Following Christ in a Consumer Society: The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

John F. Kavanaugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2006

In an era of fraud, corruption, and the relentless celebration of image over substance, the message of this perennial best-seller is more timely than ever. Following Christ in a Consumer Society offers a penetrating critique of the culture of consumerism, contrasted with the personalism of the Gospel. Addressing a soul-destroying culture in which having more has become the only measure of value, Kavanaugh reminds us of the values that truly make us human. Through the counter-cultural message of the Gospel, his book presents a diagnosis of our social ills while at the same time providing a guide back to wholeness, sanity, and spiritual health

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Kingdom is coming in this book. --Richard Rohr

The more we try to ground our identities in external possessions or triumphs, the more we plaster our names on everything we can accumulate, the more we cling to surface and style, the less we find underneath. --John F. Kavanaugh

The Kingdom is coming in this book. --Richard Rohr

About the Author

John F. Kavanaugh, a Jesuit priest, teaches at St. Louis University. He is a frequent contributor to Commonweal magazine. His many books include Who Counts as Persons? Human Identity and the Ethics of Killing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books; 25 Aniversary edition (November 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157075666X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570756665
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rampant Consumerism and Its Antidote, January 10, 2007

By 

Carol Blank (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Following Christ in a Consumer Society: The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance (Paperback)

This 25th anniversary edition of Kavanaugh's work paints a strong picture of today's consumer culture marked by the "empty interior, broken relationship, craving for things, injustice of depersonalization, and flight from the wounded." The author employs examples from current events, cultural phenomena, and research studies to describe the earmarks and effects of the "Commodity Form."

He describes the commodity form as a filter for all our experience, attitudes, emotions, drives, perceptions, and behavior that reduces us to replaceable "things" valuable only in terms of how much we market, produce, and consume. In direct opposition, Kavanaugh holds up the "Personal Form," in which humans are valued as irreplaceable, capable of self-conscious reflection, and fulfilled in relationships based on mutual commitment. The personal form relies on Christian discipleship marked by such practices as self-critique, moral consistency, and prayer and supported by participation in community and the sacraments, all topics that Kavanaugh addresses in detail.

This work can be seen as user`s manual for groups and individuals serious about understanding, resisting, and challenging the rampant consumerism of twenty-first century America.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Every Christian Should Read, April 3, 2010

By 

D. S. Bornus (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Following Christ in a Consumer Society: The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance (Paperback)

This is a book that will challenge modern Christians as they contemplate their daily lifestyle in today's society. Kavanaugh posits that the prevailing milieu of capitalist culture is that of the "commodity form," a worldview whereby all things (including people) are objectified and ennumerated as "economic units" and focus and decisions are based on economic imperatives to which all must submit. The first half of the book examines the phenomenon of this commodity form, and how it is so pervasively expressed in modern culture that it shapes the very language and structure of our perspective, even among Christians. The commodity form drives society through the venue of our media-saturated entertainment and information mediums, as all is directed toward evoking a sense of deep-felt dissatisfaction that must be temporarily sated through immediate consumption, seeking the next thing whether it be products, experiences, or ideas. Its fruit is seen in the self-focused nature of relationships and evaporating morality and ethics, love, and care for others, especially the socially marginalized in our culture and in other lands.

The second half of the book discusses the "personal form" as expressed by the teachings of Jesus, whereby one finds meaning by loving and blessing others, and not in personal consumption. This half of the book is a little harder to grasp, the truths more ephemeral and intangible, and must be reflected upon (the antithesis of immediate gratification which is characteristic of the commodity form). Kavanaugh admits that even he follows the personal form imperfectly, and we must all have patience for the imperfections of others as they express their discipleship, but this tolerance is itself a primary example of the way of outward love and concern as we continue to learn and develop. The concluding chapters discuss how this best occurs in the community of Christian fellowship, collectively expressed, and also as we each individually reflect on our daily behaviors and choices and what allegiance they truly reveal. A section of the book (p. 140) describes the modern "emergent" church movement as a "naive and ineffectual" reaction against the commodity form, romanticizing anarchic structurelessness and revolution yet being in danger of co-option by the market-obsessed mentality of "Christian Media." And much modern Christian expression is at risk of being too comfortable equating righteousness with capitalist success, and thus not being "Christian" at all.

There are many unanswered questions in this book, not the least of which is to examine the realities of how individuals and their governments can resolve conflict and improve the lot of humanity in an imperfect world where people disagree. But this book is meant to evoke reflection and personal considered action. To that end, the bibliography at the back of the book is a treasure in itself, as Kavanaugh briefly describes the literature of past decades surrounding these themes. This edition also has three prefaces, one from 1981, 1996, and 2006, which themselves provide an interesting exposition of the development of the commodity form during the genesis of the online information age.

Every Christian should read this book and reflect on his/her worldview and how much it truly reflects the mind of Christ as expressed in daily life choices.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toward a Life Of Meaning, September 13, 2008

By 

books and beyond "books_et_beyond" (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Following Christ in a Consumer Society: The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance (Paperback)

I knew Kavenaugh from my colege days and tere was no greater spokespeson for a values-directed ife. The man lived it and we all loved him for it (c'est domage his college at the time is now run by a tyrant who wouldn't undersand a word of this book). I would recomend this for all colege stuents of a Christian orientation as a way to chalenge thematerialism that has driven their parents and dragged them along. This book could change society. Something had better. My son is reading it now. I pray that Kavenaugh's efect on all of us in college reaches my son as well. Good bye Game Boy!