(One of the things I’m learning is that there are a lot of really good bloggers out there. Jim Collins blogs at “Viewed Skewed” and has a great perspective on things. Here’s one of his recent posts.)
I have not forgotten the Reformation adage of showing unity in the essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all things. But I wonder if all things means literally everything, or does this apply only to theological matters? I hope it is the latter, because I have trouble being charitable toward some things.
De gustibus non est disputandum. There is no accounting for taste. When the matter boils down to a difference in tastes, there is no point in arguing further. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So I hereby apologize in advance, not for my opinion, but for offending you, if such be the case, by condemning what I consider trash but what you might hold dear.
I am talking about Christian arts, crafts, and gifts. I received a catalog today from a reputable Christian book retailer. This was the Christmas gifts catalog. I was shocked by some of the things I saw.
Of course there were books, Bibles, CDs and DVDs. No surprise. And the usual: mugs, watches, and pens with crosses or fish silhouettes embossed on them. And the unusual: sword-like letter openers with Hebrews 4:12 engraved on them and 6-penny-nail cross pendants.
In the ‘questionable usefulness’ department are the rainbow Bible tabs, over-the-ear booklights, and multi-function Bible study pens featuring black pen, mechanical pencil, and red underliner.
In the ‘dollar store truckload sale’ section are resin and pewter sculptures and ornaments that, despite the Christmas themes, give black-velvet Elvis paintings a real run for their money. I think I even saw a velvet painting with an apocalyptic theme.
My favorite department was the ‘Christianity held captive by the culture’ collection of urban thug hoodies with inspirational messages and scripture verses printed on them. I liked the Bible Baseball and Bible Sudoku games too. I was especially intrigued by the Guitar Praise knockoff of Guitar Hero where you rock-till-you-drop just like the teen toker next door, only to the tunes of the Newsboys and Superchick.
Then there was the truly disgusting stuff, especially the all-weather door mat with Joshua 24:15 woven into it. The description said it has a recycled rubber base, but it did not say if it was for cleaning muddy shoes before entering or for shaking the dust off your feet when leaving.
Biggest misnomer today: Christian Book Store.
Better name: Jesus Junk House.
Used to make me mad when my kids were small. I could go to Walmart and buy a set of armor for 7.95. But when I went to the “Christian Book Store” they had the SAME ARMOR called “The Armor of God.” The “Christian” version of the 7.95 Walmart armor cost 20 bucks.
My kids are grown, but I’m still working through the bitterness.
Very funny Dave! Don’t you know that there is gold in “dem der pews”?
I must admit, I did buy the Bible tabs in the ‘rose’ color. I bought them because I was forever mangling the 1st John, 2nd John, and 3rd John pages of my Bible. What a disappointment. The tab says ‘1-3 John’! I give up. There is a sucker born every minute, and I fell right into that trap. God help me **sigh**.
One bit of Bible stuff that I have found very helpful is those non-bleed-through retractable Bible markers CBD used to sell (maybe they still do). They are basically just crayons in a plastic pen, but they are very helpful. Four colors and they really don’t bleed through.
Useful Jesus Junk.
Jim – great article.
I should be mad a Dave for stealing a phrase I’m sure I coined: Jesus junk. (then again, I’m pretty convinced I coined the term “glare ice”)
There are few places I find more oppressing and discouraging than a Christian bookstore. My views on “witness-wear” are well known at my church.
Even with bibles: Women’s bibles, men’s bibles, children’s bibles, patriot bibles, hunter’s bibles, trucker’s bibles. It sucks the life right out of me.
You’ve heard the argument: When I’m writing with my WWJD pen or chewing on a testamint, someone may ask me about it and I will get to lead them to Christ, and if it only works once, that still justifies an entire industry of the most phenomenally tacky and useless crap imaginable.
Did you also invent the internet just before Algore?
One line that really irritates me, “If just one soul is reached, its all worthwhile.”
If we spend big bucks and extensive man hours, maybe we should look for ways to reach more than one soul.
Bill Mac,
Sorry, but I stole your “glare ice” term a couple of weeks ago when the stuff took me off the roadway.
I don’t mind “witness-wear” depending on the stuff, but I was a youth pastor for 15 years and probably too hip for my own good at the time. Any witness wear I buy now costs $5 at Wal-Mart when I see something good.
And I am right with you on the insane number of “specialty” Bibles. We have lost our mind.
