Our local Family Christian Bookstore had a big sale yesterday, and they had a big pile of t-shirts for 50-75% off. I happened to spot this one and it caught my eye. As you can see, the front lists many (all?) of the names of God, which just makes me happy.
But then I flipped it over and read the back. It says, “All that Christ is, He is for you.”
I wasn’t sure what to think about that….
I think you could read that two different ways:
1) “God offers all of Himself to you, to demonstrate His greatness and glory by completely satisfying you with all that He is, no matter who you are.”
2) “God exists for you. You can think of him like a big Genie in the sky. Or a pet, perhaps.”
The first way seems good to me. The second seems bad….
In the end, I liked the front so much that I decided to get it anyways, but I’m wondering whether I should change the back.
I was hoping you all could give me some feedback here:
Does the wording on the shirt bother you?
Do you think it clearly communicates Truth about God?
If not, what would you do with a sharpie to change it?
Tags: christ, christian t-shirt, christianity, jesus, theology
July 29th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
yuck. if #1 is what they intended, sure. but i doubt it is. that’s the big problem with ‘christian’ stuff.
most people who read that shirt and care would think #2.
most won’t care that you’re wearing a christian t-shirt.
probably?
July 30th, 2008 at 1:06 am
How about this: “For all that Christ is. He is also for you”
Meaning this: For all He is (King of the world), He still cares for us. Not because we are worthy but because of His grace and love.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:54 am
ehh… I wouldn’t worry about it… if anyone tells you that it’s too man-centered, tell them you believe in their total depravity that causes doctrinal nit-picking.
(and yes, this really is stephen, the super-reformed Calvin-loving Edwards-reading Piper-following seminary student talking about nit-picking)
July 30th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hmmm…. I am now more conflicted than ever…
I have Tricia saying ‘yuck’, which means something *must* be done…
But then I’ve got Stephen challenging me the other way…
Maybe I’ll take a sharpie and add in parenthesis,
“This message was approved by Stephen, the the super-reformed Calvin-loving Edwards-reading Piper-following seminary student)
:0)
Hey, why don’t all three of you guys come over and hang out tonight!
July 30th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Don’t worry about it unless you plan to be hanging out at Southeastern (I’m smarter than you are) Seminary. Or maybe you should leave it as is and then go there for the fun of it.