{"id":21770,"date":"2019-02-23T13:20:43","date_gmt":"2019-02-23T21:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=21770"},"modified":"2019-02-23T13:20:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T21:20:43","slug":"the-only-thing-necessary-for-the-triumph-of-evil-is-for-good-men-to-do-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-only-thing-necessary-for-the-triumph-of-evil-is-for-good-men-to-do-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmund Burke[1]<\/a>, is quoted attributing the triumph of evil to the inaction of good men. For any thing good to happen or for evil to be defeated, it takes a good man to take responsibility to do something to change the situation, rather than being a passive observer. Miller[2]<\/a>in writing about consumerism, takes the bold step to actively highlight this culture that significantly affects religion but which contemporary theology is silent about. Miller in the survey of scholarly literature in over a period close to a century is shocked at the paucity of any serious theoretical work on consumerism. He is bold to analyze the consumer culture and the commodification of religion, showing how the current culture has corrupted Christianity. \u00a0He however goes ahead to suggest how religious tradition should be used to counter consumerism.<\/p>\n

Consumerism which is the product of extreme capitalism, is the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. It\u2019s also an inclination towards buying of consumer goods. Miller argues that consumerism is not just about behavioral \u201cexcesses\u201d but rather it is a pervasive worldview that affects our construction as person, what motivates us, how we relate to others, to culture and to religion[3]<\/a>. This culture has so pervaded the societal values to the extent that people have commodities religion instead of put it into practice. It is not uncommon to use popular religious phrases on t-shirts that sold for commercial purposes instead of being applied to transform individuals. Today, the same way advertisement for consumer goods is done in the media is the same way the churches will advertise giving of tithes in the church. It is in the same spirit that the prosperity Gospel has flourished in this consumerism culture that has been sneaked into the church. In many churches today and in the same spirit of consumerism, people are manipulated to give money using scripture but in such way that is openly commodification of such scripture for the gain of such churches leaders.<\/p>\n

The consumerism culture has reflected in the competitive spirit of having big congregations in churches that gives more financial resources for the churches, which are however towards consumerism as opposed to pursuit of religious purposes. It is very unfortunate that the innocent and gullible church goers are taken advantage of and manipulated to give generously because one is valued or judged on how much you give. It is so clear that the prosperity gospel is fueled by consumerism and unfortunately affects the poor in society who, are manipulated to give \u201cseed\u201d in order to prosper. Religious traditions like giving voluntarily out of conviction and cheerfully, have been eroded over time because of the influence of the consumerism culture in the church.<\/p>\n

It would help if the truth that the word of God would be used rightly to counter the negative effects of consumerism. The Bible is full of financial knowledge that can help the clergy to educate the church members on how to successfully manage their personal\/business finances and avoid irresponsible purchase of consumers goods. As I reflect on this book, I see the opportunity to confront the issue consumerism by researching on ways to equip the clergy and other lay leaders in church, with biblically based financial literacy, who can use the same to educate the church members and economically empower others as a tool of evangelism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>Burke, Edmund: Reflections on The Revolution in France: And on The Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to That Event. In a Letter intended to have been sent to a gentleman in Paris. By the right Honorable Edmund Burke<\/em>. The seventh Edition. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1790.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>Miller, Vincent J. Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. Vincent J Miller. Continuum Intl. Publishing Group. London. November 1, 2003.<\/em><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>Ibid\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edmund Burke[1], is quoted attributing the triumph of evil to the inaction of good men. For any thing good to happen or for evil to be defeated, it takes a good man to take responsibility to do something to change the situation, rather than being a passive observer. Miller[2]in writing about consumerism, takes the bold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[371,374,35,255],"class_list":["post-21770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-consumerism","tag-consuming-religion","tag-leadership","tag-miller","cohort-lgp9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21771,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21770\/revisions\/21771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}