Marketing and Christian Proclamation in Theological Perspective

Emily Beth Hill

doi:10.5771/9781978710122

Summary

In today’s market-driven world, the contemporary church faces pressing questions as it continues to be formed by the powerful forces of neoliberal capitalism. This book builds on theological examinations of capitalism and consumerism to develop a theology of marketing that addresses two key questions. First, even though church marketing seems to help churches grow amidst a climate of declining church affiliation, should the church use it? Second, considering the church’s indistinguishability from culture in relation to consumption, how should Christians relate to material goods?

To address these questions, Emily Beth Hill develops a framework that draws on the concrete practices of marketing (such as focus groups, big data, branding, and advertising) and the trajectory of their use over time, along with Martin Luther’s theology of the Word. Combining Martin Luther’s pro me (“for me”) theology with marketing concepts, Hill shows that while marketing and the gospel have formal pro me similarities, materially they are quite different: marketing operates as a word of law distinct from the effective, liberating word of the gospel proclaimed for us, and thus the two produce different human identities. While existing examinations of capitalism primarily rely on theologies and discourses of desire, Hill reveals that a theology of the Word illuminates a fruitful new area for reflection on how the church can resist the deformations of capitalism.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2021
ISBN-Print: 978-1-9787-1011-5
ISBN-Online: 978-1-9787-1012-2
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 236
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. Contents No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
1. Marketing: A Brief Definition No access
2. Toward a Theology of Marketing No access
3. Outline of the Book No access
4. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Part 1: The Birth of the Self-Made Man No access
3. Part 2: The Rise of the Citizen Consumer No access
4. Part 3: Neoliberalism and the Commoditized Self No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Part 1: The Marketing Concept No access
3. Part 2: Marketing Research—Knowing Consumers No access
4. Part 3: Marketing Execution—Influencing Consumers No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Part 1: Luther’s Theology of the Word No access
3. Part 2: Luther’s Multi-Layered Pro Me Theology No access
4. Part 3: The Promeity of Luther’s Lectures on Galatians No access
5. Conclusion: If God Is for Us No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Part 1: The Promeity of the Word vs. the “For You” of Marketing No access
3. Part 2: Life Under the Law of Marketing No access
4. Part 3: Freedom in Christ No access
5. Conclusion: Buying and Possessing in Christ No access
6. Notes No access
1. Love Your Neighbor? Love Your Kitchen No access
2. Recovering Hospitality No access
3. Notes No access
Bibliography No access Pages 215 - 230
Index No access Pages 231 - 236