Heavenly Selling Points

Think Progress' article about 'Faith Day' at the Atlanta Braves game last Thursday. They site an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that claims that 'Faith Day' was a 'big tent' event then note that the event "was cosponsored by right-wing group Focus on the Family, which, according to their press release, used the event to distribute promotional materials about a website they run called TroubledWith.com, which features virulently anti-gay content:"

Male homosexuality is a developmental problem that is almost always the result of problems in family relations, particularly between father and son. [Link]

The following factors can also contribute to the homosexual orientation: pornography; spousal abuse in the home; molestation and pedophiliaÂ… [Link]

"Mom... I'm Gay": The story of one woman who heard these devastating words. [Link]

The naked bigotry is, of course, something I completely oppose, but what really struck me was the fourth paragraph in the AJC article:

"We're in the business of selling tickets, and religious groups, particularly church groups, happen to be an existing part of our business and this is a way of expanding our appeal," said Derek Schiller, the Braves' vice president for sales and marketing.

When did Christianity become a sales gimmick? If I promised to put a Jesus Fish on the bumper of used cars, could I run adds exhorting car buyers to buy 'Christian' cars from me rather than those heathen used car lots down the street? It doesn't take a particularly devout person to see that using Baby Jesus to sell something really corrupts a religion where Luke 14:33 is considered the unerring word of God.

Faith Day Christians Capitalism Focus on the Family