Buyer Beware: Finding Truth in the Marketplace of Ideas

by Janet Parshall

Overview

Have you ever thought why it is that so many Christians are reticent to enter into the ‘marketplace of ideas?’ Jesus commanded us to go into the world to deliver His message of truth, delivered in love. But He never said it would easy.

In Buyer Beware, Janet Parshall takes the reader on a journey through the public square where ideas are ‘bought’ and ‘sold’ but where Truth is sometimes difficult to find. She examines some of the most controversial issues being debated in our culture today, by looking at them through the lens of Scripture.

Using the prophet Jeremiah’s instructive letter to the exiles, held in Babylonian captivity, Parshall shows how a people, held captive in a sin-sick, fallen world, can live abundantly and triumphantly by loving God’s truth and by boldly declaring it in the public square. Buyer Beware is designed to encourage modern day saints as they enter the ‘marketplace’ by helping them discover the richness of God’s word and the poverty of the world’s message.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802481672
Publisher:	Moody Publishers
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	80 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

JANET PARSHALL is a graduate of Carroll College in Wisconsin. She has been consistently profiled as one of the top 100 "talkers" in Talkers magazine, the leading trade publication of the talk industry. Throughout her career, Janet has been a devoted advocate of the principles and policies that strengthen the family. In February 2005, Parshall was selected by President George W. Bush to represent the White House as public delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Janet is a columnist for LIFE: Beautiful magazine and the author of several books. She and her husband, Craig, live in Virginia, and have four children and six grandchildren.

Read an Excerpt

BUYER BEWARE

Finding Truth in the Marketplace of Ideas

---

By Janet Parshall

Moody Publishers

Copyright © 2012 Janet Parshall
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8024-0561-6

---

Chapter One

The Marketplace

Then saw in my dream that they had left the wilderness and entered a town where there was a fair that continued all year long ... The name of the town was Vanity, and the fair was Vanity Fair. The people of the town were vain, caring for nothing but money, pleasure, and fame. The town was very old, and the fair had been going for many, many years.

Almost five thousand years ago, pilgrims, on their way to the Celestial City, went through this town. Finally, Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their laborers, set up this fair to provide every kind of entertainment for travelers and to sell all types of merchandise all year long. And still, at this fair is sold such merchandise as fine houses, lands, stocks and bonds, false security, gay clothing, jewelry, expensive cosmetics, gold and silver, antiques, pearls, precious stones, fame, fortunes, reputations, virtue, honor, popularity, positions, phony titles, counterfeit degrees, contests, chances, games, votes, elections, government offices, personal influences, padded reports, propaganda, falsehoods, fictitious news, deceptions, artificial personalities, schemes, tricks, comics, beauty queens, sex appeal, prostitutes, human lives, and souls of men.

Moreover, at this fair at all times are gambling, juggling, cheating, defrauding, embezzling, lying, stealing, swindling, rogues, knaves, libertines, carnivals, festivities, drinking, revelries, conniving, fools, thugs, lewd women, murders, adulteries, and all kinds of immoralities. The broad road that leads to destruction which brings the fair much trade lies through the town.

And in this town of Vanity are taverns, night clubs, roadhouses, seductive shows, popular casinos, culture societies, fashionable churches, synthetic Christians, sectarian denominational segregation, professional pastors (using mass psychology, setting themselves up as lords over God's heritage, ruling their congregations for "filthy lucre," beating and fleecing their flocks instead of feeding them or setting them a good example). There are also famous pseudo scientists, charlatan physicians, clandestine bookmakers, racketeers—impostors of all kinds.

But, if anyone going to the Celestial City would miss this town of Vanity, he must of necessity go out of the world. The Prince of Peace, when here on earth, went through this town to His own country; and this same Beelzebub was then—as now—lord of the fair. He tried to sell the Prince many of his vanities. He even offered to make him manager of the fair. Because the Prince was such an influential person, Beelzebub led Him from section to section and showed Him all the various nations of the world and promised to make Him ruler over all, if He would but cheapen himself and buy some of his vanities. But the Prince did not care for any of the merchandise, and He left the town without spending a penny for any of Beelzebub's goods.

