"Christian-ese" Redux

Reader Louise  (at Jimmy Akin's blog) has asked in relation to this previous post;

"But what about the Christian pop music, and the hat with IHS on it? Are these things bad now? So that we have to beg God's forgiveness for this "rot"?"

A fair question, and one difficult - or rather impossible - to answer directly. I'm certainly not interested in even beginning to say "Well, you shouldn't listen to this, but I think it's okay to listen to that..." or "wearing Christian symbols on clothing is a compromise with the consumer culture, and is therefore bad". Everything depends on the individual's determination (or lack of same) to live a life radically committed to the Gospel.

It comes down to a matter of perspective. Is our faith just "part of a well-rounded life", or is it the organizing principle that gives meaning to everything else? The question might be framed this way; if not for the ICTHUS emblem on the car, or the IHS hat, or the bible verse t-shirt, how would your neighbors, your friends, your community recognize your lifestyle as especially Christian? If these things didn't exist, what is it about you that would make people know you were a committed follower of Christ?

Keep in mind that in saying "God forgive us" for these kinds of things, I am praying mostly for myself, having been in a position to contribute to the mess by designing Christian T-shirts and other knick-knacks for several years. The horror, for me, would be that anyone could truly say, "You can always tell a Christian becasuse they have little bible verses on their knick-knacks".

Yes, I do think we need to ask God's forgiveness for the extent of the compromises we have made with the prevailing consumer culture (mostly without even thinking), and we need to look hard at our relationship to the wider culture, but much of the responsibility lies with Christian artisans of every stripe to dig deeper, reach higher and not settle for mediocrity by merely putting a Christian spin on a material culture. This might mean having to work a lot harder, it might mean walking away from a job opportunity. It might mean lots of things.

Catholic artisans in particular have a rich and ancient tradition of excellence to build on... we should ask ourselves, where is today's Pieta? Chartres Cathedral? Mass in C minor? Crucifixion of St. Peter? If we don't create the masterpieces of our age, who will? (...and again, I'm mainly talking to myself, here)

I don't want to be guilty of making the perfect the enemy of the good, but from my perspective it looks much more likely in our culture that the good has been seriously undermined by the "good enough". Am I being a little hard-assed about it? Yeah, maybe.

I was once much more involved in Christian Retail, which meant getting a good look behind the scenes at how Christian products are developed for the mass market (a process which, like the making of laws and sausages, one might not really want to see). Part of this involved attending a massive Christian products convention in Dallas one year. I have to say, the reality of the sheer amount of money flying around, the slick marketing, the celebrity culture, opportunism, etc... I found disturbing. I heard a reliable report that one Captain of Christian Industry took some visiting manufacturers (atheist foreigners, which is not their fault) out to a strip club. Why? Because they would like him, they would feel like they were buddies, they would be impressed, they would be easier to work with.

But for every lap dance proffered at such a gathering , there are a hundred very expensive steak dinners, rental limos, pricey gift bags and the like. It is (I believe) fundamentally a culture of materialism, with a Christian gloss. This is not to say it is this way in every single case, only to say that I found a disturbing materialist atmosphere prevalent in that Christian marketplace. Were there good points, as well? Sure, and I could name some for which I was grateful. But the overall tenor of the thing was... creepy.

I tried to imagine Jesus walking the aisles of the cavernous convention floor, and decided pretty quickly that had he been there in person, he would have slipped out quietly and would likely as not have been talking to the homeless guy at the roadside who we passed on the way in. I, myself, couldn't leave without breaking a lot of commitments. I consider that I "left" that place over the next several years.

Comments

[Joe]

Tim: I am currently reading Russell Kirk's "Redeeming the Time". If you aren't familiar with it, I suggest you take a look. He wrote much about these problems.

[pNielsen]

Good stuff. The commenter's question makes me think of two things. First, Betty Spackman's book A Profound Weakness: Christians and kitsch.

Secondly, part of the nastiness we're reacting to is the lack of imagination and creativity in these kinds of objects. So many of them are mere copies of existing commercial ideas, which is not something to brag about.

I particularly like this pp:
"The question might be framed this way; if not for the ICTHUS emblem on the car, or the IHS hat, or the bible verse t-shirt, how would your neighbors, your friends, your community recognize your lifestyle as especially Christian? If these things didn't exist, what is it about you that would make people know you were a committed follower of Christ?"

[e.]

Tim J.,

"It comes down to a matter of perspective. Is our faith just "part of a well-rounded life", or is it the organizing principle that gives meaning to everything else? The question might be framed this way; if not for the ICTHUS emblem on the car, or the IHS hat, or the bible verse t-shirt, how would your neighbors, your friends, your community recognize your lifestyle as especially Christian? If these things didn't exist, what is it about you that would make people know you were a committed follower of Christ?"

Are you really serious about this?

I have seen folks do the very things you mention here as well as wear such faddish things as WWJD bracelets; however, many of these folks I've met tend to be the worse hypocrites, self-righteously judging other folks, putting people down while taking such occasions as opportunities for self-aggrandizement; in other words, these are the very ones who not only contradict the very things they supposedly represent with such accessories, bumperstickers and the like but they tend to turn off not only non-Christians from hearing the Gospel of Christ but also even Christians themselves.

I would rather have folks that sincerely live out their faith in action rather than in mere advertisement.

The folks in the former seem more convincing a demonstration of genuine belief in the Gospel of Christ so much so that they actually live out Christianity in their own lives rather than in flaunting some rather disingenuous advertisement that, for the most part, serves as a sign that says "I'm better than you!".

[Tim J.]

"I would rather have folks that sincerely live out their faith in action rather than in mere advertisement."

That was my point.

[Del]

"Everything depends on the individual's determination (or lack of same) to live a life radically committed to the Gospel." - Tim J.

Jesus warned us specifically NOT to flaunt our faith in public, if all we seek is approval from other Christians.

On the other hand, the right curios or trinkets or bumper stickers can be a reminder to the world -- and perhaps a chance to evangelize.

I just try to remember why I'm wearing an emblem before I put it on.