When I was a burbling tyke, one of the shows I had to watch--in the sense of must-see TV absolutely wanted to watch--was Davey and Goliath.  As you can see from the recent Mountain Dew (licensed) parody above, a lot of other kids watched it too. 

It's easy to make fun of the simplistic religious moralism of the D&G films, although as a kid who mainlined South Park's Butters I have to confess that thought never occurred to me. But the truth is, these shows were genius.  Not just because they snuck in controversial social commentary--the whole idea required a leap of thought that is far from typical in do-gooding, let alone religious media strategy. 

On one level, you see in Davey and Goliath an ur-text for Calvin and Hobbes, right down to sledding. 

More fundamentally, you see a creator who looked at one medium--television--and saw that the traditional mode of communication in another medium--church--would not fit:

Mr. Sutcliffe was director of Lutheran radio and television ministry in New York when he was approached by church leaders about using television to reach young people, said his daughter, J.T. Sutcliffe of Dallas.

"They wanted to do a little sermonette sort of thing, and Dad said, 'In the television medium, people aren't going to put up with that.' "

He proposed a format that would offer sound theology while being entertaining, his daughter said.  

Marshall McLuhan generalized this insight in his observation that a new medium initially repeats prior patterns--TV shows plays and symphonies; people post static pages to the web--until the form of the new medium reshapes how we communicate.  In the electronic environment, McLuhan argued, if you don't see that education is also entertainment you understand neither. 

Sutcliffe saw that merely replicating old content wasn't enough; fun iconic scenes were the wave of the future.  And as we can see by all the Youtube links here, he was right.

Below, a landmark avant-garde parody of D&G:  He Was Once by Mary Hestand with Todd Haynes.

Posted by jat at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Back when I was studying for my religion Ph.D., the notion that Americans treated religion like shopping was the stuff of cutting-edge academic books and doctoral dissertations. Now it's just another article in Cosmo.

I am so old.

Next month: What Karl Barth's dialectical yes-and-no says about how far you should go on first dates.

Posted by jat at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Like the original scanner, I'm a serious devotee of Soviet constructivist art. Beyond the intuitive appeal of the form, I'm fascinated by the degree to which the message in early Soviet propaganda resonates with charity today. Not surprising, really, in part due to the degree to which the ideology of Soviet production adopted the principles of Taylorism, which is also a direct ancestor of the principles that animate social entrepreneurship.

Below: engineering creates the mechanism of efficient production by supplanting the spirit of obsolete faith.

Posted by jat at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

‘‘My work is a response to all things plastic, black, evil and cheap that don’t give people the chance to explore the power of the body.’’ That tantalizing quote appeared in last Sunday's New York Times feature on Betony Vernon. The article may highlight the "titillating" aspects of Vernon's "erotic ceremonies," but as the writer also notes there's more to the sex than just sex. Her Paradise Found website explains:

"Ritual," "mission," "education," "mystery"--the language of transformation pervades Vernon's work. And it's not just talk: check out the following iconic design, which links the flight of the spirit to bone and flesh:

Besides offering a jewelry line, Paradise Found also doubles as a postmodern mystery faith, with a secret gathering place and rites known only to invited initiates--one more sign that we are living in the midst of a new Renaissance, where art, spirituality and commerce blend into one.

Posted by jat at 09:10 AM | Permalink

It's fair-trade, which means the more Divine Chocolate you eat, the more you help save the world.

Posted by jat at 03:11 PM | Permalink

Looks like my hidden agenda has been exposed. The last paragraph tells all:

An elaborate, jewel-inlaid religious icon has become the subject of a federal forfeiture suit against a convicted Reynosa drug boss.

Prosecutors allege that Carlos Landín-Martinez — a 52-year-old former Tamaulipas police officer turned second-in-command of Gulf Cartel operations in Reynosa — purchased the gold jewelry with proceeds from drug smuggling operations within the United States.

