Reply To Reserve A Spot In Heaven

Reserve A Spot In Heaven
Just in case you're not sure if you're actually going to make it into heaven, these guys can guarantee it! (for only $12.79!)


Link: Reserve A Spot In Heaven
christina, Friday, 12-7-07 10:43 PM
re: Reserve A Spot In Heaven
Wow, if I'd known it was that easy I could have quit going to church years ago!
Annette, Saturday, 12-8-07 10:37 AM
Just to stir up the pot a little
I read the comments posted on Strange New Products website and found the "dialogue" between "Follower of Christ" and "Chill out" quite interesting. How would you answer Chill Out's question about the security of a place in heaven? Thoughts? Which side do you lean toward? Can you take a joke or do you too need to chill out?

My conclusion - people really don't care much about heaven and church just gets in the way of your free time. They are right. This is very true. If I had known it was this easy, I may have reconsidered the past year and a half's occupation.
Link: Product Comments - bottom of page
Katy, Tuesday, 12-11-07 2:42 AM
re: Reserve A Spot In Heaven
I see "Reserve a Spot" in the same light as products such as the "wash sins away soap." In the right context, they're humorous lampoons highlighting the excesses or misinterpretations of legalistic or even evangelistic "christianity" (small-c). In other words, if you get the joke, they're good for a brief laugh, maybe a roll of the eyes - and maybe even a "deep thought" or two if you follow the joke to its conclusion.
But in the wrong context - and to the wrong person - they make light of a very serious subject. So I feel for "Follower-of-Christ," with his impassioned, and correct, attack on both the "product" and the website's introduction thereof. I also think he comes across as a humorless stick in the mud. Which is worse? Dunno. Maybe being taken as a stick in the mud is a fair price to pay to get a bit of real truth out there.
Annette, Tuesday, 12-11-07 8:08 AM
re: Reserve A Spot In Heaven
I think it is SUPER important to be able to recognize and laugh at our flaws. This is honest. It's real. We need to recognize that the "Halelujah!" shouting preacher on TBN _IS_ funny. Also we should not disown him, but recognize that he is one of our own. If anybody should be able to laugh at us, it SHOULD be us.

This product doesn't take itself seriously. ("All items sold on our site are sold as novelty gifts.") It doesn't even represent itself as Christian. ("We are a separate entity and are not affiliated with any other groups.") Christians claim the their way is the only way to heaven (as do I, because I'm Christian), so they get defensive, thinking its pointed at them. I use "them" because I did not take it personally. There are a lot of other faith systems out there that claim a right to heaven (Egyptian, Roman, Norse, Greek, Aztec).

Materialism in the Christian culture is rampant. Materialism in Biblical Christianity is practically a sin. I don't think I need to go on. We all know the issues of the modern church.

If we don't acknowledge our flaws, we aren't being honest with ourselves or each other. If we don't laugh at our flaws, we let them own us. How can we work through our kinks unless we're honest? Those on the outside, making fun of us, have perspective on us that we don't have. I strongly believe we should consider their observations.
Christina, Thursday, 12-13-07 11:15 AM
re: Reserve A Spot In Heaven
I agree that we should be able to laugh at ourselves. I think that the comments of the super-Christian above are out of context. But what about the other guy who gets the joke but doesn't get that you can actually know you have a place in heaven? This is the part that I find challenging at the same time that I find the product funny. Maybe there are more people out there laughing because they don't understand the gravity of the question. Somewhere in between, like usual, is where I find myself.
I would also like to say that my way is not the only way to heaven because then people get confused about what my way means. Do I think my way is the right way? Yes, usually. But quite often I'm wrong and need to be corrected. Maybe this is just a small point, but Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. I don't really get Him all the time, even though we know each other. It's like most other relationships, I guess.

Katy, Friday, 12-14-07 1:20 AM
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