Brand Jesus

Book excerpt: American evangelical faith has been corrupted by a series of forces at work in Americaconsumerism, the economy, and American politicsand has become idolatrous. Using Pauls letter to the Romans as a starting point, Stevenson reads the letter to todays American church.With provocative discussions of Christian hypocrisy, megachurches, the ways in which Christian ideas are distressingly combined with private property and market-driven economics, the blurring boundaries between law and religion, and other topics, Stevenson offers an analysis of where the American church finds itself, and how that place is quite different from that which Paul wrote of. He seeks to answer the question; in this age of consumerism and politicization of religion, how will the church reject the idolatry of Jesus as brand, and embrace Him as He asked to be?