The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity
Skye Jethani
Zondervan, 2009, 192 pp., $18.99
www.zondervan.com
An outstanding book! I had read about the life of Vincent Van Gogh, but this book took me to deeper levels of understanding the fascinating spiritual journey of the artist.
Jethani identifies and uses the religious experiences, artwork and writings of Van Gogh (positive and negative) to help the reader better understand the dangers of consumer Christianity. Although the book quotes Kierkegaard, Aquinas and Willard (the book is very well researched), Jethani also cites Charlie Brown.
There’s a unique balance of academic rigor, ministry relevance and contemporary context. The book includes provocative questions for discussion for each chapter at the close of the book. The author recommends the book to be read in community.
If you are fatigued with the marketing of the church, “branding” of Christianity, entertainment-worship and want to challenge your students to a faith that pushes back against consumerism, Divine Commodity is an excellent choice!
