the other day i saw an ad while waiting at a car wash that donned this very famous symbol:
if you live in the US and you see this on a persons car, an advert, etc., you definitely see it and think: "by golly, that must be a christian in the vehicle/christian business!" but is this a case of using the ichthus sell stuff? and in turn, using Christ to sell stuff? isn't that explicitly stated as wrong to do in the bible? not only that, i think that it leads into people feeling badly if we do not support fellow christians even if their work is shoddy, etc.
even farther into the problem is the ichthus itself! is it a symbol? an idol? maybe noone worships it directly, but people "respect" it in some odd manner (and even disrespect it as though it has some power, i.e. Darwin ichthus look-alikes).
all i know for sure is that i find myself shying away from that sort of thing... it's one thing to wear your faith on your sleeve (even clothing yourself in it as you should) but i think this sort of thing is terrible exploitation of the faith showing some of the same things noticed by Martin Luther and why he wrote the 95 Theses on the Catholic church. until then---
4 comments:
Fish are fish. Do you think they have copyright? :P
The meaning that fish have in other cultures is interesting, though. In Japan and China fish are admired, especially the carp ("koi"):
"According to Japanese legend if a koi succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate on the Yellow River it would be transformed into a dragon. Based on that legend, it became a symbol of worldly aspiration and advancement.
More generally, the Japanese associate koi (also known as carp) with perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose. Because of its strength and determination to overcome obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals.
Others say it means good fortune or luck."
PD. changed my mind xD
I agree. I remember flipping through the yellow pages and seeing the symbol on ads for car lots and plumbers. "How," I would think, "is that even remotely related to me choosing them for business?" I mean, I guess one might think that they are more honest? Or something? Whatever their intention, it always made me cringe a little.
On a possibly related note, I have noticed a bumper sticker a few times on my ride to work which reads: "GOD IS MY PILOT!"
A nice change from the alternative, i suppose...
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