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But apparently the Amazon mix-up has really pissed a few people off. While that is somewhat understandable, what I found to be really intriguing are how the disgruntleds' comments convey negative cultural perceptions of Christianity. For example, they write -
I saw the email from Amazon encouraging me to buy at a discount the "latest" book from John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" and other fantastic eye opening books. If he had, instead of a book that preaches about how Christianity and the Churches of Christ will be our Saviour, it would have been a fantastic book about how we as people in our local communities need to take care of our communities through active involvement in buying sustainably grown and produced products, avoiding purchasing from the various corporate entities like WalMart etc. and manufacturers that have products produced by sweatshops and to instead reduce consumption and to care for one another in our communities with local action. Guess if anybody doesn't figure out that this book is NOT from the John Perkins who we all know and love, that this book will be a big disappointment and extremely confusing.
and
The John Perkins we all know and love is the one who confessed his sins to mankind. this other guy, whoever he is, sounds alright i guess, but being Christian, it is doubtful he is really truly interested in the betterment of mankind.
Yes, yes I know they should have taken the time to discover this John Perkins' beliefs and perspectives before they dismissed the book as generally being anti-justice. But their gut reaction was that it could not be about helping people or doing justice because it is Christian. That is disturbing. So even though certain people are claiming that we don't need to talk about biblical justice because all people are decent and support justice anyway, this perception (which is the true reality) begs to differ. Not that I was planning on stopping talking about justice issues, just that the implications are bigger than I thought.
Labels: Social Justice
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Hey Julie -
Intense comments on Amazon. Like you, I'm saddened that people in our culture do not affiliate Christians with justice. But I am not surprised. Did you read the most recent study bby the Barna Group? They interviewed thousands of young people and found that most of them associate Christians with words like "anti-homosexual," "judgmental", etc. I think we're in the middle of a post-Christendom time in our nation.
Have you heard of the new movie called, For the Bible Tells Me So? I went to see it last night here in Los Angeles. I found it extremely fascinating - definitely worth it. I am a little worried that people will not have opportunities to discuss the movie after seeing it - because it raises such critical issues about the status of the American church and its perspectives on homosexuality. The film makers make a point that the root of homophobia stems from the fear and hatred of women's sexuality. Very interesting stuff. -
I think Amazon should do something along the lines of "disambiguation" with the product descriptions of books by authors with the same name. They're not helping their own bottom line if there is this confusion.
Yes, it is disturbing that people should think Christians would automatically not be interested in justice issues. Quite a turn in 1500 years, from when the church was known for caring for the material needs of those who not only "belonged", but also of those who did not "belong".
On the other hand, it was reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" with my book group (Christians all) that was the "last straw" that drove me to de-register as a Republican.... I'm currently a "decline to state affiliation"- disillusioned with the system that takes (mostly) well-intentioned people who want to serve their country and turns them into re-election robots.
Politics is the only thing about which I'm cynical.
Dana Ames -
At 10/26/2007 09:39:00 PM,
JulieSorry IndyChristian/Neil for removing your comment. For some reason it just really messed up the blog format. Here was the text -
Julie... Thanks for the post. And yeah, it's a sad comment re the American 'Church'. But I hold great hope in the growing number of prayer-care-share Christ-followers connecting and effectively 'reconfiguring' the Church... city by city. Visit CityReaching.org
I've added your CCDA-related post to those tagged at the recent conference.
-Neil -
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Julie,
I was introduced to John Perkins (the Christian one) by a good friend of mine who recently moved near Cleveland. His plan is to live a life that demonstrates the love of Christ to his community - a la Perkins... and, more importantly, a la Christ. I've enjoyed what I've read by Perkins, and I look forward to reading more. Thanks for the notice about this book... and the interesting facts that we can learn about ourselves (as Christ followers) by listening to others.
-Alan