This is not a joke. I’m not making this up.
We attend trade conferences for Christian retailing and one of our folks brought a brochure back advertising a new line of little statues designed to remind people to "stay inspired and to inspire others." The company explains that their goal "is to introduce the most thought provoking, intriguing products imaginable." And their "tag line" for these products is: "Can you see Him? Can you feel Him? Is He with you?"
There is no end to the lengths people will go and the depths of banality to which they will descent when they do not have the Sacraments. That’s the lesson we should learn from this, above all others. When you have no way of receiving Jesus beyond your own emotional responses, nothing to grasp, nothing to take hold of beyond your own human longings, this is what finally results. Tragic irreverence and blasphemous use of our Lord’s precious image. If you care to let the company know what you think of their products, you can drop them an e-mail I called out there to establish that, yes, this is a real company and they are actually in business; hopefully, not for long. And people wonder why we Christians are often regarded not as fools for Christ, but simply as fools.
That is very disturbing, very, very disturbing. I called my wife to the computer, she just stood there, mouth open, gasping.
“And people wonder why we Christians are often regarded not as fools for Christ, but simply as fools.”
The only response to this sort of rubbish being offered. Christ riding a bull? Hanging 10?
Stuff like this makes me HATE going to Christian bookstores. Trinkets and gimmicks. All flash and no substance.
It’s like a hamburger made of Hamburger Helper. Something’s there…you don’t quite know what it is, but you know it ain’t right.
People looking for that sort of thing should go buy a cd of “Tommy” the rock opera by the Who. They can sing “See me…feel me…” right along with Roger Daltry.
One of the best experiences I had on vicarage was leading an adult study group through “The Spirituality of the Cross” instead of Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life Now.” At the end of the class, one of the members, who was not sure why I was so dead set against Osteen at the beginning, said that she would not be able to “enjoy” going to a Christian book store anymore because all she can see is the theology of glory. Thanks be to God!!
I’m trying to decide if this is worse than Veggie Christ. At least then you could still take and eat.
Ah, the good ol’ Christian Booksellers Association Convention. I remember the days.
Back when I was General Manager of a large evangelical bookstore, I used to attend the annual convention. I made it a point to visit four booths to place an order: CPH (of course!), IVP, Baker, and Banner of Truth. Sure, the Banner of Truth guys were all Calvinists, but B-o-T makes such a NIIIIIIIICE book.
After I had done my duty, it was off to find the most ridiculous item of the convention.
Cases of bottled water being marketed as “holy water” (How REAL Christians refresh themselves after a nice, sweaty pick-up game!), Potholders with “Stay cool in a crisis!” embroidered on them with a Bible verse: Daniel 3:25.
And after that, a trip to the bar. Where I would see the guys from CPH, IVP, Baker and Banner of Truth drinking (respectively) Beer, Wine, Martinis, and Scotch. Another day in Evanjellyland.
Sadly, I fear that these will be hot sellers. Like “Precious Moments,” “Veggie Tales,” and so many of the trite VBS programs in which our Lord or his church is portrayed as Indiana Jones or international spies, or Star Trek persona, people will find these action figures cute and adorable. And anyone who disagrees with such feelings will be pitied for being so backward and insensitive to contemporary trends, and then marginalized into extinction.
Very much like the time I received liturgical material from Creative Communications for the Parish where the liturgy was set to nursery rhyme tunes (The Sanctus was set to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, for example). When I wrote to complain and to ask to be removed from their mailing list, they wrote back in a most condescending vein about how sorry they were that I felt that way, but it was one of their most popular sellers! (Furthermore, they couldn’t remove me from the mailing list because it was done by a bulk mailer in Texas.)
What can we say but Kyrie eleison.
Jesus appears to be a Dallas Cowboy. This will only feed the egos of Dallas fans, who will begin insisting that the Cowboys are not merely “America’s team,” but also “God’s team.”
Ah, but it’s not just the Reformeds. The Catholics had the bizarre Jesus statue thing going years ago.
I remain unconvinced that this is the product of earnest Christians and not some extremely postmodern joke.
