On Marketing Churches/Denominations with the Simple "This is Evil"


Everywhere in conservative Christianity we find a marketing technique that uses simple answers to complex issues and names villains. Some, like Joel Osteen, are not vindictive but are simple. The liberal wings of Christianity see and avoid this weakness but do not have a substitute marketing trick to replace it. 

What if all of Christianity started with this assumption: Human beings are so diverse we can never understand everything about them. Believers could still believe there is a God and insist on going to a church. Adopting this assumption about the vast diversity and working it into their theology will help their church and others who are part of it.

To work this into conservative Christianity would not be easy. Actually, it seems impossible. One has to narrow the definition of the favorite word in Christianity, SIN. Sin has become, or always has been, a feral concept, "If I don't like something, it is a sin." Or, "If I don't like a group, they are sinful." 

The link and a few famous Christian writers like John Shelby Spong have made the case God is so huge no one can grasp who or what he is. This seems the argument of the link author. Following this path of reasoning might lead to God's created universe to include humans of such variety we cannot understand either God or humans. This line of reasoning, however, is not smart marketing. The money is in the most popular Christian phrase, "...what this means is..." Use of this phrase allows condemnation of humans that are different or that believe things that give believers a reason to hate them. 

While Christian numbers continue to fall, opportunities for making money in the faith seem to be rising. Think how things were is say, the 1950's. So far as I can remember or have read, the big money was in the evil of interracial marriage. Segregation of the races was embraced by a large part of the faith. Alcohol use was still a small taboo, but race was basically the only game in town. Today there are many hot taboos, people crossing the border, gays, women getting abortions, trans peoples, rest room segregation, liberals, Ten Commandments in every classroom, Bibles in every school room and I've probably missed some.

 If anyone asked me how to start a church or denomination I would advise, pick a group to demonize and go for it.

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