I was stationed at a military base in the South during the 80s. My wife co-taught a Sunday school class for young children for the base chapel. She & her co-teacher would frequent Christian bookstores off-base for trinkets to give the children as part of the class. Accompanying her to one bookstore, I browsed the offerings for anything suitable for my high school class. I went to her & said I thought it best to try another bookstore. When we were in the car I told her that I didn’t think it best to return to the store because of the anti-Catholic materials I’d found. We found another store that had suitable supplies. It’s best to verify what kind of theology a Christian bookstore embraces.
Wasn't that browsing dangerous? I mean it could be so upsetting. Row after row of feeling "Is this for real?" and "If this is Christian than what am I?". Such a sorrow as well to see anti-Catholic material in the mix. My background is Mennonite, Baptist and Plymouth Brethren. The PB (who come up over and over in LLL) were the most committed anti-Catholics of that trio as I recall. I have a collection of trinkets as well. My favourites, which have somehow gone missing are a series of figurines of Jesus playing sports with children - they are lovely and disturbing at the same time. Those I bought at a Catholic bookstore. And they were inappropriately expensive which just made me like them more.
No, I was raised in the South & have Jewish relatives. I’m used to finding out who a person that tells you they’re Christian considers their neighbor to understand how to navigate a conversation. The thought of figurines depicting Jesus playing sports with children sounds intriguing. I imagine they’re not team sports where sides have been chosen or competitive for obvious reasons.
"Usually I found that the more popular also meant the less thoughtful." Early on in my faith journey, I would grab those books. But after Bible College and Seminary, I steered clear of the books that were all the talk. I would often wait until the hype downed down and then read with a more critical eye and often found them wanting.
Lately, I have been thinking that we need to be more like the Bereans and examine and verify teachings.
Thanks for the review of this book. I'll add it to my ever expanding reading list.
Brings back memories! I am a Lutheran who took a detour through Pentecostalism in the 70s and frequented a particular Christian bookstore during those years (they were baptist but had a Holy Spirit section). They did have more books at the beginning and some barclay commentaries but it was the CCM that brought me in. Luckily my denomination also had a bookstore in my area which had good theology.
The most subversive titles that we slid onto the shelves of the latter-day Sign of the Fish included Marcus Borg, Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, John Shelby Spong, Sara Miles, Karl Barth, and the Koran. Turns out, we may have been a bit too niche. The list of luminary customers was headed by, among others, T. Wiebe and that former owner, one of the best and brightest humans. We didn't sell much Osteen or many Jesus fish. It was illuminating. What doesn't kill you, gives you time to reconsider.
Kevin! So great to hear from you. And thanks for your kindness. You were kicking against the goads, Christian bookstore wise - always bringing in thoughtful, interesting books. You made me laugh with the Osteen/Fish comment. I was (still am) always grateful that people like you were around; encouraging honest faithful and intellectual enquiry.
I spent a lot of time in Christian bookstores from my teens to my 40s. I always hated the “ stuff” because it felt a bit like the moneychangers at the temple plus i am a decorator moron. If you had the right plaques in your kitchen, welcome mat on your porch, and the latest best seller, you were clearly “in”. WWJD bracelet anyone?
Attended decades of gender specific Bible studies. Then I hit a wall, for a very long time, with questions that had no answers, a reckoning with the utter capitalism and money churning and racism, and I fell apart. Now Jesus is still putting me back together.
Oh, the plaques and matts! And WWJD - I recall being at a Youth Specialties convention in the late 1990's. A friend and fellow youth pastor and myself ran into Mike Yaconelli at the convention store during one of the main sessions. YS had recently started selling WWJD material and knowing Mike Yaconelli's less than mainstream faith we asked why YS had jumped on the bandwagon of such mass marketing. His answer, as I recall, was something of a wry smile and a "They sell well" admission. Those bookstores were selling something - a worldview, a politic - and lots of trinkets. Blessings to you in being put back together. I have found that the process is not easy, but it is consoling and enlivening.
I can’t speak personally to a Catholic context, but certainly applicable reading. What Kobes du Mez describes in the book has had wide reaching impact on religion and culture.
Even if the experiences may not be entirely familiar in some denominational or faith tradition contexts, the parasitic nature of popular evangelicalism has affected mainline traditions and significant parts of the Catholic Church.
Thank you for writing this.. I'm reading a lot about de construction And in my work as a mental health therapist have seen much collateral damage from my clients. Jim Palmer who also writes here on substack is a great read too ...
Thanks Deb. The worlds of therapy and deconstruction have a lot of overlapping considerations. Blessings in your work. The 70’s Pentecostalism which in some cases led to current neo-charismatic Pentecostalism largely fueling nationalism is interesting to consider historically as well. (André Gangné at Concordia writes well on this.)And thanks for the recommendation.
