The middle class dilemma
Posted On Wednesday, 12 December 2007 at at 11:01:00 am by LisaInspired by Mark (commenter in the last post) and by this very good Cartoon. from Asbo Jesus
It's interesting when you go to all the big Christian websites such as focus on the family, cross walk, Christianity today the pictures of Christians they present......
Is this really what we aspire to?
Or just what we are a part of?
Well I don't aspire to that. Obviously :P
On a vaguely-related note, here's one of Banksy's stencils.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/liacoa/blog%20upload/capitalism_christ_shopping_bags.jpg
Yeah I saw that one a while ago on Frank Ritchies site I really like it. I think it is very poignant.
I think the asbo Jesus one does make a very good point especially in line with the crowth of the mega church (which are generally prosperity based - there are notable exceptions) and which seem to aim to do make people the middle class norm.
On the other hand there is a significant exception to the middle class norm and I think we need to make more of this and strive for this.
Focus on the Family is fucking amazing... Why wouldn't we want to aspire to that? It's incredible how many people they've changed. Listening to James Dobson's radio programme has certainly saved my life many times.
Right stan, firstly I love much of the work of Focus on the Family and like you have been many a time blessed by it and their many ministries. However I also believe that images portrayed by it and OTHER christian groups make christianity out to look like a middle class religion with well dressed people living in white picket fenced houses which is not nearly as radical as Jesus made it out to be or what I think he wants us all to be carbon copies of.
Please do not confuse what I am saying.
Lisa
I hear you lisa - it's as if you have to be white, middle class, own x cars and embrace a certain love style to be loved by God and that's crap
Aargh Middle Class church Aarg!
We are killing ourselves of this way and making ourselves more and more irrelevant to most of the worlds population. Most of the world isn't nice, clean cut and wealthy. In fact the truth is that many are living in spiritual and physical poverty. We need to take the red pill and wake up to the radical call that Jesus has sent us on!
We need to listen to people like shane claiborne, those of places such as urban vision, those missionaries to our culture who go into the brokenness. We need to awaken to Gods cry for the broken and the lost.