Skye Jethani writes an excellent piece on how consumer brands compete with religion. Here are some killler blows…

“Many Christians believe the greatest threat to the church today is postmodernity. Others zero in on relativism. Some believe the enemy is secular humanism. Others think it’s Islam. I disagree with all of these. In my view, the greatest challenge facing the contemporary church is consumerism.”

And

“Without question one of the most potent brands in America today is Apple, and new research has shown that Apple has achieved the same impact on the human brain as religion.”

And

“But if people, including Christians, are constructing their identities and lives around consumer brands like Apple, is the church fighting the wrong battle? And perhaps more disturbing, are we unknowingly contributing to the problem by encouraging Christians to construct and express their identities via Christ-branded merchandise rather than through characters transformed to reflect the values of Christ himself?”

But read the whole thing.