Commercializing Christianity
The Artifact- Billboards are a key element of advertising, but there is a specific one I would like to write about. On highway 67 there is a church that has a big billboard, with an interesting message for all the people passing by. It shows the newly built church building, and the pastors face with a message saying, “A work of God, Activated by our Faith”
The Message- This billboard is just begging to be interpreted, and I feel there are many conclusions that can come from reading this billboard, and maybe even perhaps I am taking out of context what was written. Never the less, Materialism is found in this billboard, especially with the images. When a church purchases the rights to a billboard, they have the right to put up whatever they want. Rather than putting a verse that will make people think, or asking a deep theological question that begs the reader to think about eternity, this church has decided to put their brand new building as the base of their fellowship, rather than the risen Christ. I cannot understand how a group of Christians can accept this decision of leadership, to put their building on the fore-front of their community outreach, rather than using the Gospel as a means of outreach. This also brings up a similar topic that was brought up earlier in a previous journal entry (see: Onward toy Christian soldiers). There is a movement that is slowly crippling the Bride of Christ, and it’s a capitalist idea, that Churches must compete with each other in order to have the largest congregation. I couldn’t help but think, instead of that church having a billboard, there would have been perhaps a fast food restaurant doing the exact same thing- pitching something to lure the co...
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... put under the falsehood that God doesn’t care at all about even his existence. My parents tell me that he is hurting, and I know it, but he cannot (I have told him this) tell God what he wants and expect it the next day. Name it and claim it theology has had an influence on my family for some time, but whenever I am asked about Christianity, they notice that my theology is much different than most of the pastors that they listen to. My family is a strong, Christian family, it’s just that they have been at times, deceived by false doctrines, but I feel they are close to coming out of it. I have strongly encouraged better pastors for them to listen to, referred good books, and tried to teach them some of the things that I have learned so that they will not be so easily swayed by those that bring false news rather than the Good News.
Southland Christian Church, one of several worship centers in the United States that has earned the moniker “Six Flags over Jesus,” is Lexington’s largest megachurch. With a weekly attendance of 8,000 people and an operating budget that supports a staff of over eighty members, Southland far exceeds most U.S. congregations in terms of financial resources and social clout. In recent years, popular and scholarly studies have attempted to situate the megachurch movement within a broad cultural context. Although the majority of these analyses dispute the precise definition of a megachurch, most distinguish these multiplex sanctuaries from smaller worship communities by using the same criteria—i.e. weekly attendance, campus acreage, annual budget, etc.—that megachurches themselves draw on to represent their own success. [2] However, the essence of a megachurch is not its large buildings, but rather the theology of consumption that informs its programming.[3] In this way, a megachurch ethos has infiltrated even the smallest congregations in the United States and has helped to solidify Christianity’s inextricable connection to consumer capitalism. To those who see megachurches as symptomatic of a flawed Christianity, market-minded church growth confounds one of the faith’s oldest dualities, the contradiction of living in the world without conforming to its ways, as Paul puts it in Romans 12. Megachurches at once reject “the world” and participate in it by seeking to win the lost and wow the consumer at the same time.
As I continued to chat with my pastor that day, I really sensed the hurt in his eyes – the anger that comes from an unsolvable injustice, the tiredness of a problem. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked, “Having a bad day?” Sensing that I was truly concerned, he let the truth be told. “I talked with a woman today whose baby died suddenly of unknown causes. As we worked through her grief, she talked about how numerous friends and family, even a religious leader had patted her on the back, shook their heads and said, ‘It was God’s will.’ I find few things worse to say to a grieving parent. Saying nothing at all would be of more help.” It was obvious from our conversation that he had an understanding greater than I about God’s will, and his insight created in me a curiosity and desire to learn more.
The sanctuary was bare, and the pews hard. I mentally tallied a comparison between my own church's sanctuary and this. The two, I found, were similarly austere, but with theirs tending toward items of religious kitsch and our own tending instead towards polished brass. Both lacked stained glass in the windows. I suspected, however, that where our sanctuary was plain in token tribute to the long-dead strict streak of our Calvinist tradition, theirs was bare because it could not economically be otherwise. And the lack of air conditioning ! Memphis' summer heat is unbearable and pervasive, and a roof overhead does nothing against the big blanket of humid air.
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
What aspects of the artifact do you plan to analyze?: I would analyze how the men are being suppressed, how they are deemed as incompetent. I would compare the view of men in this commercial to that of hegemonic beliefs. Show the difference between the two, and yet how they are both
Portrayal of Christianity in the Media In this piece of coursework I am going to write an essay about how Christianity is portrayed in the media. I'm going to write about mainstream shows such as Songs of Praise and Paradise found. I am also going to write about how a Christian issue is dealt with on Eastenders which was Euthanasia. Then I am going to write about how Homosexuality is looked upon in the film Philadelphia.
