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I am a materialist and a consumerist. I am not asserting a philosophical position, rather I am recognizing the way I feel and act. I was talking to my uncle about the new Kindles -- the electronic reading devices. Though they have their advantages, I still want real material books. I want to have bookshelves full of beautiful books. I want to feel their weight and the texture of their paper. I want to smell the paper – especially when it’s old and musty. I want to experience with my five senses the full material existence of a book. And, I want to feel the full existential weight that such an object gathers as it makes its way through space and time. I feel a spiritual connection to my grandparents when I hold the books they had when they were young. Would I pass on a digital file? I want to experience all of life in this way – materially, because I am a material boy.

Now, I do believe in a non-physical world. We may call this the spiritual world. But, I was not made to exist in that world. I was made for the physical world. I do believe in the resurrection of the dead – but the whole point about that, which most people miss, is that it is a resurrection of the body to live forever in a restored physical universe. I really don’t understand what most people are even talking about when the talk about the “spiritual” realm; I don’t think they know what they are talking about.

Many Christians seem to think that the “spiritual” realm is good and the physical realm is bad. Many think that spirit is good and flesh is bad. I understand where they get these ideas, however it is the result of an incomplete understanding of scripture and is similar to the heresy of Gnosticism. I believe that most of what we call “spiritual” is a part of God’s creation, so is in itself made of substance (or material perhaps). God is not physical. His Spirit is not a substance, yet it is not like the angels either, because it is non-created. God is the creator of angels and humans. God has taken on a physical nature in Jesus and has so tied himself to creation.

Material is good. The physical created world is wonderful – it is the good work of God. Our senses are good, they are given by God and through them we experience his glory. We should enjoy the physical world; we should experience it. In doing this God is glorified as his creation demonstrates different aspects of his being.

I also said I’m a consumerist; that’s not so good. I’m not a consumerist in the typical sense – I consume experience and beauty, not just expensive objects. Here’s an example of what I mean: I have a monthly subscription to a website called emusic. I pay ten dollars and I can download thirty songs a months. That’s a pretty good deal. And, I’ve been able to get way more great music than I could have afforded paying ten dollars a CD. Problem is I’ve got too much music. I can never properly enjoy any of it. I’m constantly looking for the next thing, moving on before I’ve really appreciated the last thing. I’ve become a glutton and none of it satisfies me.

I rush from one experience to the next, one beautiful thing to the next. I never take time to really enjoy the experience. My hunger is rarely satisfied for long. I must find something else to consume. I’m only preoccupied by the consumption during the act. The reason this fails to satisfy me is because my desire is not to simply experience and object through my five senses, I want to encounter and experience God. I want to experience the infinite source of good, which alone can satisfy and give purpose and meaning. So my struggle is to find the balance between truly appreciating the physical world, experiencing God through his creation, and turning beauty and experience itself into my god. That god does not satisfy. Beauty, relationships, visual art, travel, can only satisfy when they are in their proper place.