On the surface it might seem like consumerism as a way of life is a fairly new creation. The 20th century saw the rise of consumerism as the cultural norm in the west, and the term is certainly closely linked the current trend of materialism and consumption.<\/p>\n
I dont think for a moment though that modern day western society can lay any claim to inventing consumerism, and I think its pretty arrogant to make that claim. The idea that we can improve our lives by consuming has been around as long as people have, and the modern west was by no means the first society to take up that mantle as the norm.<\/p>\n
I have been working my way through Ecclesiastes with the help of Matt Chandler (have a listen here<\/a>), and its pretty clear that Solomon both lived in a society where consumerism was normality, and recognised its folly. As Solomon writes at the start of the book,<\/p>\n What has been is what will be, Consumerism is a lie which must be challenged and responded to with the gospel, but it is not a new lie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the surface it might seem like consumerism as a way of life is a fairly new creation. The 20th century saw the rise of consumerism as the cultural norm in the west, and the term is certainly closely linked … Continue reading
\nand what has been done is what will be done,
\nand there is nothing new under the sun.
\n – Ecclesiastes 1:9<\/p><\/blockquote>\n