Marketing Jesus - Aussie style

I haven’t listened to the podcast, just read about the campaign. But my immediate response to the idea of the campaign was, in fact, negative… and I am now questioning that. I think there is a general assumption (which I guess I share) that in selling belief systems, marketing is inherently dishonest. This is obviously a questionable assumption. But there are fairly clear ethical guidelines for Christian marketing in Paul’s determination to not manipulate people but continue to preach the somewhat culturally offensive message of Christ crucified.
In the case of this particular campaign, though, I do feel genuinely doubtful. Where’s the ecclesiology, eh? Distinguishing Jesus from the church is important, but it lets people in for all sorts of problems when they start asking what the consequences of paying attention to Jesus are. Because a lot of those consequences, for better of for worse, have to do with Christian community.

Well, the racial stuff is sinister. It makes an interesting contrast with the campaign here - which you probably didn’t have in NZ, what with your generous attitude to asylum seekers - that figured Jesus as refugee. That had a very conventional ‘bleeding heart’ style picture of Jesus, with the word REFUGEE stamped across it, subverting the image nicely.