David,
I hate to tell you this, but it is common knowledge here in Texas that “they left the roof off of Cowboy Stadium so God could watch His favorite team.” That statement is older than the “America’s Team” slogan.
Hmnn…yeah. I don’t like plastic Jesuses — I have a tshirt that says as much — but I DO like plastic Luthers. Can we get CPH to produce the “Hang Ten” Luther? Maybe one where he’s nailing 95 theses to a door?
this is nothing new – go back to Luther’s time and all the various trinkets, relics, and other “jesus junk” that was sold in an effort to raise money for the ‘church’ of the time.
Stuff like this is why I avoid most Christian bookstores, music, and radio stations.
Silly Texans, God’s team is the Packers (just look at the logo) AND, the sidelines of Lambeau Field are not covered…no telling what those Cowboys are doing on their covered sidelines, thinking that God can’t see them there!
I will check it again, but your link to the product did not work…
The answer to “Can you see him, can you feel him, is he in you?” would be a bumper sticker that an acquaintance of mine created as a fundraiser for her church…
“I found Jesus. He was in the bread and the wine the whole time.”
She has a Cafe Press store that is called Truth Musings
This is as bad as the talking Jesus on the church website (“hey, its me, Jesus,”) whose eyes rolled along with your cursor. The church has always had junk merchants, they used to peddle relics and icons.
This however, picks up where the others dared not go-mocking the Lord by putting an image of him in all sorts of silly poses. The soccer player Jesus looks like he’s slipping and falling on some ice. The biker Jesus is rather reminiscent of Evel Kinevel about to jump a dozen school buses-(he used to wear a cape). The football Jesus looks like a couple of 5 year old girls were playing ‘dolls’ with the Heisman trophy. And as a veteran, I’m not sure what to make of the soldier Jesus. Are they saying our armed forces are peacmakers, and have an honorable profession, or are they saying that they should lay down their arms (the helmet is on the ground) ‘stop the war now’ and then there would be peace?
This is another example of pop culture Christianity that reveals how badly evangelicals do not understand sanctification or christian vocation.
It also panders to selfishness that is, its not enough that Jesus humbled himself to become a man, suffer and die on the cross for you, he has to be cool too, so the jaded genXer will feel comfortable believing in him.
Then again, maybe it was just a crass attempt to make money and we’re putting more thought into this foolishness than the people who made them.
Just realized why these figurines creep me out, they remind me of the guy with the fake ‘King’ head and cape that runs around in the Burger King commercials. The only image that gets remotely close to a scriptural referent is the homless Jesus (Matthew 25:35-40) but if your concern is for the homeless and poor, why waste your money on this thing? Why not give it to a shelter or a mission that actually helps the poor instead of putting a useless piece of plastic on your desk?
tODD,
You write, “Ah, but it’s not just the Reformeds. The Catholics had the bizarre Jesus statue thing going years ago.”
I write as a Lutheran (reluctant and struggling, but Lutheran nonetheless) but hardly fair to paint anything non-Lutheran and non-Cathoic as “Reformed”. This oft-repeated mistake should be laid to rest by serious, thoughtful Lutherans. Disagreement with the Reformed, fine. But lets be better historical theologians than that.
I just received my copy of CPH’s spring catalogue a couple of days ago. We tread dangerously close to this “territory of kitsch” when we sell “Walk in the Light kinetic flashlights (1 John 1:17). I’m not saying the flashlight is even close to those goofy statues, but they’re getting close.
McCain: Yes, one man’s “kitch” is another man’s meaningful item. I do think there is a significant difference however between a flashlight with a Biblical message on it and depicting the Lord as a cowboy riding a bull, or a biker riding a Harley, or as a Dallas Cowboy football player.
I’m a member of my church today because my wife came home in tears, because of the reverence showed to the Lord upon her first visit, and had to tell her then atheist husband what she saw.
It seems to me even many of our own churches have lost reverence. The only difference between flashlights and goofy statues is the degree of irreverence shown to God.
McCain: I do not believe the comparison holds, but I can see why you feel the way you do.