What On Earth Are We Doing?

American Christianity has turned Paul's admonition on its head.
Paul said,
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Ro 12:2).

We've changed it to
"And be conformed to the world, just make sure it has a veneer of Christianity so that we can claim we're only trying to reach the lost."

Exhibit A.

Is this church or a concert?

Is this a concert or church?

I'm really confused why the American Christian church has decided that worshiping God should look like the world's worship of its idols. I've heard all the excuses:
-I can't worship doing all that old fashioned stuff.
-We want to be relevant!
-People won't come to church unless we make it entertaining.
-Making Sunday service shallow and entertaining is the only way to be evangelical (i.e., it will draw the "unchurched").

Since when is worship about making sure we are satisfied? Since when did worship stop being about assenting to God's glory, and ascribing Him worth (which is the root of worship)? Since when did worship become nothing more than a vehicle for getting people to come in the door? Since when did we decide that church should be, "entertaining, attractive, not judgmental, and not invasive"? Since when did worship shift from God-centered to man-centered?


Exhibit B.


So we have Christian My Little Ponies. Is that so bad? I suppose you could make an argument that this is a harmless way to indulge in Western culture's obsession with providing our children endless forms and ammounts of entertainment. Heaven forbid they use their imaginations, much less in this case learn that Christianity is slightly more than pithy catchwords and jargon slapped onto the sides of rubber horses. Nevermind the fact that My Little Pony is fully pagan:


But then we have exhibit C.



Really? Really?!?!!!?!!? Is this where we are?

According to the manufacturer,
"Finally, a fasion doll you can feel good about giving your child or grandchild! God's Girlz are modest [if grammatically challenged -ed.], yet fashionable, and with meaningful content to encourage thoughtful play. Each 12" doll is fully posable and fitted with the latest fasion styles."

Let's look at a little Scripture:
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ^you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ^but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Ex 20:4-6."
Recognize it? Yeah, that's Commandment #2.
A lot of people are going to say, "Wait, that's the Old Testament. We're not under the Old Testament, so we can make carved images (dolls) if we want. Besides, we aren't making them to be worshipped."
Jesus said, "But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Mt 19:17).
As far as worshipping, what is the purpose of this doll? I would argue that it teaches little girls how they are "supposed" to look. This doll represents what the world (and in this case American Christian culture) thinks women should look like, what little girls should emmulate. That is worship. That is the "thoughtful play" these dolls actually will encourage.

Is there a qualitative difference between these two? Be honest.

One is supposed to have "meaningful content" while the other is said to "sexualize young girls." I can't figure out which is which.

We can argue over whether it is appropriate to let little girls play with fashion dolls, but let's quit adding a Christian facade to secular culture - secular culture that we Christians are blaming for the moral degradation of morality in said culture. It's kind of like someone who wallows around in a pig's mud pit and argues, "But at least I'm not a pig!"
On the manufacturer's website, they encourage retailers to carry their stuff because, "Christian/Inspirational products account for over $4 billion in retail sales annually."

Truly we are of the world, but not in it. Most of us spend our entire life immersed in this pseudo-Christian subculture, thinking we are glorifying God because we are participating in that subculture. We would never be caught in a Nickelback concert, but we have no problem going to a Sunday service that is indistinguishable from one. We would never buy our child a Bratz doll, but we "feel good about" giving her a doll that looks just like one. We don't want our children playing with "pagan" My Little Ponies, but we will buy them "Praise Ponies" that are exactly the same, but for the little symbols on thier haunches.