အိုး၊ ပထမကမ္ဘာပြဿနာ။, Wow a 1st world problem
အိုး၊ ပထမကမ္ဘာပြဿနာ။, Wow a 1st world problem or
အခြားမိခင်မှ ညီအစ်ကိုများ, Brothers from another mother (Burmese)
Part 1: What my peers and others are saying..
Part 2: Desire…End of Globalization?…
Part 3: What I am learning….
Part 1: What my peers and others are saying..
In the discussion of Polanyi and capitalism[1], I made a comment to Todd Henley the that the “cousin of capitalism was consumerism.” (or Brothers from a different mother?) Now in what appears to be a path guided by a learned hand, we confront consumerism in Vincent J. Miller’s Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture[2]
Looking towards my peers…
DLGP01 Kristy Newport writes, “As Miller states, “Christian forgiveness as potent therapy for countering capitalistic desire” (p.180)
I enjoyed how Kristy highlights how we can change our consumerism/capitalist drives.
DLGP02, Jenney Dooley writes, “I want my consuming habits to reflect my values, show concern for the well-being of others, and respect the cultures which I encounter. I’m a work in progress.”
Jenney’s statement calls us to be socially aware and to take a path away from consumerism.
DLGP02, Adam Harris writes, about a man who had a Near Death Experience, “His experience radically changed how he measured and defined success. In fact, many of these NDErs leave their careers to pursue what they believe to be more meaningful work. As stated earlier, their concern for material gain, recognition, competition, and status lower. Their desires are redirected to other things. God and people truly become their priority in practice, not just in theory, as Miller states was the main concern of his book.
Sometimes a knock to the head, or a Near Death Experience helps to readjust our life priorities. Sometimes war does the same…
Other internet comments, “The Bible is a commodity that is in danger of losing its political friction, status, community, and context.” [3]
(Miller) argues that consumerism is not (primarily) a problem with values or morals. While it is true that buying Nike’s latest shoe supports exploitation, if given the clear choice between a shoe and cheap labor most people would choose to eradicate cheap labor. The values are intact. The problem is on the level of social structure, practice, and habituation. No amount of values-preaching can counter this because (A) the problems on the level of practice, not idea, and (B) anything you may say against consumerism can be used for next year’s marketing strategies.[4]
Part 2: Desire…End of Globalization?…
In regard to distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian, Dr. Clark writes, “there is one fundamental contrast between Christian and non-Christian desire, or rather, there should be one key contrast whereby Christian desire arises from a call beyond the self”(p.209).[5] Clark adds, “Real revolution is about nurturing the flow of desire, rather than its destruction: It is the need to exceed the desire fostered by capitalism with a re-ordered desire” (p.174).
Re-ordering desire… In the face of “Black Friday Sales,” bombarding us on the TV, where lies our Christian desires to a call beyond self, as we rabidly seek the next great saving for Christmas gifts?
In the face of Christmas consumerism our churches must respond to Miller’s warning that, “theology must (1) attend to the structures and practices that connect belief to daily life (Amazon.com purchases), (2) attend to the lived, everyday theology of believing communities (focusing on the gift that is Christ), and (3) adopt the task of helping communities to preserve and sustain their traditions in the face of the erosions of the globalizing capitalism (inviting seekers to find a different ‘reason for the season’” (p.226)
Should I be glad that globalizing capitalism is fading in the tragedies of the Ukrainian and now Israeli war? Jan Strupczewski quotes, European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, who says, “The war in Ukraine has shown the limitations of the decades-long German approach of seeking to change Russia through trade and spells the end of globalisation as we know it.”[6]
End of globalization? End of peacetime capitalism and consumerism as we know it?
Several churches and pastors are taking Ezekiel 38:1-39:16 prophecies of “Gog and Magog” to heart. In the face of conflict (Holy Violence – Walker) perhaps we might see a reset of personal, cultural, and national priorities.
Part 3: What I am learning…
Miller writes, “religious belief is always in danger of being reduced to a decorative veneer of meaning over the vacuousness of everyday life in advanced capitalist societies” (p.225). Having lived 30 years overseas in a variety of different cultures, my response to this is “Wow – a 1st World problem. “
Not to diminish his study/book, I find it incredibly relevant in the U.S. and parts of the EU, but it is not hard for me to see through the eyes of a Hungarian/Slovak or now a Ukrainian Christian where “consumption (is not) the dominant cultural practice” (p. 225). Personally, living with dirt roads, an outhouse in the backyard (moved twice), the smell of manure in the morning, “survival and adaptation in a post-communist environment” is the cultural practice of these spaces (Mikepercs, Hungary – my home of 10 years).
