first, a quick summary:
chapter 1 opens the book by talking about postmodern disquiet ("in the face of the betrayals and failures of past overarching metanarratives, culturewide suspicion and incredulity takes hold...final decisions based on rational analysis give way to the indecidability of keeping all options open and the spiritual promiscuity of pop religion." p.25)
and cybernetic global optimism ("[Globalization] is a religious movement of previously unheard of proportions. Progress is its underlying myth, unlimited economic growth its foundational faith, the shopping mall its place of worship, consumerism its overriding image, 'I'll have a Big Mac and fries' its ritual of initiation, and global domination its ultimate goal." p.30)
then, brian and sylvia give us thoughts on empires (see p.31) as they relate the 2 visions.
in short, we have choices and we are obsessed with consuming stuff.
so a question i will have throughout this book is where do i find myself in this story of my/our consumption of stuff?
i mean, i love new stuff: shoes, music, books, plastic and ziploc bags...
another question i have is how are the gods i serve like the stuff i buy? one side of that is i can buy things so conveniently (i love paypal) and quickly (i can buy something in a matter of seconds from amazon or half.com. and i love that speediness and am mad when it takes longer!) do i expect God to respond to my prayers in the same way, conveniently and quickly?
Labels: chapter one
posted by banashak @ 7:09 AM
2 Comments:
Specifically the 'postmodern disquiet' and the 'global optimism' are huge concepts for me to think about. If we want to think about consumption and materialism as a new world religion, it seems to fit within the typical definition of what a religion looks like.
Does the prosperous Westerner give adoration towards possessions? I wonder how many people are going through home improvement/fashion/marriage/girlie magazines, not with the intention to buy, but because they enjoy looking at the pictures. Enjoy just looking...?
And with enough attention, power and influence and a higher "standard" of living can be gained from this deity.
I don't think its wrong to love new stuff, but what is our role as followers of Jesus? I think Ecclesiastes has the most to say to the US, that we can work hard to achieve the heights of wealth and prosperity and social class and we'll only have made misery. Towards the 'postmodern disquiet', the church has to make following God something useful. Because if its all a little peace of mind towards dying, well, nobody will care. But if it is a beacon of real solid truth, evidenced by change, I think people will come because of how desperate they are for something solid to cling to.
I guess I'm talking over and over about the church's responsibility, ours, and what not. Perhaps a more person question is: Do I adore the things that I wish to have?
And if its only a question of not adoring our possessions, does this leave room for possessions which are inherently evil? IE: My $50K speedboat was my pride and joy, till I understood it as a 'gift from the lord'.
as my husband and i are in the midst of working on our new home, i am constantly struggling with what does it look like to be a good steward of our resources. we may have the means to buy new furniture or shiny new appliances, but what is necessary? how can i justify spending $600 for one chair when three blocks over there are families who have to choose between buying food, paying for their bills, or clothing themselves? i find even just looking at the pottery barn magazines (or the number of other catalogs that were saturated with) causes me to believe that is what my home should look like...the pictures depict happiness, warmth, community. the magazines won't show you families that are trapped in boredom, apathy, or bitterness because their flatscreen tv didn't bring fulfillment to their lives.
how does adoration look differently than worshiping our possessions? do you mean to use adoration similarly to gratitude?
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