In my aunt’s case, she, too, was completely turned off to the gospel. At her husband’s funeral, two or three nuns came up to her and attempted to witness to her. Attempted mind you. What may or may not shock some people (however not surprising to me), was that they blatantly told my aunt that her husband went to hell. Again, this is at her funeral. I do not know if he did or did not believe in Christ as his Savior-I was too young at the time-but what an unfortunate way to let her know about the grace of God. It is no wonder she is still turned off to the gospel to this day.
In today’s world, people in general like to keep up with the latest things such as gadgets like the iPhone. They tend to spend an ample amount of time on their gadgets or whatever the latest item is instead of dedicating their time to the more important things. During family dinners, everyone is usually on their phones. People may prefer to spend a day at the mall instead of volunteering. High credit card bills can result from spending so much money on the new things rather than paying bills. The social pressure to keep up with these material items has an effect on quality bonding time which has an effect on money. Consumerism actually sets a person against oneself because of the never-ending mission to acquire material objects therefore people should not concentrate their religious faith in materialism.
The Commercialization of Christmas In my opinion I think Christmas is fine the way it is, although Christmas is the festival in which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. The word `Christmas' means the `Mass of Christ' and refers to the Mass which is celebrated on Christmas Day which the majority of people forget. Many in today's society consider that Christmas has become too commercialised and that the real meaning of Christmas has been lost. In our nation, 1/3rd of all shopping and over 2/3rds of all electrical goods are bought in the period before Christmas. More alcohol is consumed over the period than the rest of the year and after Christmas more people seek counselling for problems.
The video describes how our society may not even care about the product being advertised, but we still read the billboard or watch the commercial. Also mentioned was the use of colors in a commercial, the marketing effects in politics, and even market research obtained by studying different cults. Frontline takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar “persuasion industries” of advertising and how this rhetoric affects everyone. So whether this is in the form of a television commercial or a billboard, pathos, logos, and ethos can be found in all advertisements.
Those of us, who believe in Jesus, decide to set a date aside I honour
I’m not going to lie to you (and I don’t think pastor Char will be opposed to me telling the truth) -I went to her in desperation. I don’t know what it is about the “pastor” title, but I guess you just assume that they will instantly make everything better. Alas my assumptions failed me, Pastor Char did not have an answer to all the problems consuming my life or magic prayer that cured everything ailing me, but she did have a good dose of something that I think a lot of people need-honesty. I know it sounds crazy, but Pastor Char does not know everything. Fortunately she does have great insight, and I as I have found that I am not the only one in a bit of a faith struggle I have decided to share what I found with you. Bad advice is still advice, so take it for what it is and enjoy my pearls of knowledge (with a little help form Pastor Char).
...ollowing in my sister's footsteps, I began learning from her experiences. We tread lightly around the subject of the religion these days. Thankfully, there are no wild debates at the dinner table on holidays. We respect one another's beliefs and agree to disagree about them. She often tells me, "You should come to my church!" when I call her seeking sisterly advice or needing a sympathetic ear. I have attended her church and admire how she's strengthened her parish and community. That's more inspirational to me than any Sunday sermon - as she is one who sincerely lives in the word, even when it's difficult for her.
His church is a “good sized” suburban church that has been around for 295 years. He describes the parishioners as having a “broad tent” of theological views. This congregation is open to new ideas and re-visiting the old. They appear to be carrying out intentional missional work in their community
Which brings me to Fowler’s Theory of Faith Development, specifically Individual-Reflective Faith which occurs in early adulthood. Growing up as a family we went to church every Sunday and sometimes even twice a week, everyone in my family was a catholic and that was expected from all of us, no questions asked. I even got baptized as a baby and did my first communion when I was about nine years old. I did not mind the expectation from my family when I was little because I loved church, especially the singing. Then came a time where both of my parents started to work on Sundays, so did my sister, and so my brother and I helped out at my parents restaurant. Ever since then we really have not made church a priority, I believe this is what effected my encounter with my mother when I was eighteen years old. I was currently taking a class called “religion in the modern world” and learned about all rituals and how different religions support different things than others, and it got to me to reflect on what religion I grew up learning about. Some things I liked and some things I was horrified by. So talking to my mother, I was telling her my opinions and what I believed in and that there is not just one way to believe or think. She was furious, I was stepping out of the norm, but it had been because of my Individual-Reflective Faith than lead me to this stage. I am very thankful I was able to reflect on my faith, I now have a stronger bond on my beliefs and now my mother totally supports me on it, so it was all for the best that I went through this