McChristian

What’s the deal with Christians having to make everything “Christian”? Christians and non-Christians: have you noticed this? As a Christian it is hard not to notice. It’s plastered all over the place. So, I wanted to see how much ‘stuff’ I could find that was once just normal and now has been Christianized. Here is what I came up with:

Let’s start with board games. Now of course there are the usual Bible trivia games. Everyone would expect to see this on a store shelf. Although among Christian peers when you can’t remember how many books of the Bible there are (66), or who Jesus’ mother was (Mary), you almost feel as though stones are being thrown at you for being a “bad” Christian. No? Anyway, on to the copy-cat games. Ever heard of a popular game called Apples to Apples? How about the Apples to Apples Bible version? The games are played the same except that the cards are filled with people, places, and events from Christian history. That’s not the only copy-cat game. There is also; Mad Grab, Outburst, Guesstures, Scattergories, Bibleopoly (although Monopoly has been copied by everyone and everything), Bible Charades, Bible Baseball Trivia Game, Dominoes, Bingo, Sudoku . There are even some subtle name changes of games: Settlers of Canaan or Ark of the Covenant (A copy of Carcassonne). Of course all these games that have been produced with a lack of imagination, creativity, and a bit of plagiarism are still better than this or this. Or course there are also games like this which, as the games itself states, require ‘no Bible knowledge’, which in real life seems to be true, too.

From board games to video games. Christians have tapped that market as well. No need to buy Guitar Hero when you can buy Guitar Praise. And want to sing along? How about Heavenly Harmony?

And have you noticed the endless amount of slogans that have been copied from businesses, stores, television shows, etc: Subway, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Staples, Starbucks, ipod, itunes, Transformers, Superman, Heroes, Deal or no Deal, Lost, Survivor, Construction worker sign, milk slogan, American slogan, Army, Obama, Adidas, Puma, Major League Baseball, MLB (again), Intel, Crush, Facebook, MySpace, Red Cross, American Eagle, Reese’s, Hershey’s, Mountain Dew, CIA, AC DC, Ford, Abercrombie and Fitch, AT&T, Burger King, AllState, TMNT, LOTR, Sega Genesis, PETA, SUN, GI Joe, Yoo-hoo, Wii, YouTube, Aeropostale, American Idol, Monopoly, Guitar Hero, and I am sure there are many more.

There is a lot of stuff out there. There are a billion different versions of the Bible. ‘Oh my gosh’ products! Sandles. Boots. Little plastic hands. Million dollar movies. Giant Jesus statues in the middle of Ohio. Little Jesus statues playing baseball with little kids. Don’t like baseball? How about football? There are no words for this. Need a bandage? There’s a free toy inside. Jesus really can do it all. In case you didn’t want the regular Jesus, here is the deluxe version. Yikes! Never say Jesus was never on the seven dollar bill. Jesus is the light – switch. He can even tell time. And of course you have to look good for Jesus. Don’t forget people like Moses, David, and of course God. How about the whole set.

We may be trying to not be a part of this world, a light unto this world, a beacon of hope, but all of this shows me that indeed sometimes we are just as much a part of the world as anyone else. We ascribe to the television, to money, and to the consumerism of this world. We are at a crossroads. What path do we take?

As if an endless amount of t-shirts were not enough - Let’s go bigger! What about theme parks? In Orlando you can. And what about a museum? Well, of course there is that, too. The world can’t run on just normal activities and vacations, there have to be Christian activities and vacations as well. For those who like cruises, there are cruises.

I’m sure there is a lot more stuff out there. What are we proving to the world with all our “alternative” stuff? What is it saying to the world? What do non-Christians think of all this? How can we be light on a hill when we are too blinded and consumed with our own ‘world’? As Christians we need to stop adhering to all this consumerism. We need to adhere to the words and life of Christ.