This is a sellout. A lapsed Anglican myself but I am shocked at the way the current Anglican hierarchy has gone neo-liberal. I am reminded of many many years ago, when an Anglican priest, who had seen what Christians had done to black Africans in the name of God, shouted at the lunch table: “You can’t be a Christian and vote Tory!” I’d go further, I’d say: “You can’t be a Christian and vote for either major party!” Both have sold out to neo-liberalism, which is all about maximising your own gains through market forces aand moneterism. Mammon, that is to say. And someone they should take notice of said you can’t serve God and Mammon.
Not that God is the issue any more. But an ethical framework is. Politicians used to be elected by acknowledging some sort of social contract with those who elected them(I’ll elaborate on this point later but it is late at night)and today neither Labor or Liberal have any sort of contract with the public. Their only contract is with their will to power and with the corporations who have bought them out. For the Church of any persuasion to use the language of moneterism in the pretence that it is promoting the message that Jesus preached is grotesque and ugly. Jesus would have taken out his whip again thrashed the moneylenders in St Davids (and elsewhere). And that’s from an agnostic.
Well, I have made a point and it needs greatly expanding.
Posted by John Biggs on 29/12/11 at 09:38 PM
mmmmm….“our god came down”...are they sure?
Where from exactly?
I’d be more inclined to go with the Maccas theme or Hungry Jacks, so there is more opportunity to upsell and cater for the broader socio-economic market.
For example….
“I’d like a baby Jesus please”....would you like to upsize and get free redemption with your purchase????
“God, a little bit fancy”.
“Eternal life-supersize me”.
Besides, its rude to point and too much red smacks of fire and brimstone.
If St Davids wants to hire me, just send me an email…Davo :)
Posted by Dave Groves on 30/12/11 at 04:48 AM
We saw this a few weeks ago, and thought it a very inventive appropriation of an excellent ad campaign - one that probably cost millions. We also wondered if Coles would sue a church for illegal use of their copyright material.
We think St Davids is probably safe, but you never know.
Posted by Bronwyn Williams on 30/12/11 at 09:55 AM
How distasteful and just plain ‘common’! Where is the ‘style’ of the old church! No wonder people are leaving in droves! Bad enough the ‘happy clappies’, but this?
Posted by Brenton on 30/12/11 at 01:35 PM
I like the bit at the side that says ‘Messy Christmas’!
Talking church advertising, I once saw a message outside a church in Launcestion that said:
Get a New Life
See John 3:23
Underneath someone had written, ‘I was only five minutes late, but he had already gone.’
Another notice that said, ‘Where will YOU spend Eternity?’
I asked my wife the same question, and she said, ‘Show me the shops!’
Posted by Barnaby Drake on 31/12/11 at 07:10 AM
Re: religion and retail. What a hoot. Those pesky christians can be jolly amusing sometimes, like those witty little bon mots on the board outside my local church. One I remember said something like “Work hard for the Lord. The pay is bad but the retirement benefits are heavenly.”
My old Dad used to say that the Catholic church and Coles were just big businesses that took your money and gave you inferior goods. When Eastlands first opened Dad took us there and thought the look on peoples’ faces was similar to those going into a big cathedral for the first time. After that he would refer to shopping centres as cathedrals of consumerism.
My hope for 2012 is that religion and retail are both in terminal decline. And I wish all TT’ers contentment most of the time, peace some of the time, and joy occasionally.
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