Style Weekly
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Consumer Mentality Clouds Christianity
I was saddened to read about the American consumer warp of Christianity ("The Soft Sell," Cover Story, Nov. 7). In a time and place where our materialism and consumption have become our No. 1 national sin, it is amazing to me that many of Jesus' own sayings are so easily overlooked.
God does indeed care about our spending habits, with the message being that of generosity and sacrifice rather than consumption and materialism. It is striking that these churches have decided that getting the message out there at all costs, even at great cost to the message itself, is not only OK but noble. They are using that which they should be preaching against to bring in people/dollars.
Jesus … challenged people to break free from the societal "norms" that they were enslaved to. I think he would urge us to throw off the shackles of consumerism and materialism ... and then proceed to overturn the money tables in churches that have made his message something to be sold.
Daniel Hershberger
Richmond
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God does indeed care about our spending habits, with the message being that of generosity and sacrifice rather than consumption and materialism. It is striking that these churches have decided that getting the message out there at all costs, even at great cost to the message itself, is not only OK but noble. They are using that which they should be preaching against to bring in people/dollars.
Jesus … challenged people to break free from the societal "norms" that they were enslaved to. I think he would urge us to throw off the shackles of consumerism and materialism ... and then proceed to overturn the money tables in churches that have made his message something to be sold.
Daniel Hershberger
Richmond
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