"Consumerism...the triumphant winner of the ideological wars of the 20th century..."

Jason Clark has argued that consumerism has become the new religous zeitgeist, or as he puts it:

"...non/pre christians aren’t neutral to the Gospel, they are entrenched in a religious system as totalising as Islam or any other religion. Indeed Theocapitalism offers a way of life, that scorns any alternative. To see people come to faith in Jesus, and his mission through the church to the world, is not to make church more relevant, but to offer a new religion."

The title of this post comes from this fascinating Washington Post article: Acquiring Minds - inside America's all consuming passion which echos/supports/underpins Jason's thesis, to quote from the article:

"Consumerism was the triumphant winner of the ideological wars of the 20th century, beating out both religion and politics as the path millions of Americans follow to find purpose, meaning, order and transcendent exaltation in their lives...

Liberty in this market democracy has, for many, come to mean freedom to buy as much as you can of whatever you wish, endlessly reinventing and telegraphing your sense of self with each new purchase. Over the course of the century the culture of consumption and American life became "so closely intertwined that it is difficult for Americans to see consumerism as an ideology or to consider any serious alternatives or modifications to it," historian Gary Cross writes in An All- Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America. "This society of goods is not merely the inevitable consequence of mass production or the manipulation of merchandisers. It is a choice, never consciously made, to define self and community through the ownership of goods."

Luxury goods in particular -- from SUVs with heated leather seats to wide-screen TVs and stainless steel ranges the size of tanks -- have become such accepted symbols of the good life that they are considered must-haves, even by those who can't really afford them. The pursuit of them has become so intertwined with the pursuit of happiness that professor and author James B. Twitchell talks about the shopper's epiphany: "It's that feeling of, phew, I found it, I am saved."

In many ways I as a western christian am about as aware of my excessive consumerism as an alcoholic is to their drinking problem - 'no I have hardly drunk anything tonight, just a couple of 6 packs.'  Not only do I consume in the sense of greater happiness from the thought of having a bigger TV but how much Christian stuff do I have as well - how many bibles do I have, how much music, how many books, how much stuff full stop. 

I might feel good that I am not one of the people who belives that God wants them to be rich (as this post highlights a Time Magazine cover) but that doesn't stop me from realising my own consumeristic tendancies and how much of my own must have it baggage I expect Christ to provide/give/bless me with e.g. how often do I pray just for God to bless me and my family...

The flip side is that I am not against people being rich and having stuff I'm just challenged by the fact of what do I use my wealth for - do I bless people with what God has blessed me with or do I just use it to bless myself.  That's where I am, it has to be something of both, enjoying God's blessing but also using my money, as well as my time and energy to bless people.

Comments

[Gaty Manders]

Over at Prodigal Kiwi is a great article on the Matrix film and spiritual direction, taking as its main theme the idea of waking up to face reality and not the illusion. The more we wake up the more we notice the way our illusion is construcuted and this ties into the illusion of theocapitlaism, we wakw up to he fact that I can have more of my needs/ desirs met while people in Kenya's slums cannot afford a nutritious meal. I wake up to the fact of how darn selfish I am and have to face the reality of my woundedness. So what does that haveto say about our discipleship and being mission orientated? I wake up and notice and move to reach out in love. Stimulating thoughts and midnight musings...

[marc]

Interesting thoughts Paul. I have very little that I care about losing apart from my freinds and family. Maybe some photos, the rest is replaced if need be.

I know Jesus has provided me with what I need but not what I want. I don't really ask for much from God, forgiveness, Health & communication.

That doesnt mean I don't see stuff I want like an HD TV or an X-Box 360 but I don't need them, I'd like them so they are not really that important.

Compared to many I am rich.

[John Smulo]

Paul,

This is a powerful post. This especially grabbed me:

"In many ways I as a western christian am about as aware of my excessive consumerism as an alcoholic is to their drinking problem - 'no I have hardly drunk anything tonight, just a couple of 6 packs.'"

Ouch. That is something I need to look into the mirror a bit longer on.

[Dark horse]

Marc said " know Jesus has provided me with what I need but not what I want. I don't really ask for much from God, forgiveness, Health & communication."

I am not knocking you Marc, but when I read this I thought hmmmm, what if it wasn’t replaced though? What if god doesn’t give you health & communication….. maybe we focus on consumerism too much as things outside of daily needs….. maybe wanting a happy healthy family is just as consumeristic?

[MysticSaint]

heya man!

great article. i just wrote something on the topic and was looking for a fitting graphics. then google image took me to urs.

i used ur graphics with credit and u r welcome to read the article on spiritual materialsm there as well..

i will quote ur article sometime as well. its greatly composed.

[Paul]

thanks very much MS - glad that the post and the image was of help. I look forward to reading your post too - anything that you see differently to what is written here?