What Would Jesus Buy?

I am back from my much needed summer away from stress and I have a must see to put on your calendar.

What Would Jesus Buy was produced by Morgan Spurlock (think Super Size Me) and directed by Rob VanAlkemade, features Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Quire. This is far and away one of the most enjoyable, well made, and thought provoking documentaries I have seen in a long time.

The major point of both the movie and the church is that the consumption habits of the United States is ruining out world and our culture. We often forget that the way we consume things creates a certain kind of culture. I just spent a month in Spain and one of the interesting things I learned about was a store called El Corte Ingles. This is a department store much like Sears. According to a friend of mine, when it first open in the 1940s many Spaniards were wary because they were afraid it would destroy their old shopping habits of going to different stores for specific items. Wal-Mart and its destruction of small shops in America is a great example of how consumption changes culture.

For those who live in the Bay Area you should check out the Food and Farming Film Festival in Berkeley.