Sometimes you're just innocently minding your business, reading about this or that, and then the words rise up and bash you one over the head. That happened to me recently when I was reading Christ and Consumerism: A Critical Analysis of the Spirit of the Age (ok, maybe not the most innocent reading ;-) and I came across this from Karl Barth:
"The Word of God is not for sale; and therefore it has no need of salesmen. The Word of God is not seeking patrons; therefore it refuses price cutting and bargaining; therefore it has no need of middlemen. The Word of God does not compete with other commodities which are being offered to men on the bargain counter of life. It does not care to be sold at any price. It only desires to be its own genuine self, without being compelled to suffer alterations and modifications… It will, however, not stoop to overcome resistance with bargain counter methods. Promoters’ successes are sham victories; their crowded churches and the breathlessness of their audiences have nothing in common with the Word of God."
I know not everyone would agree with this take on the relation of church and marketing. Couldn't help but think Barth has got us North Americans nailed though.
Peace,
David
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Thanks David. I like thinking that filling up pews is like evangelism at its worst. Barth was a strong critic of Schleiermacher who promoted Christocentrism and then Niebuhr renamed it "Christomorphism". I am still trying to figure out this whole Christianity in culture thing, but I do think it is somewhere in between rejecting, and embracing the cultural values we live in. I have believed for a long time that one cannot achieve balance unless the extreme ends are explored (well you can take that a lot of ways too). Lets face it Theology is messy . . . and then we have the Bible.
Perry
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