Consumerism versus Christ
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Why do christians identify so strongly against consumerism? There are many teachings that suggest the only way to christ is to reject the things of this earth and replace them with love and worship of jesus, along with a more general love for family, friends, service of the community and so forth. Bible teachers such as Paul insisted, somewhat foolishly in my opinion, that believers should be anxious for nothing and bring their needs to god - who would supply all their needs through jesus christ.
While these are sweet sentiments, bounty needs to come from agents of god on earth and the actual credit for this bounty must go to friends and family of the needy as well as generous people here on earth. It's funny to think god gets all the credit for all the good deeds of the evil sons and daughters of adam and eve.
In any case, I contend that most mature people realise the truth that 'stuff' will not make them happy - this is not a lesson owned by jesus or the christian church. I also suggest that financial security does lead to reduced anxiety, whether you attribute that security to the work of jesus or to the fact you work 2 jobs and have saved money your entire life. At the same time, cutting yourself free from possessions and making do can be very liberating.
What I'm interested to know from the point of view of atheists and christians is whether or not those around them conform to a consumer model on the basis of faith. In my experience there is little difference. My most unconsuming friends are not christians but greens who believe we have one planet and god will not come back and remake it after judgment day. My experience also suggests that those who grew up modestly have more modest desires.
What do we think? Are christians/atheists more likely or less likely to consume or is there no difference?
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
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There is an apostolic church near my house. One huge architectural monstrosity surrounded by several hundred tiny architectural monstrosities that the faithful are supposed to stay in when they come to worship. They remind me of dog kennels or maybe the huts at Dachow. Last summer they added a bunch of RV pads and hookups so people can come do their stint in their $100,000 motorhomes.
All animals are equal, but some appear to be more equal than others.
I don't think theist/atheist really makes a difference. I know some theists who don't consume much and give away literally everything they can. Among atheists low consumption tends to come from a "green" obsession that I would argue approaches theism. Personally, I don't have a lot of stuff because I just never wanted it. Possessions tie you down to a place and I prefer to live a rather mobile lifestyle, everything I own fits in my car.
In my experience those who make the most noise against consumption seem to consume the most for example Al Gore, or the churches that brag about their charitable work while building multi million dollar churches.
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X
An extension of individual v group?
To think that one's family is more important than oneself is one thing.
Next stage one's tribe.
Then one's town.
Then one's nation or cultural group.
Then people.
Then living things.
Then the earth.
Then the universe.
Slippery slope?
The tricky bit is the definition of 'more important', but hardliners do seem to believe this literally.
Personally, I like having a certain amount of stuff, but there are only so many hours I am willing to work.
I suspect that your average theist probably does consume less than your average non-Green atheist, but they are probably poorer.
No I didn't really mean that. I meant the blind faith that radical greens have in beliefs that have no evidence sometimes to the point they actually cause harm to the environment they are so eager to protect. But we are getting off topic for this thread, maybe I will start a new one for fun there are probably a couple green freaks on this site.
More relevant to this thread, are we considering televangelists to be theists or atheists? They certainly consume a lot but I have always figured they didn't really believe because if there were a god he would probably give them the first ticket down.
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X