Landín-Martinez was wearing the piece when agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested him at a local H-E-B in July.

In the form of a pendant, it features the image of Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, inlaid with 128 diamonds, 36 emeralds and one ruby, according to an affidavit filed in the case. It is appraised at a value of more than $12,000.

“Persons who engage in large-scale drug trafficking tend to wear expensive gold jewelry as visible proof that they have been successful,” DEA agent Jaime A. Fernandez said in the document. They wear it “as evidence that they are criminals of consequence.”

Posted by jat at 02:51 PM | Permalink

Sellers call this a "Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math Pewter Pendant". But wait--isn't it tied by a string? So it really should be the Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math String Theory Pewter Pendant. And the big circles turn into little ones . . . hmmm . . . maybe it's the Evodevo Fibonacci Fractal Chaos Math String Theory Pewter Pendant.

I'm all for the integration of science and design, but ya gotta be careful to do more than just follow fads.

Posted by jat at 11:17 AM | Permalink

Murketing has gone where Craft feared to tread: printing the censored article, "What would Jesus sell?" The title is actually a riff on a new Morgan Spurlock documentary; the article itself is not about Christianity. Rather, it's an inquiry into the commodification of handicraft, asking whether the market for handcrafted items is actually consistent with the movement's do-it-yourself ethic.:

But I can't help thinking: Isn't shopping, no matter how wonderfully crafty and politically correct still, well, shopping? Can you escape the so-called sin of consumerism by buying handmade? Isn't the whole point of modern crafting Do It Yourself--not Buy from Someone Who is Doing It Themselves? Not to be a total hypocrite; I shop Etsy and artisan crafters as well as buy the crap from China just like everyone else. It's just that I see a new trend, which is moving away from crafting and towards consuming. What's next? "Hip Craft" aisles at Wal-Mart?

The presumption--now denied--that the reference to Jesus would be offensive to Christians highlights an unintended consequence of protests against blasphemy: rather than speaking of Christianity more reverently, people might conclude that mentioning Jesus at all is more trouble than it's worth.

Posted by jat at 04:42 PM | Permalink

Gawker has footage of the scene outside Heath Ledger's apartment as his body is being wheeled out to an ambulance, an iconic dance of darkness, light, death and immortality.

One photographer's response:

Another photographer was struck with the import of it all. He crossed his chest. "You heard about this already? Jesus. This is tragic." He looked down mournfully. "I should have brought my cross."

Posted by jat at 09:39 PM | Permalink

CNN just posted a story on well-dying, a movement in which individuals seek spiritual renewal by putting themselves through a fake funeral. I'd like to say more about this, but the dreaded deadline doom is crouching at my door. For now, here's a description from the original article:

After solemnly reading their wills, seven perfectly healthy university students climb into caskets in a dimly lit hall.

"I want to give all of you one more day to live, but it's time to be placed into coffins," a man in a black suit says in a resounding voice. "I hope your tired flesh and bodies will be peacefully put to rest."

Workers nail the coffins shut, then sprinkle dirt on top as the lights are switched off and a dirge is played. Muffled sobs can be heard from some of the coffins. About 15 minutes later, they are opened and the five men and two women are "reborn."

The mock funeral, which aims to get participants to map out a better future by reflecting on their past, is part of a new trend in South Korea called "well-dying." The fad is an extension of "well-being," an English phrase adopted into Korean to describe a growing interest in leading healthier, happier lives.

"I felt really, really scared inside the coffin and also thought a lot about my mom," said Lee Hye-jung, a 23-year-old woman studying engineering. "I'll live differently from now on so as not to have any regrets about my life."

Posted by jat at 12:49 PM | Permalink

Above: Items from the Christmas collection of Nightlight, a Christian charity in Bangkok that helps women and children to leave the sex trade by giving them work in a jewelry business.

For more stuff like this, check out Products with a Purpose, which also sells fashion items to help women in the sex industry.