I was stationed at a military base in the South during the 80s. My wife co-taught a Sunday school class for young children for the base chapel. She & her co-teacher would frequent Christian bookstores off-base for trinkets to give the children as part of the class. Accompanying her to one bookstore, I browsed the offerings for anything suitable for my high school class. I went to her & said I thought it best to try another bookstore. When we were in the car I told her that I didn’t think it best to return to the store because of the anti-Catholic materials I’d found. We found another store that had suitable supplies. It’s best to verify what kind of theology a Christian bookstore embraces.
Wasn't that browsing dangerous? I mean it could be so upsetting. Row after row of feeling "Is this for real?" and "If this is Christian than what am I?". Such a sorrow as well to see anti-Catholic material in the mix. My background is Mennonite, Baptist and Plymouth Brethren. The PB (who come up over and over in LLL) were the most committed anti-Catholics of that trio as I recall. I have a collection of trinkets as well. My favourites, which have somehow gone missing are a series of figurines of Jesus playing sports with children - they are lovely and disturbing at the same time. Those I bought at a Catholic bookstore. And they were inappropriately expensive which just made me like them more.
No, I was raised in the South & have Jewish relatives. I’m used to finding out who a person that tells you they’re Christian considers their neighbor to understand how to navigate a conversation. The thought of figurines depicting Jesus playing sports with children sounds intriguing. I imagine they’re not team sports where sides have been chosen or competitive for obvious reasons.
"Usually I found that the more popular also meant the less thoughtful." Early on in my faith journey, I would grab those books. But after Bible College and Seminary, I steered clear of the books that were all the talk. I would often wait until the hype downed down and then read with a more critical eye and often found them wanting.
Lately, I have been thinking that we need to be more like the Bereans and examine and verify teachings.
Thanks for the review of this book. I'll add it to my ever expanding reading list.
Brings back memories! I am a Lutheran who took a detour through Pentecostalism in the 70s and frequented a particular Christian bookstore during those years (they were baptist but had a Holy Spirit section). They did have more books at the beginning and some barclay commentaries but it was the CCM that brought me in. Luckily my denomination also had a bookstore in my area which had good theology.
Fantastic insights Todd. Those lay leaders in gender specific bible studies. Hoo boy, yes.
Thank you, Charles. Grateful for your kind words and for the work you are doing.
The most subversive titles that we slid onto the shelves of the latter-day Sign of the Fish included Marcus Borg, Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, John Shelby Spong, Sara Miles, Karl Barth, and the Koran. Turns out, we may have been a bit too niche. The list of luminary customers was headed by, among others, T. Wiebe and that former owner, one of the best and brightest humans. We didn't sell much Osteen or many Jesus fish. It was illuminating. What doesn't kill you, gives you time to reconsider.
Kevin! So great to hear from you. And thanks for your kindness. You were kicking against the goads, Christian bookstore wise - always bringing in thoughtful, interesting books. You made me laugh with the Osteen/Fish comment. I was (still am) always grateful that people like you were around; encouraging honest faithful and intellectual enquiry.
I spent a lot of time in Christian bookstores from my teens to my 40s. I always hated the “ stuff” because it felt a bit like the moneychangers at the temple plus i am a decorator moron. If you had the right plaques in your kitchen, welcome mat on your porch, and the latest best seller, you were clearly “in”. WWJD bracelet anyone?
Attended decades of gender specific Bible studies. Then I hit a wall, for a very long time, with questions that had no answers, a reckoning with the utter capitalism and money churning and racism, and I fell apart. Now Jesus is still putting me back together.
Oh, the plaques and matts! And WWJD - I recall being at a Youth Specialties convention in the late 1990's. A friend and fellow youth pastor and myself ran into Mike Yaconelli at the convention store during one of the main sessions. YS had recently started selling WWJD material and knowing Mike Yaconelli's less than mainstream faith we asked why YS had jumped on the bandwagon of such mass marketing. His answer, as I recall, was something of a wry smile and a "They sell well" admission. Those bookstores were selling something - a worldview, a politic - and lots of trinkets. Blessings to you in being put back together. I have found that the process is not easy, but it is consoling and enlivening.
Interesting! Do you feel like this book is applicable reading for a Catholic or is this mostly geared for the evangelical Protestant world?
I can’t speak personally to a Catholic context, but certainly applicable reading. What Kobes du Mez describes in the book has had wide reaching impact on religion and culture.
Even if the experiences may not be entirely familiar in some denominational or faith tradition contexts, the parasitic nature of popular evangelicalism has affected mainline traditions and significant parts of the Catholic Church.
Thank you for writing this.. I'm reading a lot about de construction And in my work as a mental health therapist have seen much collateral damage from my clients. Jim Palmer who also writes here on substack is a great read too ...
Thanks Deb. The worlds of therapy and deconstruction have a lot of overlapping considerations. Blessings in your work. The 70’s Pentecostalism which in some cases led to current neo-charismatic Pentecostalism largely fueling nationalism is interesting to consider historically as well. (André Gangné at Concordia writes well on this.)And thanks for the recommendation.