Glamor Instead of Glory
A.W. Tozer warns of the dangers of glamor in the Church, which has led to a new kind of Christianity that values artificiality over authenticity.
A.W. Tozer addresses the troubling trend in society where glamor is favored over the ordinary, warning that this obsession has infiltrated even the Church. He critiques the superficiality of glamor, which he describes as a blend of sex, artifice, and self-admiration, contrasting it with the genuine presence of the Spirit of God. Tozer laments that modern Christianity has shifted away from virtues like goodness and saintliness, embracing a new, hollow form of faith that prioritizes appearance over substance. He calls for a return to the authentic and the ordinary in our spiritual lives, urging believers to seek true glory rather than fleeting glamor.
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One ominous sign in the social structure that surrounds us is the false attitude toward anything that can be called "ordinary." There has grown up all around us an idea that the "commonplace" is old-fashioned and strictly for the birds! This existing mania for glamor and contempt for the ordinary are signs and portents in American society. Even religion has gone glamorous! In case you do not know what glamor is, I might explain that it is a compound of sex, paint, padding and artificial lights. It came to America by way of the honky-tonk and the movie lot; got accepted by the world first, and then strutted into the Church-vain, self-admiring and contemptuous.
Instead of the Spirit of God in our midst, we now have the spirit of glamor, as artificial as painted death!
Say what you will, it is a new kind of Christianity, with new concepts that face us brazenly wherever we turn within the confines of evangelical Christianity. The new Christian no longer wants to be good or saintly or virtuous!
Sermon Outline
- I. The False Attitude Toward the Ordinary
- A. The glamorization of the mundane
- B. The devaluation of the common
- II. The Origins of Glamor
- A. From the honky-tonk and the movie lot
- B. Accepted by the world before the Church
- III. The Spirit of Glamor in the Church
- A. Artificial and self-admiring
- B. Contemptuous of the ordinary
- IV. The New Kind of Christianity
- A. Emphasis on new concepts
- B. Departure from traditional values
Key Quotes
“This existing mania for glamor and contempt for the ordinary are signs and portents in American society.” — A.W. Tozer
“Even religion has gone glamorous!” — A.W. Tozer
“Instead of the Spirit of God in our midst, we now have the spirit of glamor, as artificial as painted death!” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must be aware of the dangers of glamor in our own lives and in the Church.
- We must value the ordinary and the common, rather than seeking artificial glamour.
- We must return to traditional values and the Spirit of God, rather than embracing a new kind of Christianity.