Now, as soon as Christian and Faithful entered the fair they created a sensation, not only in the fair but throughout the town.

First, their dress was so different from the people of the place that everyone gazed at them. Some said they were crank; some called them outlandish others said they were there to create trouble.

Second, their speech was different. Few could understand what they said, for naturally they spoke the language of Canaan, while those who kept the fair were men of this world. From one end of the fair to the other, they seemed like barbarians.

Third, these pilgrims showed no interest in their goods, and this worried the people of the fair most. Christian and Faithful did not even care to see them, and when they were asked to buy they would stop up their ears and say, "Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity," (Psalm 119:37 KJV) looking upward as if they belonged to another country.

One who had already heard of the men, observing their peculiar behavior, mockingly said to them, "What will you buy?" Then they fastened their eyes upon him and said, "We buy the truth."

Those words from the pen of John Bunyan were first published in 1678, but they are amazingly apropos for the twenty-first century. As this part of the adventure begins, Christian, the main character of Pilgrim's Progress, is found traveling with his friend, Faithful. Bunyan, using allegory, gave each of his characters specific names that exemplify certain attributes. This great teacher wanted each part of the journey to reveal some aspect of our travels with the Savior, this side of glory.

"Christian" for example, is the story's protagonist and represents each one of us after we come to faith in Jesus Christ. Early in the story, Christian was called "Graceless" as he did not yet know the amazing grace offered to all because of what was done on Calvary's cross.

But Graceless's name changes after he meets "Evangelist" (a perfect name for one who is willing to share the Truth of God's Word, or evangelize), who introduces him to "the book" (the Bible) and starts Graceless (now Christian) on the way to the Celestial City (heaven).

Evangelist and Christian soon part, and Christian is joined by a new companion, Faithful. But these two Pilgrims soon find that their path necessarily takes them right through a long-standing fair called "Vanity Fair." Bunyan chose to underscore the words of Ecclesiastes by pointing out the "vanity" of this world when he gave the fair its name. But Bunyan also wanted to convey something else: We Pilgrims can't get to the Celestial City (heaven) without going through Vanity Fair. It is part of the journey, and it is unavoidable. You and I, fellow Pilgrim, must also pass through this lusty "fair."

In truth, when John Bunyan wrote about Vanity Fair, he could have been writing about our culture today. He noted that people at "the fair" cared for nothing but fame, money, and pleasure. Harkening again to Ecclesiastes, Bunyan intimates that there is "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV) by noting that the fair has been around for a long time. Humankind has been chasing after these vanities, and many more like them, since time immemorial. Sadly, we recognize that there are those who are always readily available to "sell" shabby goods (bad ideas) and just as many "customers" willing to "buy" them.

Have you ever visited a real marketplace? My husband and I have been in many in various places around the world. I remember the first time we visited the Old City in Jerusalem. As we walked under the arches that covered the cobblestone streets from the time the Romans occupied that great city, we moved past burlap bags filled with colorful spices. The smell of fresh fish and newly baked bread punctuated the air. Shop after shop, stacked tightly next to each other, lined one narrow street after another. Baskets, jewelry, olive oil, leather goods, caftans—all kinds of trinkets hung from the doorways, giving the potential customer no shortage of opportunities to buy.

Merchants pushed their carts up and down the smooth stones, trod by so many for thousands of years. Shopkeepers would come out of their little stores and shout, "You want to buy? You American? I give you good price!"

The average tourist learns quickly that charlatans abound and the same kind of merchandise can cost one price at one shop and be markedly more or less expensive at another shop around the corner.

If you don't know where you are going or what you are looking for, you can quickly lose your way. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed and out of your comfort zone. Being a successful shopper in the Old City requires a certain amount of grit and boldness measured with just the right amount of American diplomacy. No tourist ever wants to represent the "ugly American." And no one can go to Jerusalem without visiting the marketplace. It is simply a part of the journey.

But just like any traveler can quickly lose their way in the Old City, the "vanities" Bunyan wrote about can take any Pilgrim off the straight and narrow path. The apostle John knew this when he wrote, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16 KJV).

