“The Church of Stop Shopping,” eh? What is this church all about? I’m not sure yet. This “Church” got my renewed attention, thanks to a friend who sent me a link today. Among it’s other activities, the Church is promoting a new movie (“The movie santa doesn’t want you to see”). The title of the new movie? “What Would Jesus Buy?”
On Friday, November 16th, the Shopocalypse ends. It is on that date that Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping set out across America in two bio-diesel buses, confronting with their singing and preaching the shopping frenzy of America. Travel with our harmonizing activists, as they invade the Mall of America, cast spells on the front-door of Wal Mart headquarters in Bentonville, wind up a whirlwind in a tent revival in Texas and hurls them all the way to Disneyland and the final Day of Judgment: Christmas.
Here’s a bit of information about the church itself:
The first job of a church is to save souls. Pulling out of the advertising/debt/waste cycle of Consumerism is our idea of deliverance. Our soul-saving mission work is dramatic rituals and plays inside retail environments. As you will see from the interventions that I sketch out below, in instruction manual form – our missionaries are sometimes completely invisible to management’s eye. And then sometimes the chaos and broad strokes — Inappropriate Behavior! Amen! – is the whole point and carries our message best. These interventions are some of our favorites, representing each of the various types, and developed over the last ten years.
I’m all for a heightened awareness of the perils of consumerism. Some related posts originating on this site include the following:
Why should we care about people falling deeply into debt? A review of “Maxed Out”
Shopping for Sex: wasteful consumerism and Darwin’s theory of sexual selection
The Grinch was much more evil than we thought.
We are drowning in material goods, yet we crave ever more stuff.
Churches: Places where rich people go to get God’s approval to live lavishly
and
Does constant exposure to advertising screw up our heads and lives?
What about the chruch of enlightened spelling?
Consumerism is way overrated! I have been trying to get my family to just enjoy / celebrate "family" at Christmas for years or just give something homeade, but the overspending on gifts still remains the focus.
It would be nice if it were truly a celebration of what Jesus did! He didn't seem too materialistic to me! No gift given could ever compare to such a great sacrifice of love. To me, it's all about LOVE anyway, yet somehow our culture gets lost in the things that aren't really important and don't provide true happiness or satisfaction. Just a time to keep Wal-Mart in business (for some people) I guess. Pretty disgusting!
I'm still looking for a church where the preacher tells the congregation: You don't NEED a new big screen TV. Instead, you should use that money to help people who are starving.