Brittany L. reviewed The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A few thoughts on the Divine Commodity
Quotable: "We are very fickle about community. When things are going well, we're eager to jump into the boat and join the fun. But when community requires sacrifice, perseverance and hard work, we can find ourselves on the shore acting like we don't know those crazy people in the boat... We make calculated decisions about which community will offer the most comfortable environment, and our commitment to that group lasts only as long as the comfort endures... This is the tension that exists in a consumer society."
Go without Van Gogh: Skye uses the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh throughout the book. Each chapter contains a short story about Van Gogh's life and a description of his artwork that is meant to support the overall point of the chapter. To be honest, he could have done without it. Maybe it's because I'm not an art-guy, but the Van Gogh references were more of a distraction than a help.
An Artwork by Itself: Van Gogh aside, the book is a masterful piece of work. I was skeptical when the intro claimed: "The chapters that follow are impressionist in form. They are comprised of short, seemingly in congruent scenes... with distance and reflection they fuse in the mind's eye to create a discernible theme." Now that I've finished, I have to admit that Skye totally pulled it off. With the book finished I'm left thinking a lot clearer about the church, consumerism, and how they collide.
Don't Buy Stuff: My take away? Don't buy stuff. And don't treat God, the church, and following Christ as a consumable commodity either.
Quotable: "We are very fickle about community. When things are going well, we're eager to jump into the boat and join the fun. But when community requires sacrifice, perseverance and hard work, we can find ourselves on the shore acting like we don't know those crazy people in the boat... We make calculated decisions about which community will offer the most comfortable environment, and our commitment to that group lasts only as long as the comfort endures... This is the tension that exists in a consumer society."
Go without Van Gogh: Skye uses the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh throughout the book. Each chapter contains a short story about Van Gogh's life and a description of his artwork that is meant to support the overall point of the chapter. To be honest, he could have done without it. Maybe it's because I'm not an art-guy, but the Van Gogh references were more of a distraction than a help.
An Artwork by Itself: Van Gogh aside, the book is a masterful piece of work. I was skeptical when the intro claimed: "The chapters that follow are impressionist in form. They are comprised of short, seemingly in congruent scenes... with distance and reflection they fuse in the mind's eye to create a discernible theme." Now that I've finished, I have to admit that Skye totally pulled it off. With the book finished I'm left thinking a lot clearer about the church, consumerism, and how they collide.
Don't Buy Stuff: My take away? Don't buy stuff. And don't treat God, the church, and following Christ as a consumable commodity either.
