Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Advertising
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Exodus 32:2
Groups of people create a spirit that tends to pull its members along with it. "Birds of a feather flock together." It is a form of mob psychology. A milder form of this process motivates people to conform to certain current fashions, music, foods, dress, or whatever. A modern cliché speaks of "going with the flow," which urges the individual not to resist the power or the direction of the spirit of an event but choose to yield to it. "Don't resist it. Go right along with it." The person's choice should depend on its direction, but far too many yield to what is popular or what feels good at the moment rather than what is right. Sometimes, we have to resist the spirit, the flow, or the power of an event. Adolf Hitler used large crowds, martial music, aggressive speaking, and dramatic lighting to create a spirit, which enabled him to win the hearts of so many Germans that virtually the entire nation walked in lock-step with that spirit. In a simpler and less serious fashion, advertising follows the same course, but advertisers try to create an aura about the product. They create a spirit to energize people to purchase their product. Restauranteurs create ambience—from the music to the décor to the lighting to the attire of the waitresses—to produce the kind of spirit that puts diners into a mood to spend their money on often overpriced food and enjoy the experience. This is how the Bible often uses the word "spirit." I Corinthians 2 explains that the human mind has a spiritual dimension that imparts or empowers individuals with the understanding of the physical and material, which is woefully insufficient in dealing with the things of the spirit realm. This happens largely because humanity has been deceived. Revelation 12:9 says, "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." We most often think Satan deceives the world through "misinformation." He does, but there is also a spiritual dimension to it that makes it nearly impossible for people to resist. Humans are intelligent enough to sort out fact from fiction. But what if they are given truth but do not have the mind that inclines, compels, or motivates them to accept it? They will not accept it. Does not God have to lead those He calls to repentance before they will accept His Word (Romans 2:4)? Does this not suggest that He works in a way to make their minds willing to accept truth? Absolutely.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part Two)
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Ecclesiastes 6:9
The problem with a divided, unfocused mind is that it is, as we would say today, all over the place, seeking fulfillment in a host of things, pursuing a wide variety of goals, but rarely, if ever, coming to grips with the pursuit of revealed truth. Many of us have television to thank for having a mind like this as it has played a major role in destroying peoples' attention span. The attention span of Americans is now getting down into the neighborhood of seven minutes: the length of time between advertising on television. We have a hard time focusing for any period of time, and television is constantly pushing its mind-numbing banalities into our minds, making it difficult for us to do what is absolutely necessary for us to do, that is, to spend time in heartfelt prayer and study, seeking God. The chances are very great that we sit down to read the Bible, and our eyes get heavy, and we struggle to fight off sleep. It happens because we have no passion for Jesus Christ. God is teaching us what defragments our mind: seeking Him with a passionate desire to be like Him. This works to make our minds one with His.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Knowing God
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Isaiah 33:15
"He who walks righteously" - Psalms 119:172 gives us a definition of what righteousness is: "All my commandments are righteousness." We understand that the righteousness of Christ has to be in us, but we also have to make effort to keep the commands of God. This verse is similar to what David wrote in Psalm 15:1: "Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" The "who" will be in Zion. "Speaks uprightly" - James says that the person who can control his tongue, the same is a perfect man. This is setting high standards, giving us something to shoot for in our lives—things of practical value. "He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes" - He will not accept a payment under the table; he keeps his hand closed. In other words, he is an honest and upright person in his dealings with other people. "Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed" - Rather than listening to gossip while somebody slanders the character of others. "Shuts his eyes from seeing evil" - This does not mean that the Christian is naive but that the Christian does not put himself into a position where he will witness evil. He does not run with that kind of crowd. Think of this in relation to the entertainments that we seek. What kind of music do we listen to? What kind of entertainments do we watch? Do these things not have an impact on the mind? If they do not have an impact on the mind, then billions of dollars are being wasted on advertising, because advertisers think that hearing and seeing a message will motivate one to do something: to buy their product. Does it not logically follow that, if we witness something that is foul and against the law of God (in terms of entertainment), it will have a vile impact upon us?
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 4)
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Jeremiah 6:10-11
God indicts the entire nation for its covetousness. A major reason why coveting is so dangerous is shown by our credit system, which is based on the premise of possessing something before one is actually able to afford it. In this profit-producing scheme, advertising is credit's companion. The marketer's purpose is to speed up the business, possession, and profit cycle. However, in reality over the long haul, credit actually slows things down and makes items more expensive because the credit must be paid for through interest in addition to the item's original price. It also creates greater debt, enslaving the debtor to the creditor. This same principle is at work in every other unlawful act of which coveting is a part. Who will listen to this reality? Through America's almost insanely massive and ever-growing indebtedness, God is demonstrating that people simply will not heed either sound human or divine advice because their minds are driven by the desire to have whatever it is that they want right now. It has a grip on the heart so strong that nothing yet has been able to break it. This tenacious hold is why tithing comes as such a shock when people learn that God requires it. Many are living way over their heads. When they learn of tithing, the penalty for their earlier stealing from God greatly influences current spending. They must then learn to pay in adversity, sacrificing as they go on in obedience.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Tenth Commandment
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Luke 21:34-36
"Surfeiting" (KJV) or "carousing" (NKJV) means indulging in one's appetites excessively. It could be food or drink or many other things. This world, especially in its advertising, is pushing the overuse of our appetites all the time. We cannot turn on the television without them pushing automobiles, foods, toys, jewelry, drugs, insurance, appliances, travel, housewares, clothing, tools, movies, and other television programs. Advertisers are constantly and repetitiously urging us,"Do this." "Try this." "Use your time this way." We can feel pressured, "under the gun," stressed from resisting their products, their way of life, and their attitudes. This is the issue in the book of Hebrews. The people to whom the book was written had not given into immorality, but the author knew that sooner or later the stress of resisting would get to them. Because of the constant pressure to conform to this world, they were becoming apathetic, and apathetic people are in a kind of stupor, blind to the reality of their spiritual condition. And what is the end result? Jesus said what happens is that we forget when we are living—and the day comes upon us unawares. The thrust of Jesus' exhortation is that we should be continually expecting His return; it should always be a major part of our focus. The exhortations in Hebrews are for us to return our focus to the return of Jesus Christ and prepare ourselves for what is coming in that troubled time. We should not be allowing this world to hammer away at our minds and attitudes—taking up our lives, our time, with things that should not be our concern. Do we need some of the things that the world hits us with? Yes, we have to live. However, we need to have enough spiritual understanding not to let them wear away at us until they become a major part of our lives. Thus, Jesus is warning us not to allow ourselves to become secure and self-satisfied with this life and the good things that it furnishes—but to jolt ourselves spirituallty awake!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Hebrews: A Message for Today
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