The sales numbers don’t lie: “Got Jesus” coffee mugs, “Huggy-Jesus” teddy bears, and “O.C.” t-shirts (“only in Christ”) have become the preferred piety of many professing Christian people. Underlying this triviliazation of Christ and culture are life-denying, idolatrous beliefs that are just as much a threat to the Reformed churches as they are to the broader evangelical world.
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3 comments so far
Nov 16, 2006mark purse #
Can’t make up my mind if the people talking on this show are blood-bought redeemed children of God or not. The so called huggy Jesus dolls are a direct violation of the Second Commandment, as for the rest of the stuff being sold in the name of Christ, John 2 v16 comes to mine about making the father’s house a house of merchandise. Unfortunately the church has become so much like the world in it’s tastes, views, music and everything else that it is hard to tell the difference. We are called to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a paeculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into marvelous light. I also found the imitation of our Lord’s voice in very bad taste. please if you are going to do critiques, do them wisely, sincerely and above all else that which will glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nov 30, 2006Silva Stepanian #
Long ago, I read a book by Dr. Michael Horton named “Where in the World is the Church? A Christian View of the Cultrue and Your Role in It.” I truly understood the message of that book after joining a Reformed church. While attending false churches, I had been quite attached to my “Christian” T-shirts, mugs, and stickers and had been unable to imagine how I could enjoy any secular music, art, or literature without feeling a great deal of guilt. Some of the ideas in Dr. Horton’s wonderful book are explained briefly in this discussion. I opened those silly websites to which they refer and wasn’t sure what to think. These pastors’ sharp criticism of the trinket sellers is so necessary in a time when these products continue to increase and appear everywhere! Our Lord Jesus drove such stupid people away from the temple!
Jul 15, 2008Mike Westfall #
Well, this is insightful. I must confess, I have been guilty of buying christianzed trinkets (mostly t-shirts).
Warning: huggyjesus.com is now a pornography website. Shame on me for being curious in the first place.