Posted by jat at 02:57 PM | Permalink

When teaching entrepreneurial strategies and values, there are a couple things I always advise folks to look out for: the unintentional illicit double entendre and unoriginal borrowing of other people's ideas. And for reasons I won't get into today, religious enterprises seem especially inclined toward both.

Today's example:

The double entendre is obvious, accentuated by the strategic placement of fallen leaves in the woman's lap as if to focus attention on where the fire will start. The first question that popped into my mind when I saw this picture was, "Isn't abstinence supposed to prevent that??"

The second problem is more systemic. From Godtube to blatant trademark ripoffs, Christianity is fostering a horrible reputation for unethical appropriations of others' intellectual property. Commercial companies have by-and-large held back from filing lawsuits, no doubt in large part due to fear of a Christian consumer backlash. Can U Believe It? only adds fuel to the fire, blatantly ripping the business model and interface design of popular user-created t-shirt site Threadless.

As this Mediabistro article indicates, resentment toward this practice is growing and at some point we'll hit the tipping point. Or to put it in more theme-appropriate language, "Repent, for the judgment of law is at hand."

Posted by jat at 11:32 AM | Permalink

Here's a blast for the past via WFMU. Watch it without the sound off and you can feel how alien the styles in this 1971 video now appear. Listen to the sound for for a fascinating spiritual syncretism: magnetic fields, Stonehenge, dowsing, pagan ritual, laser-beam visions and Hare Krishna.

Judging from the switch from robes to suit and tie, spiritual speaker Prem Nawat doesn't do all the much speaking nowadays in front of naked hippies chanting in a field.

Posted by jat at 02:07 PM | Permalink

From Busted Tees:

"Ugh, I was into yoga way before ancient peoples discovered the restorative powers of meditation combined with stretching."

Posted by jat at 05:38 PM | Permalink

Posted by jat at 11:54 AM | Permalink

Usually when you read about a church theft the objects in question are sacred--altar fixtures, donations, innocence . . . (I kid, I kid!). But that's not what thieves stole a couple a couple days ago from an Episcopal church in Atlanta, where thieves stole the catalytic converters from three church vans and a bus.

Why a catalytic converter? For a moment my thoughts drifted toward the metaphorical, with embittered ex-Christians plotting the theft to keep the pastor from, well, catalyzing conversions. But it turns out that this explanation does not survive Ockham's razor. As this news article explains, catalytic converters contain platinum, making them useful to be harvested for dentistry and jewelry.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Posted by jat at 11:40 PM | Permalink

Jesus said that the disciple of the kingdom of heaven "brings new and old things out of storage" (Matt 13:52)--and in regard to women's fashion, ain't that the truth? Faith Central has a nice rundown on modest women's swimwear from Christian and Muslim vendors--it's new, but oh so old.

Pictured below: Bill Norton, the bathing beach policeman of Washington, D.C., in 1922 enforcing a regulation prohibiting a woman's bathing suit from stopping more than six inches above the knee.

Posted by jat at 12:39 PM | Permalink

Religious t-shirts on the rise, says the author of a recent commentary in the fashion news site Fibre2Fashion. He should know--the author, Wain Roy, is a marketer whose work includes such sites as JesusBranded, a ministry that sells Jesus-logoed items as a means of spreading the faith. The success of sites like JesusBranded is further evidence of the blurring of the line between consumerism, commerce and faith. Critics may see this as selling out, but believers who buy into it see it more as transforming the culture than conformity.

Speaking of t-shirts and uprising, pictured above is a t-shirt that is causing quite a stir in New York City: the Intifada NYC shirt sold by Arab Women Active in Art and Media. The word "Intifada" means "uprising" and has long been associated with the Palestinian resistance against Israel. Further causing controversy: one of the people loosely--and I mean loosely, in the sense of being part of a group that shares office space with AWAAM--is the principal of a new NYC school that has already sparked an uproar with its planned curriculum in Middle Eastern studies.

