The (Second) Worst Religious Idea of the Decade

Wow ... I am shocked by the comments. We can disagree but I am not sure that we should be tearing one another down for writing an article or a comment. We can disagree and still respect one another.

What would Jesus Do? Not create more and more marketing crap with the sole intention of making money for a start. No matter where it started WWJD has turned into a cynical money-grabbing exercise.

You miss the point. It isn't the people wearing them (whose intention is between them and God), but the marketing machine that is only producing the junk to make money, and devaluing the whole message of the Gospel - and perhaps if people imitated Jesus by washing feet, eating with sinners, loving those suffering injustice and sacrificing all for the Kingdom of Heaven then that would be more convincing to the rest of the world than wearing a piece of plastic made in a sweatshop in the far-east.

not to detract from the point of the article--which i wholly agree with--but did we just get told not to market jesus from someone with a book on "the gospel according to the coen bros"?! (i'm pretty sure "the dude abides" is a bumper sticker...oh wait: http://bit.ly/5nPWgQ)

I have many issues with this post and the ignorance with which it is written. Using Christian as an adjective isn't a problem. I am a Christian woman. That means I am not a Muslim or Jew or Hindu woman.
Jesus was NOT a vegetarian. We know that because he serves fish on several occasions, once even after he was glorified. Why make this any harder than it already is? But no, I don't think that it's wrong for a Christian to be a vegetarian. Paul goes into long discussions about eating meat is up to you.
Finally, I'm against Jesus junk as much as anybody

Cathleen Falsani should read Charles Sheldon's 'In His Steps,' the source of the phrase 'what would Jesus do?' before commenting on it. Sheldon is very clear that what Jesus would do is to work tirelessly for the poor and the oppressed - living among them, giving up the trappings of wealth, taking sick prostitutes into his home to be healed, sharing the gospel, and refusing to profit from the wreckage and misery of other people's ruined lives. Sheldon would laugh at the thought that we can't know what Jesus would do - all we have to do is follow his example, and love the outcast as much as he did.

Sheldon did tackle Falsani's dilemma head on - Jesus did not live in a modern, industrial democracy, so we don't know exactly how he would vote, what his bank account balance would be, or whether he would join a union or not. That did not stop Sheldon from trying to wrestle with the question of how a Christian seeks to imitate Christ in the modern world, and it should not stop us. Bumper stickers that appear tacky to us shouldn't stop us either. I commend anyone who decides to wrestle with the gospels and truly try to live their life as they believe Jesus would, even if they wear a cheesy neon bracelet to help keep them on track.

I work in the Christian Retail Industry, for a gift wholesaler. You know what? I don't personally care much for rubber bracelets or trucker hats either. It's really tempting sometimes to become frustrated with the concept of marketing Jesus and the word of God, with mundane or uncreative product design (which is not exclusive to the Christian market), and to become jaded from years of analyzing Bible verses to determine which will sell better on a Bible cover. But you know what else? Almost everyone I've met in the decade I've been in this industry views their profession as a ministry and a calling from God. I'd say this is particularly true of the retailers who run the Mom & Pop shops.

"There is no Christian retail"

Let me start by saying I am not against rubber bracelets. I own and wear one, not a WWJD bracelet, but along the same lines. I bought it in support of a local girl who has made it her personal mission to raise enough money to build one well for people without clean drinking water. I love the reminder it is to me of this girl, this mission, of the work of the Church. I also am not against everything "Christian" adjective. I was close friends with the owner of our local Christian gift store growing up, and have known several people in the Christian music/ Christian book industries. For the most part, I have seen these people as people of purpose, and people of kindness and generosity. In the case of my hometown, we have almost 100 churches, but only one Christian bookstore. It became a unifying place, where different denominations gathered. The owner often allowed people of different traditions than hers set up drives for various causes, and it was a way of networking otherwise separate groups together. It was great place to get materials for Sunday school, find important books about our faith, pick up periodicals, ect. I have nothing against my local Christian bookstore.

But, I still have this beef with the Christian marketing. The whole Christian subculture movement is not inclusive. The messages and the words are not for people outside the church. I'm sorry if this pains anyone else, but I think in a lot of ways it closes us off from the world. I spent most of my young life thinking Sears was evil purely because it was "secular" and that the Christian bookstore was okay because it was stamped Christian. I don't suppose that is the fault of the entire Christian culture, maybe had more to do with my church in specific. But I still maintain that is creates a separatist culture. I think it is a waste for Christians to market things to Christians, because if that is your life's work then it should be spent marketing things to the people who need to hear the message. If the marketing is good, if it's doing it's self-declared mission, it will not create a subculture, but impact the greater culture. There are some Christian marketers that are doing that, but for the most part I simply don't see it.

My answer to "What Would Jesus Do?" has always been, "Whatever it is, it would be better than anything I'd think of." Kinder, smarter, more just, and sometimes a whole lot gutsier.

I would never have thought to tell the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Of course, it wouldn't be my place to do so, which gets back to the point of the article. He is God, we're not. It's our job to try to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God - and to trust that when we fail to do so, there is forgiveness.

"judge not" You have to make a judgment to do that. "Judge not" scripturally has to do with opposition to hypocritical and self righteous judgment, not with the idea of judging. Judgment is required in the Christian life, and Jesus was judgmental. In 2 Corinthians Paul states, "I have judged already," concerning an infidelity in the Church.

The problem with WWJD bracelets is not the book from whence the idea comes, or the bracelets themselves; WWJD? is a great question. The problem is the people who wear the bracelets who demonstrate there flagrant ignorance of all things associated with Jesus by their utterances and behavior...sort of like Tigers Woods and ATT and Accenture...these businesses acted to "protect the brand". Outward identification with following Jesus comes with no small measure accountability to not harm "the brand".

