The Trouble with Paris: Following Jesus in a World of Plastic Promises

by Mark Sayers

What if you're living in the wrong reality?Doesn't everyone want the good life these days? Our shopping mall world offers us a never-ending array of pleasures to explore. Consumerism promises us a vision of heaven on earth-a reality that's hyper-real. We've all experienced a candy so 'grape-ey' it doesn't taste like grapes any more; a model's photo so manipulated that it doesn't even look like her; a theme park version of life that tells us we can have something better than the real thing. But what if this reality is not all that it's cracked up to be? Admit it, we've been ripped off by our culture and its version of reality that leaves us lonely, bored, and trapped. But what's the alternative?

In The Trouble With Paris, pastor Mark Sayers shows us how the lifestyles of most young adults (19-35) actually work against a life of meaning and happiness to sabotage their faith. Sayers shows how a fresh understanding of God's intention for our world is the true path to happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Religion, Theology

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Mark Sayers is the senior leader of Red Church and the cofounder of Über Ministries. He is particularly interested in the intersection between Christianity and the culture of the West. Mark lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife, Trudi, and their daughter (Grace) and twin boys (Hudson and Billy).

Reviews

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turn on the tv, scroll through social media, watch a film: other people's lives are always presented as more exciting, more fulfilling, more romantic, more adventurous, more... more... more... Everywhere we look, we're bombarded with images and messages designed to make us unhappy. Artfully presented to make us depressed. Craftily wrought to make us dissatisfied. And then, having made us unhappy with life, depressed about its quality and dissatisfied with what we have, we're presented with the solution. Ta da... the perfect holiday, the ideal car, the new house, the "stuff" that will resolve all those negative feelings.

We get onto the ever-cycling treadmill of trying to fulfill the emptiness with the "next thing".

Mark Sayers' book is an insightful exposé of the lure of hyperreality and its insidious influence that drives us to become discontented with reality. Instead of celebrating the small pleasures of everyday life, hyperreality tells us that we're missing out. Hyperreality is a modern-day religion. (p 27) Our culture tells us that we must find our vocation and achievement as well as find happiness through choosing the right pleasurable pursuits. The cost of individualism is catastrophic to community and civic responsibility. Community is sacrificed for personal preferences. (p43) Adulesence, twixters, freeters, Peter Pans - all names for a desire to never grow up and to be part of youth culture indefinitely. Such people are terrified by the enormity of commitment and turn child-rearing into an exercise in social competition. Companies make millions selling a youthful rebel dream to the middle-aged. (p45) Hyperreality ruins faith, making us slaves to self: meaning, community, identity and relationship are traded for the myths of freedom, choice and control. (p 97) As we move authority from Jesus to ourselves, Jesus becomes subservient to our consumer dreams and Christianity becomes a delivery mechanism for our consumer wishes. Consumerism becomes a folk religion and shows us how we should live and dream. Authority becomes vested in me, as "god". (p 113) By putting our trust in other things, we cut ourselves off from the Bread of Heaven, the source of life. (p 131) The Greek worldview saw the physical world of matter as separate and inferior to the spiritual world. (p 139)

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an eye-opener. I learned a lot by reading it.
I knew how the advertisers work because I am a Marketing graduate, but what I found out in this book surprised me.

We really live in a world where a person's ability/achievement is more important than his character.

Mark Sayers provided a refreshing view on how we can maintain our hold of God's reality while battling with the culture of hyperreality.

Everyone should read this book; especially the young adults.
When you're done, you'll have a new perspective about your life, your relationships, and all the things that you do.
This book will remind you that you have a chance to begin again, with a clean slate in a world full of possiblities.

[Trevor Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book from Sayers. It is particularly helpful in understanding the categories we have been sold in hyper reality

[Matt Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Sayers is obviously a genius! He has quite an unique perspective unlike what I've come across in other christian authors. He has a perfect balance of not being too cheesy as many Christians are, but he doesn't go so far from the truth like many 'christian' podcasts have today. He has a healthy view of the church and what it means to be a christian.

