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The Unusual Suspects25 Jewish People Defy the Final Taboo Our Price: £6.99 Only £5.99 |
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Christians in a Consumer Culture
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The total land space in Britain given over to retailing has increased by one fifth in the last decade. We enjoy the involvement of choosing and buying so much that we have left materialism behind to embrace consumerism.
Consumerism is an exaggerated form of materialism that involves our five senses. It holds out the prospect of happiness through the exercise of personal choice and it's appearing now in a church near you!
As Christians we should not be wholly negative because Christianity is a materialistic faith, we believe that God made the material world and will one day renew it. Yes, it has been hi-jacked by the devil but there is an essential goodness about God's plan for creation. On the other hand we need to be concerned about consumerism in three areas - ecology, justice and spirituality. Consumerism has had a bad impact on all three.
John Benton, pastor, author, and editor of Evangelicals Now, brings us a devastating critique of a cultural phenomenon that has enthusiastically been taken up as the new paradigm, and which the church has literally sold out to. He looks at Post-modernism, the cult of self, self-worth, personal freedom, the role of the media and demonstrates the slow death of radical Christianity as commitment is replaced by choice.
John Benton is pastor of Chertsey Street Baptist Church, Guildford, England and Managing Editor of the monthly newspaper, Evangelicals Now. John & his wife Ann have written many books; some as a joint venture. They are in demand as conference speakers.
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In his excellent introduction the author defines consumerism as an "exaggerated and privatised form of materialism". He sees it centred on this present world, holding out material goods and services as a promise of happiness and focusing on the power of personal choice for the consumer. This leads him on to claim that we need to be concerned about its effect on world ecology, on justice and on spirituality. The aim of the book is to show how Christian discipleship can be lived against the background. In ten chapters he examines post-modernism, the media, 'throw-away identity', freedom, customer service and so on. He has an excellent chapter entitled "The Currency of Commitment". He laments the loss of a Christian "counter-culture" as Christians allow themselves to be diverted by the trivia in their attitude to society. It is so easy to be misled by half-truths, and he notes the element of self-worship even in Christian conferences. Here is a book of close observation of our culture combined with careful exposition of the Bible. The chapter on commitment is worth the money on its own. It is well-written (apart from some split-infinitives) and well worth owning.
Ron Preece, Evangelism
In this short but hard-hitting book John Benton exposes the evils of "consumerism", the extreme form of materialism which embraces all of our senses and which exploits the vast range of choices provided for consumers by modern technologies. Whilst emphasising that the material world, as God's good creation, is not evil in itself, Benton shows how the Church at so many points has sold out to the attractions of consumerism, and so has lost much of its spiritual power. Issues covered include Postmodernism, the cult of self, and, in a particularly helpful chapter, the role of the media. As Benton demonstrates, for many Christians "choice" has replaced "commitment" to a fully biblical lifestyle. This is not the book for you if you like to be left feeling warm and comfortable by your reading, but it is a book most of us need to read and heed.
David McKay ~ Professor of Systematic Theology, Ethics and Apologetics, Reformed Theological College, Belfast
John Benton has written a timely book....One of the most graphic passages in the Book of Revelation is on the end of a consumer society...It is only too easy for churches in the leafy suburbs to ignore the plight of their poorer neighbours. The secular humanists can scorn the faith of a comfortable church, it is harder to scorn the faith of a Mother Teresa.
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