Pop Occulture: Of Gnosticism

"I had an excellent conversation today with my friend John from New World Border, in which he seared my mind with some hot new insights into religion and culture.

The gist of his argument was that mainstream Christianity arose as sort of the 'Walmart of religion.' Like a virus, the Church replicated itself across the land, co-opting ideas, undercutting 'prices,' gobbling up real-estate, and providing a one-stop shopping source for all your (diluted) religious needs.

The plight of bookstores over the last ten to fifteen years is also a great example. Back when I was a kid, I remember being able to sneak around dusty old used bookstores on Sunday afternoons, and coming away with a mound of dog-eared much-loved books for under ten dollars. Then sometime in the mid-to-late nineties, these bookstores rapidly began vanishing. Why? They couldn't keep up with the enormous Barnes & Noble which moved in down the street."(more) Pop Occulture: Of Gnosticism & Walmart