I was made to think after reading Ms. Falsani's article. Sojourner's authors often open my eyes and move me to new ideas. So I joined this group of readers to look at their responses and I had to laugh. Cathleen Falsani's provocative idea stirred up a lot of emotion and I felt that I was flipping the TV channel back and forth between MSNBC and Fox.

I encourage more insightful observations for our community. Now I will read another article and see how we all respond. This is better than network TV!

Oh...I'm pretty confident that He'd be using a Mac.

I never cease to be amazed at the consistency of God's demands. In Zechariah 8, He says, "Speak the truth to each others, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this."

Thoughtful and appropriate post.

Rob Bell, "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith." Does not Pastor Bell here do what we are told in this post we should not do, that is, use "Christian" as an adjective?

You miss the point. It isn't the people wearing them (whose intention is between them and God), but the marketing machine that is only producing the junk to make money, and devaluing the whole message of the Gospel - and perhaps if people imitated Jesus by washing feet, eating with sinners, loving those suffering injustice and sacrificing all for the Kingdom of Heaven then that would be more convincing to the rest of the world than wearing a piece of plastic made in a sweatshop in the far-east.

Yes, this is totally correct. Frequently, what people mean when they invoke "judge not" is "don't make more judgments that I don't agree with." If Jesus really meant that we can never make moral evaluations about people or situations then we could not say that Mother Teresa was good and Hitler was evil. In Sojourners Magazine and on this website, I see a lot of condemning of those who promote the war in Iraq, corporate leaders who harm the poor, polluters, etc. That sounds like "judging" to me.

"Judge not" to me means "I'm a knucklehead. If I truly recognize my own knuckleheadedness and understand how God sees said knuckleheadedness, and how He has redeemed me from said knuckleheadedness by absolutely nothing I could have ever earned, then I will also recognize others are also knuckleheads and remember that I am a knucklehead whenever I start to complain about their knuckleheadedness." In short, none of us have the right to judge the heart of another. Only God can do that. And none of us can judge another as not worthy of redemption or God's grace.

Kudos. I couldn't agree more.

I liked WWJD.

Seek first the Kingdom............

I know of no better way to encourage a priority on continued seeking than a good question.

I won't defend all the marketing--but a good question cannot be dismissed. And I think this is a worthy question.

I work in the Christian Retail Industry, for a gift wholesaler. You know what? I don't personally care much for rubber bracelets or trucker hats either. It's really tempting sometimes to become frustrated with the concept of marketing Jesus and the word of God, with mundane or uncreative product design (which is not exclusive to the Christian market), and to become jaded from years of analyzing Bible verses to determine which will sell better on a Bible cover. But you know what else? Almost everyone I've met in the decade I've been in this industry views their profession as a ministry and a calling from God. I'd say this is particularly true of the retailers who run the Mom & Pop shops.

"There is no Christian retail"

Let me start by saying I am not against rubber bracelets. I own and wear one, not a WWJD bracelet, but along the same lines. I bought it in support of a local girl who has made it her personal mission to raise enough money to build one well for people without clean drinking water. I love the reminder it is to me of this girl, this mission, of the work of the Church. I also am not against everything "Christian" adjective. I was close friends with the owner of our local Christian gift store growing up, and have known several people in the Christian music/ Christian book industries. For the most part, I have seen these people as people of purpose, and people of kindness and generosity. In the case of my hometown, we have almost 100 churches, but only one Christian bookstore. It became a unifying place, where different denominations gathered. The owner often allowed people of different traditions than hers set up drives for various causes, and it was a way of networking otherwise separate groups together. It was great place to get materials for Sunday school, find important books about our faith, pick up periodicals, ect. I have nothing against my local Christian bookstore.

But, I still have this beef with the Christian marketing. The whole Christian subculture movement is not inclusive. The messages and the words are not for people outside the church. I'm sorry if this pains anyone else, but I think in a lot of ways it closes us off from the world. I spent most of my young life thinking Sears was evil purely because it was "secular" and that the Christian bookstore was okay because it was stamped Christian. I don't suppose that is the fault of the entire Christian culture, maybe had more to do with my church in specific. But I still maintain that is creates a separatist culture. I think it is a waste for Christians to market things to Christians, because if that is your life's work then it should be spent marketing things to the people who need to hear the message. If the marketing is good, if it's doing it's self-declared mission, it will not create a subculture, but impact the greater culture. There are some Christian marketers that are doing that, but for the most part I simply don't see it.

My answer to "What Would Jesus Do?" has always been, "Whatever it is, it would be better than anything I'd think of." Kinder, smarter, more just, and sometimes a whole lot gutsier.

I would never have thought to tell the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Of course, it wouldn't be my place to do so, which gets back to the point of the article. He is God, we're not. It's our job to try to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God - and to trust that when we fail to do so, there is forgiveness.

"judge not" You have to make a judgment to do that. "Judge not" scripturally has to do with opposition to hypocritical and self righteous judgment, not with the idea of judging. Judgment is required in the Christian life, and Jesus was judgmental. In 2 Corinthians Paul states, "I have judged already," concerning an infidelity in the Church.

The problem with WWJD bracelets is not the book from whence the idea comes, or the bracelets themselves; WWJD? is a great question. The problem is the people who wear the bracelets who demonstrate there flagrant ignorance of all things associated with Jesus by their utterances and behavior...sort of like Tigers Woods and ATT and Accenture...these businesses acted to "protect the brand". Outward identification with following Jesus comes with no small measure accountability to not harm "the brand".