Consuming Jesus - Review copy for bloggers
Paul Metzger has a book coming out in November called Consuming Jesus:
Many Americans think that race problems are a thing of the past because we no longer live under the Jim Crow laws that once sustained overt structures of segregation. Unfortunately, says Paul Metzger, today we live under an updated version of segregation, through the subtle power of unchallenged norms of consumer preference.
Consumerism affects and infects the church, reinforcing race and class divisions in society. Intentionally or unintentionally, many churches have set up structures of church growth that foster segregation, such as appealing to consumer appetites. Metzger here argues that the evangelical Christian church needs to admit this fault and intentionally move away from race, class, and consumer segregation.
Challenging the consumerism that fosters ethnic and economic divisions and distorts evangelical Christianity, Consuming Jesus puts forth a theologically grounded call to restructure the church's passions and practices, transforming the evangelical imagination around a nobler, all-consuming vision of the Christian faith.
The publisher has kindly offered some copies to bloggers who would like to review the book on their blogs. If you're interested, then send me an email with your blog address and I'll give you the information you need.
Update: Thanks to all those who responded. Copies are no longer available.
Hi Darryl,
I would love a copy to read and review. Thanks.
I think his premise is wrong.
Consumerisms goal is not to separate and divide along race or social class lines.
Consumerisms goal is to make all of us as like consumers, as this reduces production and marketing costs to their absolute minimum. It is the same premise for Globalization.
The end result of consumerism and Globalization is a very small class of Rich Industrialists, and a large seething pool of like consumers / serfs.
It seems to me that the author may have some personal issues in regards to race relations. And rationalized those into the content of the Book.
I wil grant a major point to the author and it is this: The Consumerism mentality is rife in todays global church. I have travelled and visted churches in Europe, Africa & the Middle East. and Modern Consumerism, Marketing and Globalization ideologies infects them all.
I think there is some real truth in this. And I think churches are blind to it. Wealthier churches do welathier things.