Is AWAAM encouraging girls to don ski masks and gun down their playmates or is it, as I suspect, being provocative in an artistic kulturkampf? Check out their website and decide for yourself!

Posted by jat at 10:07 AM | Permalink

Religious jewelry is trendy--thus saith the Chicago Tribune.  And it wouldn't be an article about fashion & religion without someone calling attention to how commodification inevitably gives rise to a degraded mass culture:

"The irony of people wearing fashionable religious jewelry is it's become a commodity and it represents the commoditization of religion," [Professor] Gunn says. "Is it just a coincidence that we have the rise of the mega-mall church and the commoditization of religious symbols as a token of one's mystery or depth? I don't think that's a coincidence. I think it's a part of the way capitalism has seeped into every aspect of our lives."

This observation raises a key issue:  do we really need professors if the best they can do is offer cheap and easy cultural critiques?  Personally, I'd be a bit disappointed if I dropped 30K a year for a religion degree only to find a sexed-up version of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. 

Posted by jat at 11:43 AM | Permalink

The Des Moines Register has a thoughtful article on the trend toward incorporating religious symbols in personal adornment from jewelry to tattoos.  As the author notes, wearing articles of faith does not necessarily mean a person is religious.  Says one pastor:

"It's ironic that the cross is a symbol of self sacrifice and as it is embraced in popular culture it is becoming a symbol of overindulgence, luxury and success." . . .

"For a segment of our society, everything is value neutral. That's completely the opposite of what we need to do," Hibben said. "There's going to be a tension between the cross of faith and the cross of consumerism, which is contrary to the Christian message."

And a rabbi agrees:

Rabbi David Kaufman of Temple B'nai Jeshurun, 5105 Grand Ave., said it's disrespectful to buy and sell spiritual symbols for their beauty or design.

"Jews believe that people should respect the religious traditions of others, no matter what the religion," Kaufman said. "When fashion and celebrity turn religious symbols into a fad, then there's a problem. People should wear religious symbols because they believe in it."

The commodification of faith in fashion is a classic example of cultural appropriation, the subject of law professor Susan Scafidi's engaging book Who Owns Culture?, featured up in the left sidebar.  You can also find more on this topic in BootLegacy, an informative new cultural property blog by attorney Elizabeth Nevis.

Posted by Susan Scafidi at 12:05 AM | Permalink

While we were off meditating in the wilderness, immersed in fasting, prayer & the World Cup, the International Herald Tribune published a feature story on the trend toward "Spiritual But Not Religious" jewelry in men's adornment. 

Faithful readers of the BofG will no doubt be familiar with pretty much everything mentioned in the piece, from the emergence of early human adornment to the layers of meaning in seemingly mundane imagery to the growing strength of the spiritual marketplace.  A few highlights below:

The most inclusive of sects, SBNR appears to shelter nouveau Buddhists, 12- step adherents, lapsed Catholics, nonobservant Jews, people who burn incense and others who just don't, you know, like how negative "atheism" sounds.

Naturally, SBNR involves no overt dogma. But tacitly it encourages a few things: self-expression, whole grains, a working familiarity with yoga. And for men, it involves jewelry. No heavy-link gold chains; SBNR rejects such overt materialism. No diamonds; SBNR does not square with those dark politics. And no Christian crosses, no Stars of David; SBNRists are beyond such unimaginative choices.

"For me, it's about the perfect nondenominational, archetypal symbol," said Philip Crangi, an in-crowd jewelry designer whose men's business, epitomized by slim chains with pendants like slender polished tusks or old-school anchors, has more than tripled in the last year and a half. "I go back to the anchor, which has several layers of connotation, from a kind of tongue-in-cheek preppy thing to a more spiritual angle."

. . .

Francisco Costa, the Calvin Klein designer, wears a collection of religious medals and good luck charms he has picked up over the years.