First time I ran into this hustle was as a small child listening to a AM radio outdoors. It was a “phony” preacher broadcasting from Del Rio , Texas ( probably Mexico across the river) selling, get this, ” A genuine imitation piece of the cross”. And if you ordered fast he would do a lot of things like including a special “prayer cloth”. I was young but baptised and this was my first realization that people using things Holy would lie and cheat. Now fast forward a bunch of years and at a SBC Baptist Revival by a real and respected visiting preacher, who after he finished preaching, and from the pulpit started hocking his “best ever” tapes & Cd’s. I got up and walked out. When he came out I expressed to him my views to which he basically said he could use the money. We can do better.
I laughed out loud at this one because just yesterday in my sermon I made a comment about pastors who hock “prayer cloths.” If someone wanted a collection of my “best ever” sermons, I might be tempted to pay them for the compliment. 🙂
I didn’t even start recording my sermons until one nice couple that had to move to another town said how much they missed hearing me preach. I think the real reason was that I helped them go to sleep.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great to sell you work but not from the pulpit. A simple statement about them being available in some location would suffice.
Jack, I’m not sure that you are getting the gist of Jeff’s comment.
Dave, I think Jeff is using satire and I believe I understand him. I also wanted to be clear that to sell ones work in my opinion is O.K. Just from Where is what’s important to me.
I think we were tracking pretty close to one another on this one. Frankly, I would be shocked if someone wanted to buy a collection of my sermons. It never occurred to me to sell them before. My music on the other hand… well, no one has ever asked to buy that either, but they have asked for a CD of it before.
Dave, Remember now this didn’t happen from a normal Sunday sermon but from a Revival where there are other rules in play. And the sermons are good, and a tape or CD can come in handy say driving between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay where there is no radio station coverage – but ALL the rules of decorum shouldn’t be broken. Recently I found the spell check. Isn’t that nice.
Excellent article. I know I say that about every article on here, but really, it’s true. Jim, you’ve got a vivid writing style that directly communicates to your readers.
Like everyone else so far, I too am disgusted by all of it. Frankly, I have a hard time calling a Christian book retailer “reputable” when many of the books they sell range from unbiblical self-help psychobabble to outright heresies. I often wonder what non-Christians would think if they walk into a store (or read a catalog) and see all the books about how messed up Christians seem to be. “Jesus junk” isn’t just keychains and trinkets.
P.S.: Let’s not forget that so much of the kitsch is mass-produced by slave labor in countries often hostile to Christianity. *Ugh*
Anthony Russo , Stuff produced by not only Slave labor as you said but this sadly includes Child labor which we outlawed years ago.
You’ve hit the serious side of this issue. We often don’t see people think twice about it, but even some of Lifeway’s VBS material is produced in China. I wonder if we actually checked into conditions?
And yet I’ve heard, and this is disturbing, the whole situation rationalized as “at least the workers will be exposed to the Gospel somehow!” Right. And taking your slaves to church made slavery ok, didn’t it? No, probably not.
But my life has gotten so much better since I put my Prayer of Jabez plaque back up in the house I’m desperately trying to sell before it gets foreclosed on!!!
And yes, I nearly misspelled “plaque” as “plague” and I think it would have improved the meaning.
Doug
You can’t sell the house, that would be “shrinking your borders.” The plaque will surely prevent such a plague.
Sorry, I can’t resist piling on this one. Another problem with selling the house is that you might be left with just a Shack.
Me-Shack or abendigo ?
I’ve got too much electronic junk from “The Shack!”
I have an exposition of Proverbs that I have been trying to publish. thought maybe I’d rename it “The Proverbs of Jabez” and see how I could enlarge my tents that way.
Yet it’s on the far side of the river, and I will not go back that way, for it has been a marvelous deliverance to get me here anyway!
Lay up not for yourself treasures on earth, where moth, rust, thieves, and bankers take it away…
I think that Jim’s post has activated the sarcasm button amongst us.
Good times.
Frankly, my sarcasm button is generally stuck in the on position anyway. I have to work hard to overcome it.
I get nervous around people who don’t get sarcasm!
I’ve officially declared this “Sarcasm Monday”
Sarcasm?
What is that?
Where can I learn more about it? Do you put out a newsletter?
I was going to suggest you take that job, Bill.
You want your eyes opened, then bite your tongue and call the AFL- CIO who will direct you according to the info you want. “Made IN USA” is worth so much that a whole sweatshop in NC was ripping out labels from Guess clothes some time back and sewing in labels that said only “USA”. What would you think ? They have cured some bad problems and would be willing to help you with yours with no strings attached. Don’t prejudge entirely other Americans trying to improve themselves using the legal process. Yes they have problems – so do we , and they might want to give our churches a try if they didn’t think we hated them. We can do Better.