September 11, 2000
Many shop at sign of the fish,
but is it Jesus Junk or Witness Wear?
___By Craig Bird
___FaithWorks Magazine
___JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)--Read any good fish lately?
___The fish emblem has symbolized Christianity since late in the first century, when believers used it as a code to discreetly identify one another amid persecution. But today it stands at the center of a marketing phenomenon called "Jesus junk" by some or "witness wear" by others.
___In the first century, two strangers meeting on a dusty road might have conversed for awhile, then one might have used his walking stick to form a gently curved line in the sand.
___If the other man were a believer, he would have known to draw a mirror image of the first mark, connecting the lines at one end.
___The two lines together would form a crude drawing of a fish, a word used as an acronym in the Christian underground sect's ancient Greek language for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."
Some say "Christian wear" is an effective witnessing tool.
Others say it does more harm than good.
___The cost attached to that original Christian icon was certain and severe. Display the secret fish symbol in the wrong place or at the wrong time and it could cost you your life.
___Today, the cost for displaying the Christian fish symbol is much cheaper, and you probably can pay with a credit card. And if you're selling the fish symbol on clothing, jewelry, bumper stickers or other merchandise, you stand to make a handsome profit.
___Products bearing religious messages generate an estimated $3 billion a year in revenue.
___But not all Christians are of one mind on the value of these products.
___Some say "Christian wear" is an effective witnessing tool. Others say it does more harm than good, especially if the actions of Christians don't match the message on their buttons or bumpers.
___One thing remains unchanged from the first century, however. Now, as then, Christian symbols are a means of identifying "friendlies" in a dominant culture that is hostile to religious "fanatics."
___But what once was a furtive code for a persecuted religious minority is now a mainstream fashion statement. Christians can wear their faith not only on their sleeves but also on their heads, around their necks, in their ears and on their backs. They can write with it, drink from it and listen to it.
___The companies that sell such items uniformly say they create witnessing opportunities. "The average shirt is read 10,000 times!" touts Spiritual Wear on its Web site, www.spiritualwear.com. "You're just a click away from ordering some of the best Christian apparel available. Make a statement of faith with what you wear!"
___"Proclaiming the Good News one tee at a time!" announces Kerusso Activewear. "With the right message and emphasis, a T-shirt can definitely help bring someone to Christ."
___Living Epistles Apparel, whose Christian gear includes everything from clothes to mouse pads, describes itself as "a witnessing company dedicated to helping Christians creatively share the truth of the gospel and to create witnessing opportunities for Christians."
___The Internet is just the latest angle on Christian marketing, but the products have been available for years through Christian book stores. In fact, the exhibit hall at the annual Christian Booksellers Association is crammed with as many "accessories" as books and Bibles, which now account for only 40 percent of sales at the average Christian store.
___Do these products deliver what they promise? Are they effective for evangelism?
___One of the originators of the WWJD bracelet trend has her doubts.
___Slightly over a decade ago, Reformed Church minister Janie Tinkleberg came up with the What Would Jesus Do? bracelets for her youth group. She didn't copyright the idea, so anyone is free to produce WWJD items. As a result, the emblem has become almost as pervasive in pop culture as the Nike logo.
___But she doubts the fad is advancing the gospel.
___"I think it has diluted the message," she told Knight-Ridder News Service. "I want the fad to fade so (the concept) will wind up where it belongs--back with people wearing them who know what these little bracelets really mean."
___Kelli Creswell, 24, a native of Charleston, S.C., seconds that motion.
___"I think sometimes it's all overdone," she said. "Like the WWJD bracelets, the idea is great, but after a while the meaning is lost, because it becomes more about fashion than witnessing."
___An unscientific Internet survey conducted by the Christian magazine FaithWorks about the value of Christian gear received 40 responses. Overwhelmingly, respondents said the top two reasons people wear Christian icons are to "witness" and "because it is fashionable."
___Most, however, were skeptical of the witnessing impact. More than 70 percent said Christian gear motivates non-Christians to consider faith "sometimes" or "rarely." Fewer than 25 percent felt it was highly effective.
___Two professors at Baylor University represent the range of opinions among evangelical scholars--from benign approval to passionate endorsement.
___Greg Garrett, who teaches religion and literature at Baylor, said he doesn't care for such icons personally. Yet he knows "many people see it as providing a genuine opportunity to spread their faith."
___"Good for them," Garrett said, "especially if they can do it without alienating the people they want to reach."
___Betty Talbert, meanwhile, who teaches spiritual formation, is overwhelmingly supportive. "Since the time of (Roman Emperor) Constantine, it has been difficult for Christians to maintain their religious identity while being accepted as a part of the culture," she said.
___"Wearing a religious symbol--a cross, a fish or a WWJD bracelet--is a way some of us testify to ourselves and to others that our commitment to Christ is about everyday living and not just Sunday worship," she continued.
___"Personally I like religious bumper stickers," Talbert said. "The first time I put one on my car, I did so with fear and trembling. I was a university professor who had just encountered Christ in a deep conversion experience. I knew people might laugh at me, but I felt it was important to place a symbol of my new allegiance on my car."
___How a person feels about such public displays of Christian messages is more an issue of personal taste than theology, Talbert suggested. "It is very important not to judge those who do or do not display their religious commitments in their dress. One thing we know that Jesus would never do is treat a person with condescension."
___Christian T-shirts gain the most value when they are baptized with the sweat of hard work, said Guy Mattox, a retired pastor from King George, Va. "If someone is wearing a shirt that says he is a follower of Jesus while he is replacing gutters or reshingling a roof or rebuilding a porch, then they are worthy of the name they are claiming."
___Nearly 40 years ago, Mattox presented his gas credit card for payment to a service station attendant who was in the process of exhibiting an impressive display of profanity. When the man saw "Reverend" in front of the name on Mattox's card, he apologized profusely.
___Mattox went home, cut up all his credit cards and had them reissued without his clerical title. His reasoning? Christianity isn't viable if it can be detected only by a title on a card.
___"If there is not something about my life and my attitude that says I belong to Christ, then I don't deserve the honor (just) because I graduated from a theological seminary," he said.
___Or in modern lingo, have you been there and done that, or do you just have the T-shirt?
___That's a question that troubles Les Switzer, a seminary graduate and professor of journalism at the University of Houston.
___The Protestant Reformation ended for many Christians the use of icons in worship and the sale of "indulgences," a method of paying cash as penance for sins, he noted. "Could I suggest that, in some convoluted way, this is an Americanized, sanitized form of indulgence?"
___Spending money to "obtain an icon" in the form of a shirt or bumper sticker, he said, may help some Christians "deal with their sins, absolve them of guilt or at least make them feel more comfortable."
___"It's kind of like a talisman," he said. "And of course most of us can't get along without one, whether it's in the form of a trinket, a cross or even a Bible."
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