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—the prince of this world still uses the same tried and tested areas of enticement to get us off the path. There really is "nothing new under the sun."

Bunyan readily identified some of those lusts, recognizing that "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man" (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV). While he was writing in the late 1600s, Bunyan could just as easily have been writing about the same sins that plague us in the twenty-first century—lying, drunkenness, gossiping, sexual immorality, and even murder, just to name a few.

The reformed tinker knew that people would gravitate toward carnal pleasures; he pointed out hypocrisy in the Church and recognized that mandate for Christian character and how easily its absence could be detected.

Let's face it: Vanity Fair was and still is a rough place. Surely Christian and Faithful would have preferred the gentle countryside that lay not far from the fair. After all, who really wants to go into all that messy stuff—the shouting, the stealing, the lying, the sexual promiscuity, the turning of Truth on its head?

There was no delight for these two Pilgrims in being ridiculed by the merchants of Vanity Fair for the way they dressed. Even the way they spoke was mocked. Bunyan said they "spoke the language of Canaan" but the merchants were men of the world. Remember how Bunyan himself had struggled in this area? Profanity and vulgarity peppered the merchants' speech—but not Christian's and Faithful's.

Most infuriating of all to the street venders was the reality that the two Pilgrims showed no interest in the merchandise being sold at the fair. It didn't take long for the "sellers" to note that the Pilgrims were not "buyers." Christian and Faithful were mocked, derided, marginalized, and ridiculed.

Fellow Pilgrim, there is no way around it. Our Pilgrim's progress will necessarily take us right through Vanity Fair. In fact, that is exactly where we are told to go.

God was gracious in preserving His Word, a very personal conversation between the Father and His Son. In John 17, we quietly lean in to hear a passionate prayer of the Savior to His Father for His disciples. Jesus says:

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:13–19 NIV, emphasis added)

There it is—no way around it. Our journey takes us right through Vanity Fair (the world)—and that is exactly where Jesus is sending us! But why?

Listen to our travelers' response. As the merchants were shouting, mocking, and ridiculing, demanding that the Pilgrims "buy" what the fair was "selling," Christian and Faithful offered a marvelous and challenging retort. They stated simply and powerfully, "We only buy the Truth."

That declaration carries two profound realities. First, Christian and Faithful were able to recognize the distinction and the difference between the shabby "goods" the fair was selling from the authentic principles and precepts of what God has freely given us.

Their declaration also connotes that someone, somewhere, in that carnal carnival had a booth set up where only Truth, real Truth was being offered. It might not be the most visited stall at the fair. But curiosity seekers, skeptics, cynics, agnostics, atheists, secularists, and humanists would at least pass by the booth. Others might stop and quietly observe from afar. And yes, some would even linger long enough to really scrutinize and possibly accept what was being offered for free: Truth—absolute, unchanging, immutable. But someone has to "man the booth."

So let's go visit Vanity Fair together. We'll visit the booths and see for ourselves what is being bought and sold. Come and study the counterfeit goods being offered in the public square today so that you can better know how to offer the countervailing gift of Truth.

While we journey, let's remember the mandate that takes us right into the heart of the marketplace. It is concise and clear. The call is to "Go and Tell," offering to anyone who will listen what we ourselves have been given. We will learn how to deliver that message in equal amounts of Truth and kindness. Will it be easy? Was it smooth sailing for Christian and Faithful? Bunyan writes that while the two Pilgrims behaved themselves so well, "taking their disgrace and shame with such meekness and patience, that several of the witnesses were won to their side," they were, nonetheless, thrown in jail.

Judge Hategood would preside over their trial, and in the end Faithful would be executed. Bunyan writes, "Faithful died on the gallows, true to his convictions, sealing his testimony with his own blood."

Most of us won't lose our lives when we venture into the marketplace of ideas, but it does remind us that this will be a challenging experience. Are you up for the challenge? Are you willing to go—when and where our Savior calls—even if it takes you out of your comfort zone and right into a lusty fair? If your answer is yes, then follow me!

In the morning of grace, when the Sun first arose, And the Gospel divine put to flight all its foes, The nations rejoiced, but forsook it so soon, For the Sun in His strength was darkened at noon.

