Following Christ in a Consumer Society: The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 240 pages
• Published by: Orbis Books; 25 Anv edition November 30, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 157075666X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1570756665
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

Reader Reviews
This 25th anniversary edition of Kavanaugh's work paints a strong picture of today's consumer culture marked by the "empty interior, broken relationship, craving for things, injustice of depersonalization, and flight from the wounded." The author employs examples from current events, cultural phenomena, and research studies to describe the earmarks and effects of the "Commodity Form." He describes the commodity form as a filter for all our experience, attitudes, emotions, drives, perceptions, and behavior that reduces us to replaceable "things" valuable only in terms of how much we market, produce, and consume. In direct opposition, Kavanaugh holds up the "Personal Form," in which humans are valued as irreplaceable, capable of self-conscious reflection, and fulfilled in relationships based on mutual commitment. The personal form relies on Christian discipleship marked by such practices as self-critique, moral consistency, and prayer and supported by participation in community and the sacraments, all topics that Kavanaugh addresses in detail. This work can be seen as user`s manual for groups and individuals serious about understanding, resisting, and challenging the rampant consumerism of twenty-first century America.