Friday, December 07, 2007

boycotting and the bottom line

I guess it was about a month ago when I first received an email from, for the sake of broad generalizations, a concerned conservative evangelical regarding The Golden Compass, newly released in the theaters today. This movie is based on the first book in a series called His Dark Materials by author Philip Pullman. Since then I have being trying to pay attention to how this will unfold. What has sparked my interest in all of this is really nothing new and that is the reality of boycotting. Does boycotting really do anything? I wonder how much one buys into a culture that determines value based on the bottom line (i.e. money) when one boycotts? In other words, if the Church basis its witnesses in boycotting are we not affirming a worldview that determines worth based on monetary value? Think about it this ways: should one ever come across a restaurant that publicly embraces some sort of racist exclusion, perhaps a boycott would be appropriate. On the other hand, if one finds themselves on the inclusive side one might want to stop by from time to time in hopes of persuading the restaurant owner to a different perspective. If the world determines worth based on monetary value then perhaps the only language the Church has to communicate the gospel is in boycotting. If this is true, however, then boycotting is never the bottom line because it is too negative, too destructive. If the Church feels that it has actually overcome the beast based on what it boycotts then we are truly deficient in our witness. True?

2 comments:

Emily said...

That assumes that the only thing accomplished in the boycott is the loss of some money.

Anonymous said...

Well written article.