiblical saccharine of the prosperity gospel well enough. 

Buying Fairtrade

Have you ever considered what it means to consume fairly? Over the last few weeks Pendle Hill Baptist Church has been participating in Baptist World Aid's 50:50 program, which is aimed at engaging 50,000 Australian households in the blessing of 50,000 poor households.

Last Sunday the focus was on the Christian commitment to consuming fairly...

...and the fair trade movement.

So I thought I'd draw attention to some of the resources available online. The Fairtrade Labelling Organization writes, "Buying Fairtrade products is a powerful way to support producers in developing countries. Fairtrade helps workers and farmers to earn a decent living and secure a better life for themselves."

If you’re interested in buying Fairtrade, the links below should help you.

• What fairtrade products can I buy?

• Where can I buy fairtrade products?

• How do I recognize a fairtrade product?

You can also view some videos on fairtrade at Oxfam.

So, what's your thoughts on fair trade?

Selling Jesus: "Christian" Consumerism

A conversation on "Christian" consumerism

Glocal giving

The ironies of the internet age. Yesterday I gave away a fridge on facebook. We had one to give away but were not sure who might need it, so we broadcasted. As it turned out, there was a family who responded from just a few houses down the street. I went global to find it was needed local. Thing was, unless I had I might not have found out. Have you ever had any experiences like this?

Fad Driven Church

You've heard of the purpose driven church, but are we entering the age of the fad driven church? Todd Wilken thinks so and says the fad-driven church undermines the gospel. See what you think. I don't think he has sufficient appreciation for the difficulties of cross cultural communication but there are some lessons here all the same. Oh, and for something lighter check out accepting Jesus Christ as your own personal shopper

The trend we have in Jesus

I recently stumbled across an article by Bryan Patterson on "The trend we have in Jesus", which had a number of astute observations about Christianity and consumerism.

The pretext is the new political satire by Roland Merullo, American Savior. Here are a number of comments that stuck out for me:

Of course, the story is implausible but it does point to the problems popular culture has in dealing with serious spiritual subjects.

Not even Christian filmmakers have really managed to deal with serious spiritual themes.

In the beginning, Jesus was an outcast - misunderstood and punished for it. These days he is a pop culture icon; not so much an outcast, but still misunderstood.

Nichols surveyed popular Christian radio hits and concluded: "Like a good boyfriend, Jesus shows up at the right moment, says the right thing and knows how to hug."

Jesus never taught or believed in compromise. But many people are satisfied with a lukewarm, human Jesus who doesn't challenge them too much.

I would be interested in hearing your reflections:

• What's your thoughts on Christian consumerism and the consumer friendly Christ?

• Is the emerging-missional movement the answer, or has it even fueled Christian consumer faddishness?

• What do you think the way forward is?

Joel Osteen coming to Hillsong Conference

It has come to my attention that Hillsong Church has invited Word of Faith teachers Joel Osteen and Jentezen Franklin as keynote speakers for Hillsong Conference 09. I find this very interesting as it suggests that, increased commitments to charity aside, Hillsong are still very much captive to the 'name it and claim it' prosperity gospel.

Here are a few quotes from Osteen on prosperity and positive confession:

“I look at the great truths of Almighty God and with the sixth sense in my spirit man, I believe I have a consciousness that they are mine. I see and believe salvation is mine. Healing is mine. Prosperity is mine. All of God’s blessings are mine. On the basis of this information from the sixth sense of faith, I can confidently say, ‘I am healed! I am blessed! I am redeemed! I am prosperous!’” (Joel Osteen, The Quarterly Journal, October-December 2004, Vol. 24, No. 4, 15)

You can cancel out God’s plan by speaking negative words. God works by laws. (Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)

You’ve got to speak it out. Your words have creative power. One of the primary ways we release our faith is through our words. There is a divine connection between you declaring God’s favor and seeing God’s favor manifested in your life. And some of you are doing your best to please the Lord. You are living a holy consecrated life, but you’re not really experiencing God’s supernatural favor. And it’s simply because you’re not declaring it. You’ve got to give life to your faith by speaking it out. (Joel Osteen, audio clip from Bible Answer-Man Broadcast, April 26, 2004).

Start calling in divine health. Start calling in abundance. You can prophesize your future. (Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)

To me this all just seems like a baptized version of esoteric New Thought teaching. Consumerism in spiritual clothing. I wonder what Osteen makes of The Secret?

Related articles:

Joyce Meyer and Positive Confession

Kids Worship The Jesus Phone

Image from Wired

Am I the only one on the planet who finds the iPod hype just a little overrated? I mean, its not the second coming ... or is it?

The Resurrection and the Perennial Philosophy

Here’s why I think the project of “demythologizing” Christianity is misdirected.

Having studied many religions and the many difficulties that many people have with Christianity it strikes me that the deepest objections that most people have to the resurrection as history are not scientific … but philosophical.

What do I mean? Well just this, that I have come across numerous people who are otherwise accepting of magic, divination, ghosts, energy healing and all sorts of “unscientific” phenomena, who nevertheless find the resurrection of Jesus highly implausible. Quite simply, the resurrection is not compatible with the perennial philosophy - it is too exclusive, it is too unique.

While most scholars searching for the “historical Jesus” may think they are engaged in a scientific quest, the vast bulk of their readers are not, they are on a philosophical quest for Jesus who does not conflict with the Perennial Philosophy. Sure there are genuine atheists out there, but they are the minority. Whether Jesus does miracles or not is not the most significant concern for most, what is, is that any aura of exclusivity or uniqueness is neutralized. Jesus is perfectly acceptable to consumer society as one amongst many ascended masters or one amongst many gods or one amongst many gurus. What is NOT acceptable is a challenge to consumer sovereignty, to consumer choice.

If you accept that then it should become clear that Christians who think a “scientized” Jesus will renew Christianity are barking up the wrong tree. Science is a secondary issue here - it is merely a means to an end where any means will do. What people are seeking is a low commitment Jesus, one who demands nothing but does everything to satisfy consumer demands. Catering to such tastes will not lead to a renewal of Christianity. If we acknowledge that Christ is the centre of Christianity, then any marginalization of Christ represents the disintegration of Christianity. It’s like talking of Hinduism without karma or reincarnation, or Buddhism without the four noble truths and eightfold path, the conversation becomes meaningless.

What I think needs to be recognized is that, yes, Christianity is incompatible with any system that requires the marginalization of Christ. If that warrants its rejection by consumer culture, if that means Christianity will become increasingly marginalized in Europe, America and Australia as a consequence, well that’s just a consequence we have to live with. Allow people the option of rejection. Christian integrity is more important than Christian influence.

Prosperity Theology Impoverishes Us

I am not always a Mark Driscoll fan but I think he's right on the money with this one.