Not every \u201cChristian T-shirt\u201d is worn as a witnessing tool or a tribal symbol or a culture warrior\u2019s warning shot.<\/p>\n
Many of the sorts of things sometimes regarded as \u201cwitnessing tools\u201d mainly serve a different function. They\u2019re devotional.<\/p>\n
The popular \u201cWWJD?\u201d bracelets, for example, are not meant primarily to be a \u201cwitness\u201d to others, but to be a reminder to the wearer of commitments she has made and of who it is that she wants to be. The same is true for many of the T-shirts, tattoos and trinkets adorned by many Christians.That cross pendant worn around many a neck is mainly there as a reminder to the heart it hangs above.<\/p>\n
Viewed as this kind of devotional reminder, the matching \u201cJesus\u201d tattoos that tween-idol Justin Bieber and his father just got<\/a> may be a good idea. They don\u2019t seem to be flashy symbols for other people as much as symbols for the two of them. Judging by the track record of many other young pop-music sensations, it might be good that Justin\u2019s dad is encouraging his son to bear on his skin a reminder of the kind of person he wants to be. That reminder might help to make his Behind the Music<\/em> episode 10 years from now a bit less melodramatic.<\/p>\n The \u201cJesus would use his turn signal\u201d bumper sticker mentioned in comments might serve a similar devotional function. You stick that on your car and you\u2019re going to have to behave yourself behind the wheel. I suppose a car-fish can serve that purpose too for some folks \u2014 a reminder to themselves to keep their temper and their focus while driving.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know or understand much about the famous \u201cMormon underwear<\/a>,\u201d but I think I prefer the idea of holy underwear to the idea of a T-shirt proclaiming some slogan to others. The inward symbol seems more valuable than the outward symbol. Instead of a constant confrontation of others, it could serve as a constant reminder to oneself. Let that reminder guide your actions and let your actions, rather than your outfit, be what others see.<\/p>\n In general, I don\u2019t think much of \u201cwitnessing tools.\u201d I think they become a cheap substitute for authentic living witness. And as I discussed in the previous post on this topic<\/a>, I think they\u2019re prone to becoming the kind of tribal symbols that can feed a corrosive Us-vs.-Them outlook.<\/p>\n Plus a lot of them are just tacky and ridiculous. The gap between the wearers\u2019 expectation of how they will be perceived by others and those others\u2019 actual perception of them can be vast. Rather than facilitating conversation and communication, they tend to be an obstacle to them.<\/p>\n For an example of how this tackiness creates an obstacle to communication, check out Tom Waits\u2019 bewildered amusement over his discovery of \u201cTestamints<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n