Light breaks at last! Hallelujah to God! Darkness is past, let us shout it aloud: From the mountains and hills let us gather the few Who will stand for the right, and dare to be true.

Chapter Two

What, Me? An Exile?

If you look up the word "exile" in the dictionary, you will find that the definition is "expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree." In truth, no matter how you define it, being in exile is never a great place to be.

John Bunyan was exiled from his family while writing away in prison. His chief characters, Christian and Faithful, were also exiles in the strange land of Vanity Fair. Yet stories of exiles go back much further than Bedford, England.

It was the year 626 BC A young man from a landowning family received a divine call. Up to this point, young Jeremiah had lived a rather joyful life. He grew up in a household where God was not only honored but loved. He learned the law from his father, Hilkiah the priest.

As a young boy, Jeremiah had seen a profound reversal in the land of Judah. King Josiah had turned the nation back to God after his father, Amon, and grandfather, Manassah, had not only allowed but fostered widespread idol worship. But Josiah was a different kind of king who knew the results of repentance.

Enter young Jeremiah. God called him to a powerful but decidedly unpleasant ministry. Jeremiah's job was to remind the people of Judah of the terrible nature of sin. Think about that for a moment. Of all the work God might call us to, who would really, truly want the distasteful task of telling people, "You're in sin!" It's not a very popular message—yet it's a tremendously important one!

God takes sin seriously. The crucifixion of His only Son speaks directly to the deadly nature of sin. George MacDonald said, "Primarily, God is not bound to punish sin; He is bound to destroy sin. The only vengeance worth having on sin is to make the sinner himself its executioner."

That was Jeremiah's job—to remind the people of Judah that they must be the executioners of sin in their own lives or face some grave consequences: destruction, captivity, and exile. What a message to be asked to deliver to a people who had reveled in sin for generations!

The nation of Judah had been drowning in a sea of decadence. Under King Manasseh, pagan worship had fallen to a new level of depravity. He dabbled in and allowed the practice of witchcraft; he consulted mediums; he sought out the advice of soothsayers; and worst of all, he participated in infanticide. King Manasseh had even sacrificed his own son to the Canaanite god Moloch.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from BUYER BEWARE by Janet Parshall Copyright © 2012 by Janet Parshall. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

SECTION ONE

Chapter 1 – THE MARKETPLACE

Chapter 2– WHAT – ME, AN EXILE?

Chapter 3 – A CITIZEN OF TWO WORLDS

Chapter 4 – JUST EVANGELIZE?

SECTION TWO

Chapter 5 – A LIVING LETTER TO A CAPTIVE PEOPLE

Chapter 6 – THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Chapter 7 – HARVEST FROM AND FOR HEAVEN

SECTION THREE

Chapter 8 – I DO, I DID, I WILL

Chapter 9 -  WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER

Chapter 10 – THE CENOTE OF SACRIFICE

Chapter 11 – NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

Chapter 12– A PERVERSE TWIST OF THE TRUTH

Chapter 13 – A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

SECTION FOUR

Chapter 14 – WINSOME WORDS OF WELFARE SEEKERS

Chapter 15 – CITY BUILDERS – PAST AND PRESENT

SECTION FIVE

Chapter 16 – WICKED WOLVES WITH WILY WORDS

Chapter 17 – PSYCHIC FRIENDS?

CONCLUSION

Chapter 18 – FREE, WHILE CAPTIVE

Editorial Reviews

Geni White  https://samcivy.wordpress.com

 A clearly thought out presentation, Buyer Beware can motivate people to consider better solutions to social problems. The author presents practical actions that range from easy to more difficult, but can impact the culture for good. Jeremiah’s message was to ‘work for the good of the city where you live’, because that brings peace for everyone as God desires. After just finishing this book, I am wishing to thank you for writing it.

Although I listen to nearly all your radio programs via podcasts, this book composed almost all of them between its covers. It is a thoughtful and engaging book!  I host and teach inductive studies in my home and beloved church. Often I add a book for discussion during our fellowship time. This one is next on the list!

Sara Moore, September 23, 2013

From the Publisher