"I don't even look at this as jewelry," he said. "It's more something spiritual, that depicts periods of my growth, of growing up, of my life. I try not to look at it as jewelry. If I did, I would rip it right off my neck."

Posted by jat at 11:14 AM | Permalink

This week the ever-engaging Inquisitores Generales of Coutorture have been conducting a lively discussion of the morality of wearing fur.  The ethics of fur is, of course, a relatively recent problem in mainstream Western culture.  Until the rise of efficient indoor heating systems & heat-retaining fabrics we were too preoccupied with fighting the cold to think about fur as a moral issue.  

Which isn't to say that fur was entirely unproblematic.  Centuries ago everyone wore fur to keep warm, from the poorest parishioner to the parish priest, which meant that in winter the priests were covering up their distinct liturgical garb.  The line between clergy and congregation was blurred, and as medieval theologians savvily intuited, from there it would be just a short hop to folk guitars and interpretive dance. 

What was a high churchman to do?

Here's your answer.  The white garment above is a surplice, derived from the Latin super pellicium, literally, "over a garment made of skins."  As you can see, although priests (Catholic and otherwise) no longer have to wear fur to keep warm during services, the surplice continues to live on in liturgical garb . . .

And women's wear!

In a semantic evolution that some would decry as further evidence of the collapse of meaning in today's secularized society, the word "surplice" has come to refer generally to "a neckline which is formed when two pieces of fabric wrap around each other to create a V-neck opening."  Not only is the surplice no longer placed on top of fur coats--you can even find it on the beach!

Posted by jat at 11:46 AM | Permalink

Do you think this would make a nice jewelry box?  If so, don't tell a priest.  It's actually a tabernacle used to store the consecrated host, which in Roman Catholic theology has been transubstantiated into the body of Christ. 

As this article in today's New York Times points out, it's becoming relatively easy to buy liturgical items de-accessioned from deconsecrated churches.  Just beware of admonitions from offended faithful:

The altar was old. It was ornate. And it was on the gambling floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The Rev. James Lang was startled when he saw it there. Father Lang, vicar of parishes for the Roman Catholic diocese of Syracuse, had a chat with the manager. The altar eventually was removed.

"They thought it looked cool," Father Lang said.

It was also part of a growing phenomenon: religious artifacts are migrating as America's shifting population leaves empty churches across the Midwest and Northeast. This March, New York City's archdiocese recommended shutting 31 metro parishes, and Boston has closed almost 60 in three years.

So, chalices appear in antique shop windows. A confessional turns up in an Italian cafe. A stained-glass window of St. Patrick lands in a pub.

People who deal in such artifacts say interest in them is growing. . . .

The Rev. Pat Butler, a priest from Albany, wishes there were a national clearinghouse for religious artifacts. He worries about how much is being lost or desecrated.

He recalled once visiting a Missouri home furnished with an altar and church candlesticks bought at an auction. The owner explained how she had also wanted a certain gold box for her jewelry.

"I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up," Father Butler says. He asked her to describe it. The box was a tabernacle, the enclosure for consecrated hosts, often kept at the center of the altar.

Posted by jat at 01:53 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Tattoo Nation--the U.S. is getting inked.  Below:  an excerpt, including a discussion of new tattoo technology that promises to make a tattoo as easy to remove as a piece of jewelry.

So why has body art become so popular?

Laumann and others believe it allows people to broadcast to the world what they are all about. Others call it sign of rebellion or a rite of passage. The survey found nearly three-fourths of the pierced and nearly two-thirds of the tattooed made the leap before 24.

"It's a very easy way to express something that you think represents part of your identity -- that you don't have to tell someone but you can just have seen," said Chelsea Farrell, 21, an American University senior from Albany, New York Farrell has a tattooed fish on each hip and a Celtic knot on the small of her back.

. . .