Christianity in these places sometimes follows rigid traditional practices (men on one side, women on the other with kids in the back-Hungary). Sometimes, they remain hidden in Slovak building basements hiding the fact that a church meets there. Sometimes they suffer the indignation of “special police” intruding into their sacred space to make sure evangelizing is not going on (Turkey).
This becomes even more so for our Ukrainian Christian brothers who
fervently worship and who fervently cling to the Hope they have in Christ. Not promised tomorrow, I doubt that consuming their faith as a commodity would aptly describe them. They wait hopefully for EU accession unaware of the dangers of that the cousins of capitalism and consumerism are prowling at the door.
Miller’s book is a shot across the bow, his history (part 1) and then suggestions for combating consumerism (part 2) drops the task firmly in our first world hands.
Shalom…
[1] Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation the Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, 2nd Beacon Paperback ed. (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2001),
[2] Vincent J. Miller, Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture (New York: Continuum, 2008)
[3] “Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a C….” Accessed November 9, 2023. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156681.Consuming_Religion.
[4] “Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a C….” Accessed November 9, 2023. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156681.Consuming_Religion.
[5] Clark, Jason Paul, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogenesis in the Relationship,” 2018,
[6] Strupczewski, Jan, and Jan Strupczewski. “Ukraine War Shows ‘end of Globalisation as We Know It’ – EU’s Gentiloni.” Reuters, April 21, 2022, sec. World. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-war-shows-end-globalisation-we-know-it-eus-gentiloni-2022-04-21/.
About the Author
Russell Chun
interlinkt.org is now ready for your Refugee Resettlement needs. 15 tasks, languages ESL plans coming4 responses to “အိုး၊ ပထမကမ္ဘာပြဿနာ။, Wow a 1st world problem”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Russell,
I remember sitting with a teenager who lamented that all of life seemed to be about making money and dying. It broke my heart. I don’t know why I am writing this here but something in your writing sparked that memory. How do we teach the younger generations the negative impacts of consumer culture? Do you notice the new immigrants you work with getting caught up in consumerism? How long does the struggle for basic needs last them?
Hi Jenny,
Ahhh kids. GoodSports in Fort Worth had three soccer teams of refugee children. Many nations, many languages.
Children in intermediate and high school have a high need to fit in…consumerism rears its head so quickly. Walking into a school, wrong language, wrong clothes, and wrong culture they adapt or fail in school.
Their families only have 90 days of federal funding so the ability to purchase ANYTHING gets harder over time. Most attend Title 1 schools where they get two meals a day at school (usually the only meals they get).
In the first semester of school, the contrasts emerge especially around Christmas time. Sigh.
Our gang – World Relief and churches respond to this need, but in giving gifts perhaps we reinforce the need to have “things.” No real answer…Double Sigh.
Shalom…
Hi Russel!
Your writing moves me. You sharply criticize the culture of capitalism and consumerism. You may be right that criticism is appropriate in Western countries. However, what about in developing countries or poor countries? Are we not able to use consumerism and capitalism to help as many people as possible and improve their dignity as human beings?
Shalom
Hi Dinka,
Yes/No.
Let me explain. I have had a rethink on this topic. When I was in Ephesus, I could buy (side by side), the multiple breasted figure of the goddess Artemis AND various crosses in intricate detail.
Consumerism was present in ancient Turkey and I have to assume that it served as an ancient comodification of the Artemis faith system. Buy a statue and be fertile.
I am reading Clark’s “desire” portion in Chapter 6 and am wrestling with poesis and praxis. In Ephesus the purchase of statues of Artemis enabled the lay person to understand and touch their god.
In the Eucharist, we have a similar method. Although if you are Catholic the sacrament/transubstantiation of the communion wafer INTO the body of Christ is hugely different.
Still in PRACTICE I see similarity. Can Capitalism and Consumerism improve the quality of live for 2nd and 3rd world nations? YES.
The issue/praxis for churches in these regions is not to fall the lure of improving life as an element of Christianity and acquiring things. Blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the earth.
Shalom…Shalom (perfect peace)