Bought for 30 pieces of silver?

On page D8 of today's WSJ there is a book review - "A Congregation of Consumers: Shopping for God." The book, by James B. Twitchell, describes the megachurch movement and argues the claim that church members really are consumers.

I take issue with this for several reasons. One, this is a violation of the separation between church and state (or maybe the two kingdoms - secular and spiritual) in the sense that Jefferson meant it: the secular world is encroaching on the sacred. Two, Jesus plainly said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36, NIV); therefore, the church should not try to emulate the world, but instead should strive to be different. Otherwise, Christ becomes denigrated from God incarnate to a mere commodity. There's a lot of good reading on this subject; read it to keep yourself informed.