Freedom-2 LLC, a Philadelphia company co-founded by Anderson, hopes to launch the first of two lines of not-so-permanent tattoo inks next year, though without FDA approval. . . .

A second ink, to be available in 2008, would rely on the same technology, except the capsules would dissolve on their own. Depending on the version, the tattoos would naturally vanish after six months, 12 months or 24 months.

"It will be like wearing a tattoo like it's jewelry, where you will be able to take it off. It will just fade on its own," Schmieg said.

Posted by jat at 11:06 PM | Permalink

"With this--necklace?--I thee wed."  That's the headline of this USA Today article discussing a recent engagement and wedding trend:  forsaking the traditional rings in favor of more personally meaningful jewelry.  Above is one such item--the Double Face Unity Medallion, with the couple echoing the yin and yang of the tao.

The article doesn't go into spiritual adornment in depth, but I can't resist mentioning this quote regarding a woman who chose to memorialize her marriage with a necklace:

"She was married in a choker," Delaney says. "On their 20th anniversary, she'll just wrap it around and around."

The big question is, whose neck?

Hat tip:  the divine Ms. Emick

Posted by jat at 11:32 PM | Permalink

Oklahoma is the last state of the union to prohibit tattoos.  But not for long.  Both houses of the Oklahoma legislature have passed a bill to legalize & regulate tattooing.

The development sparked a two-part series on tattoos & piercings in Oklahoma's Tahlequah Daily Press.  What is particularly revealing about these articles is their emphasis on the legitimacy of tattoos from a Christian perspective.  Part I, on tattoos, contains this lengthy apologia:

Chris Craig, “CC” as he’s known to his friends, has several tattoos, all speak to his spirituality.

“People get the wrong impression about people who have tattoos,” said Craig. “Mine are very religious. People might know more about Christianity if they actually read their Bibles.”

According to Craig, the popular Bible passage relating to not injuring oneself relates more to pagan ritual.

“The Bible says you’re not supposed to ‘let blood for the dead,’” said Craig. “Which means you’re not supposed to participate in ritualistic destruction of your body to raise the dead, things like that.”

Craig is a friend of the Smiths, and Karen is quick to talk about his devotion to God.

“If you’ll notice, he has flames tattooed up and down both arms,” said Karen. “He was in a really bad motorcycle accident and died three or four times before they completely revived him. His tattoos are a reflection of God saving his life. One says ‘Only God can judge me.’”

According to Karen, Craig lived one way before the accident, and lives a completely different way now.

“Chris is in church every Wednesday and Sunday,” she said. “He’s also a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association.”

Safari has a number of customers who are preachers part-time, according to Karen.

“People need to lose the idea that tattoos are bad or wrong,” she said.

And Part II, on piercings, is accompanied by a man wearing a cross pendant & an Aslan shirt as he gets another pierce:

Posted by jat at 10:32 AM | Permalink

Longtime readers may remember our occasional posts about the movement to stop trade in conflict diamonds, which fund violent rebel actions in Africa.  Today's New York Times has a story about a similar movement to promote better practices in gold mining.

For more on the adverse social and environmental impact of gold mining, check out the Ethical Metalsmiths page.  The rings pictured on the left are made from recycled gold & are part of Leber's Earthwise Jewelry collection.

Posted by jat at 10:51 AM | Permalink

According to this article in the latest National Jeweler, people buying jewelry today are looking less to signal status than to find personal meaning.  Shops that tell a story have an edge. 

Posted by jat at 03:52 AM | Permalink

Plenty of people have tried to sell their soul on eBay, but as the Wall Street Journal reports, DePaul University student Hemant Mehta gave this old saw a twist:  he offered to sell his salvation.  For every ten dollars of the winning bid, Mehta, an atheist, would attend an hour of church.

Mehta's creative bid for attention has given rise to a fascinating blog.  It turns out that the winning bidder, Jim Henderson, is a Christian & a former Christian minister, but rather than trying to save this admitted atheist Henderson is using Mehta to help save Christianity.  In exchange for the winning bid of $504, Mehta is attending a range of churches, then offering his critiques on the web.

