Thursday, April 19, 2007

"Lost" in the suburbs?

A new “megachurch” was built recently down the road from the subdivision in which I live, so whenever I drive up the road now that used to be nice fields of greenery, there is this monstrous mythology temple obnoxiously polluting the visual aesthetics of my once beautiful scenery I loved to see on my way to and from home. In front of this mythology temple is the sign shown in the image in this post. The words annoyed me and I may still write that pastor a letter telling him that this is a wonderful town and ask him why he is trying to convince people here, in this happy village, that they have a problem and are somehow “lost”. The town I live in is full of prosperous people, full of large homes, Blue Ribbon schools, horse ranches, Park District with all kinds of activities for everyone, low crime, wide open spaces all around us, nice trails to walk or bike on, ponds to sit by, streams to fish in, adequate shopping, a brand new cinema, and much, much more. So why is this new church trying to convince everyone they are “lost” and bring us down in spirit? Because they are counting on baiting those who have a victim mentality instead of looking at the good things in their lives. Churches gain members who are negative and love the pity-partying.

How many of us have driven by similar signs that are placed strategically in front of church properties with the same negative messages? Churches try to sell people a line that they are somehow a victim, that despite all that they have — family, good food, good friends, nice cars and homes, good health, a beautiful town in which to live…that they are lacking anyway. Since there are so many who fall for this promotion of “I have a problem”, no wonder there are so many depressed people in the world.

2 comments:

T. Bradford Singleton said...

that s pretty interesting,
My church doesnt have a marqui sign, just an attractive stucco sign that sits low to to the ground. its probably one of the least intrusive signs in the area.

Stardust said...

t.bradford - interesting that god botherers need signs, bells, chimes, etc. to try to get people to join them. So much for the power of a god. It's always people doing the "calling".

And the "bait" is always "you have a problem that needs fixing." It's how most marketing goes today. Make people believe they have a need or are lacking something (even when they are happy the way they are).

Sign, sign everywhere as sign...

come join us and bring your money. -- just like any other business.