“the faithful have been flocking to the altar of consumerism”
Ponder on that for a while, I certainly have since I saw it this morning in a news article about the papal visit to Britain.
The article concerns the amount of memorabilia surrounding the pageantry of the Pope’s first visit to the UK, among other things it mentions a ‘pocket Popemobile’ and a ‘Benedictaphone’ to record the Pontiffs’ words. Whilst it is easy to laugh at such thinks and wonder who on earth would buy them, perhaps we should instead think about the seriousness of the issue?
Obviously there are people out there buying these things because they’ve been indorsed by the church, believing that in some way they will be a better Christian for it. The people of the flock worshiping on the alter of consumerism. It’s not really any different from the old practice of the rich being able to pay (the money supposedly going to charity) an indulgence for their sins to be forgiven. Before we puff our self up, thinking that ‘I’d never do anything like that’ maybe we should remove the plank from our own eye?
Who among us has brought a WWJD band? Or an expensive cross to hang round our neck, a hoddie with some slogan only a Christian would understand or even a pretty bible? Is this any different? It is more subtly and it is ingrained in western culture but it is no less consumerism. I have fallen here in the past, because it was the ‘in thing’ I brought a WWJD band and proceeded to show it off (subtlety of course) to all my Christian friends, it was something that at that time made me feel more Christian. Think on it.
I shall finish this post, as I started, with a quote from the same article. Goddard’s response here illustrates just how subtle consumerism can be, after all it looks like the church is endorsing it.
“But if simony is the sin of trafficking sacred things, isn't buying religious memorabilia wicked shopping?
Probably not, says Goddard. After all, some of the items are sanctioned by the church.”