Why would Henderson make what some Christians think is a Faustian bargain?  In short, he thinks that mainstream evangelism is ineffective and offputting.  Instead of getting evanga-blingy with WWJD or Round Tuits (don't ask), Henderson is focusing on how Christians can "be more real, more aware and generally less weird." 

Here at the BofG we respect Henderson & Mehta's mission of mutual understanding & heartily wish them the best, but we must also admit to some degree of reservation.  After all, if purchasing a soul for God succeeds in eliminating evangelistic weirdness, we're going to have a devil of a time coming up with ideas for this blog!

Posted by jat at 12:38 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Hip Hop is the postmodern spiritual, an authentically American blend of rhyme, rhythm and redemption.  Thus it is only fitting that the Smithsonian is collecting turntables, boomboxes and other hip hop "artifacts" for a permanent exhibit. 

While some may be wondering what this means for hip hop's future, here at the B of G we just want to make sure that that the Smithsonian does not forget its spiritual bling!

But what to include?  Hip hop is full of religious riches, from its narratives of personal deliverance to its many symbols of personal faith.  To help the Smithsonian in its sacred quest, here is a list of a seven things to look for when collecting hip hop's holy relics.

7.  Sacred Scriptures, Living Prophets & Moral Commandments

6.  A message of love for humanity

5.  Relics from revered martyrs

4.  How Beautiful Are the Feet . . .

3.  Symbols of the Protestant Work Ethic

2.  Sacred Time

1.   And, of course, the diamond Jesus Head!    

EXTRA:  Want to see more spiritual bling from throughout hip hop history?  Check out the source for several of the pictures linked above: Minya Oh's Bling Bling:  Hip Hop's Crown Jewels.  

Posted by jat at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A charity auction isn't the only measure the Pope could take to counter criticism that his lavish fashion sense is too materialistic.  He could also replace his expensive bling with a far cheaper tattoo. 

As this newspaper article observes, religious tattoos are on the rise in the U.S., from the Bible verses on Duke's J.J. Redick and to the Hindu lotus flower.

Just we have long worn clothing has as "an extension of the skin" both to warm our bodies and to define ourselves, many now freely using their skin as an extension of their soul.  This should not come as no surprise.  Back in 1964 Marshall McLuhan observed that

After centuries of being fully clad and of being contained in uniform visual space, the electric age ushers us into a world in which we live and breathe and listen with the entire epidermis.

The Bahai tattoo above represents the fundamental unity of all religions, but it could also symbolize what McLuhan referred to as the "all-at-onceness" created by electronic technology.  People, places, objects, time--everything now flows together, smashing the divisions and taboos of the literate West.  Which also brings with the supreme irony of our technological age--

by immersing us in a world in which every surface is a communications medium, computers and the Web have actually helped revive our tribal spirit.

Posted by jat at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (2)

Of the making of Christian books against evolution there may be no end, but adaptation and natural selection are everyday realities in the world of Christian booksellers.  As this article notes, one of the themes emerging from the annual convention of the Christian Booksellers Association is the need to adapt to Walmart and big box stores, who are taking away a sizable portion of the Christian book trade.

What is keeping the booksellers in the black?  Yes, they are beginning to emphasize their more informed selection & ties to local churches, but statistics tell the real tale:  "Books now account for only 40 percent of sales in Christian retail stores." 

Jewelry, tchotchkes, gifts--that's where the profit center now lies in the Christian market.  But if mainstream merchants continue to expand their range of Christian and other religious products, look for more traditional Christian bookstores to go the way of all flesh.

Posted by jat at 01:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

White collar, Christian pendant, iron cross--

Is this Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld or a demonic biker priest?

