Rob Bell: THE GODS AREN'T ANGRY: Part 2

IN RESPONSE: "Why I Like Black Friday."

The day marked for celebration of the birth of Jesus is nearing. Comments are frequently made about the origination of the holiday being pagan. I would argue that which was pagan and made religious has largely become pagan again. The "celebration" that we now call Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of God coming into the brokenness of humanity. I will continue to add some posts on the repulsivity of consumerism. For the next 5 posts I am responding to a post of a friend noting "The Top 5 Reasons why I like Black Friday."

"5. A 3-way-tie. The fifth place spot is a hodgepodge of three things that I couldn’t cut out. They are being awake at 3am, getting 50 to 70 percent off, and hanging out with a pair of identical twin ladies in their mid-40’s that were proudly wearing reindeer antlers on their head that light up and play music. Basically, I love being up when so many others are sleeping, its just like you got the whole place to yourself. As for the savings, paying a lot less for something I’d be buying anyway always helps. The ladies with the affinity for their holiday head gear, well…I guess you had to be there."

What should be marked as #7, "being awake at 3:00 a.m." does not have to involve being at a store to spend one's money. I am usually awake at 3:00 a.m. either in dialogue with residents of Oakwood Hall or reading and writing for my master of arts program.

What should be marked as #6, "getting 50-70% off" is extremely problematic. Here, the marketers of all thins retail and commercial have perfected the art and science of making one think that he/she needs something. One will think, "If I can get 50-70% off then why shouldn't I buy it? I'm saving 50-70% of the original price." One then forgets that he/she is, indeed, spending. Though the spending may be half the amount it is still monetary spending on a product that you may not be buying anyway. I have to wonder that if a "sale" didn't exist if one would still maintain that "I'd be buying that anyway." The possibility exists that there are many things that are desired as opposed to needed that would not be purchased "anyway" if we were not tempted by the marketed "sale." Aside from the monetary issue, is shopping really the most valuable use of one's time? Please refer to comment on #7 above.

As for the "identical twin ladies in their mid-40’s that were proudly wearing reindeer antlers..." I simply cannot argue with that.

Flickr Updating

After my initial photo uploads some time ago I discovered the beauty of the Flickr Uploadr. I also extended beyond the free version so that I have unlimited downloading and storage for backup archives. Now I don't have to burn CDs that need stored and organized for backup. I'm continuing to download many, many photos. The Flickr link is permanently located to the right in MY LINKS. Simply click "My Photo Album." My favorite album is the recently uploaded "Beauty: Sarah & Kyla."