Why do designers put religious imagery on clothing and accessories?  Pious devotion or multicultural respect; inspiration from religious sources; a blundering accident, hubris or a desire to get attention by seeming outre--these are a few of the more prominent reasons, of course.

In the case of Karl Lagerfeld, the anticlerical message of his clerical garb might even reflect his most recent challenge to the fashion establishment itself, as he has just announced the first ever iTunes podcast of a top-tier runway show, to take place on February 10 for his eponymous Karl Lagerfeld line.

Lagerfeld is, of course, far from the first prominent figure to use religious symbols in a subversive fashion--his garb reflects an anticlerical tradition that extends back through a pronounced anticlerical strain in European art to Jesus' own inversion of temple imagery to challenge religious authorities. 

But as Karl learned the hard way a few years ago, adorning clothes with spiritual references is not without its risks.  In 1994 he embroidered clothing for Chanel with phrases from the Quran--accidentally, he claimed--leading to death threats against both him and supermodel Claudia Schiffer.  He destroyed the clothes and apologized.  A similar fate would soon await Quranic Liz Claibourne jeans and Nike shoes seemingly emblazoned with the Arabic for Allah.

A few years later Fida Na'amneha, a young designer who is Arab and a Muslim, similarly tempted fate by embroidering several attributes of Allah on a low-cut dress.  Suffice it to say that despite her devout faith, she did not exactly receive flattering reviews. 

The lesson of today's homily?  As the Evil One himself once said, the purpose of life is life, so if you're going to be daring & transgressive with religious symbols, just do it with religions where you're not gonna get whacked!  

Posted by jat at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (3)

Fashion Week is a ritual in which the many sing the praises of a creative few.  There are reasons for this, of course, but we'll save that another day.  What lifts my spirits more is the emergence of a yin to the dominant yang.

This pendant is a perfect example of what MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld calls the trend toward personal fabrication.  The source of the picture?  Not a jewelry store, not a design magazine, but a flickr post.  The description says it all:

"I designed this myself and had a silversmith friend work it up for me . . . ."

Here you have it.  A cross, the yin yang symbol, and an image of water as the source of life woven together by someone who knows that fashion is at its most personal and transcendant when you create it yourself.

EXTRA:  If you have your own designs, feel free to post them on Flickr & send me the links or post them to the new BofG Flickr group.  I'll also be featuring posts about emerging designers in weeks to come, so be sure to make the Blingdom of God part of your daily web devotional!

And for more commentary on New York Fashion Week and the latest happening fashion trends, don't forget the pathbreaking work being done at Almost Girl & Fashion Tribes in cooperation with Pajamas Media and Glam.

Posted by jat at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

The President's State of the Union address was last night, and I'm sure that all of you are meditating on the profound prophetic moments that deeply stirred your soul.  Like when the President said . . .

um, he said . . .

Right.  Anyway, not to worry.  In connection with spring fashion week in New York, the fashion saints are marching in with the state of the fashion union, and I want to be in that number!  Though the focus may be on the runway, we must never forget to accessorize. 

Overall, the state of the blingdom is strong.  Crosses, crystals, mandalas--the symbols of spirit abound on today's jewelry.  The Temple St. Clair cross above, for example, is one of many such items displayed at last week's JA International Winter Jewelry Show in New York.  Whatever your particular religious persuasion, church chic is not going away.

But can a blingdom divided against itself stand?  Although spiritual-themed jewelry may be on the rise, we have yet to fully divine the meaning of the great gulf fixed between different types of people who wear it. 

In brief, the red/blue divide that we see in politics is also apparent in spiritual adornment.  The person who wears a "True Love Waits" cross is making a statement quite different from the casual wearer of a turquoise cross, just as the mandala market typically reflects a far different set of cultural assumptions from the market for Mary.

Rest assured, however, that the Blingdom of God is no respector of persons or beliefs.  Whether you wear your Bling of the Spirit for couture, for chastity, or for cuddling, all are welcome here!

Posted by jat at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)