Mark seems to see the western world with such clarity and wisdom. He the uses this insight and communicates so clearly things I have been subconsciously aware of. This book is full of lightbulb moments where Mark puts words to experiences that many in the West experience everyday but never actually spend anytime talking about. Alongside this, the book being written 12 years ago makes it even more insightful that he was able to pick up trends so subtle in my opinion that have now just become even more obvious and set in stone. Also being 2008 there are some pretty funny outdated references to the technology of the time, mp3 players for example. Overall this is a fantastic book and is much better than any self help christian book, starting with the hyper reality is the perfect place to focus your attack towards becoming more like and dependent on Christ.

[Nathan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t seen The Social Dilemma yet...But I imagine it’s not too different than this book.

Mark Sayers tells us how to respond to the culture of hyperreality as Christ would.

[Gregory Rothbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Sayer’s book The Trouble with Paris examines the way Modern Consumerism has been exalted to the “New Religion”. Sayers shows that corporate America has erected plastic Idols that manipulate consumers to always want more, and more, and even more of that plastic stuff. “Human beings are used and discarded like Styrofoam boxes that held junk food.”*
When we worship made things instead of our LORD we are left with a hyper-reality. This hyper-reality is a vacuum that leaves worshipers empty. “Reality is not considered an impediment to desire.”** Corporate America has a vested interest in keeping us unhappy so they can cure this pain by supplying us with endless happy meals with a toy included inside.
Joy is easier to maintain when we stop comparing ourselves with the Joneses. When Mr. Jones buys a new Corvette, or moves to the better part of town; he leaves us with our broken down car, and our adequate house we feel a sense of shame that we are not making enough.
The American Debt traders say, “Don’t worry be happy, and buy this new Chevrolet; if you don’t you’ll regret your life forever!” The market also attempts to terrorize us with too many choices, just look down the aisle for Spaghetti sauce. What is the best one? There are way too many to compare, how do we make a decision without that feeling of guilt? We could stand there for thirty minutes, in order to make a good decision.
Death is the spotlight that the creed of hyper-reality is fraudulent and a heretical religion. More money cannot conquer the effects of gravity and the ultimate end from this world. But we can control our expectations.
The good Mark Sayers brings an important thesis to the Mass Market Christian. Maybe this book will be a step in rethinking their lives and the choices they make.
The bad The book stumbles in some of its Theological Presuppositions. I am not sure that Sayers has a firm grasp on the triune god; it seemed that he made Jesus a separate entity from God. This is a classical heretical misstep.
The Conclusion “Christian Lite” book that will sharpen our focus on our relationship to Consumer America.
*Hedges, Chris. "American Psychosis." Adbusters (2010). Print.
**Ibid.

[Jessica Geist · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could tell people to put one book on their summer reading list, this book would be it. Seriously, you can look for the bargain edition on Amazon for $6 right now. Sayers discusses the way that our airbrushed, social media obsessed culture has pulled us into great tension. On the one hand, we know we live in an imperfect reality, but on the other hand, we desperately want to edit our lives for perfection, assuming that the mundane and even the awful events of life are not moments to live through and learn from but are instead blights to be avoided. The point Sayers made most memorably is his comparison of hypereality to other folk religions. He points out that modern Christians claim allegiance to God, but in reality, many of their decisions and time are devoted instead to striving after and maintaining the hypereal world. Though not an in-depth academic book, this is a book I could read again for new insight because it's packed with astute cultural observations.

[Walt Walkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Really, really good book. I'm surprised I did not hear about it... I basically stumbled upon it and was truly impressed by what this guy had to say. The only reason it does not get 5 stars is because it does get a little bogged down in the middle. But I think Sayers is on to something that more people should be thinking and talking about. Highly, highly recommend this one.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. the author, Mark Sayers, writes with a refreshing voice. His analysis of current culture is crisp, and his analysis of the current state of affairs in the church is thought provoking. I found nuggets in every chapter.

[Halley Hopson]

Everyone needs to read this. It has such good insight into today's culture and not only how it affecting Christians and our spiritual lives, but young people as a whole that have grown up in this technological society that lives off of the idea of hyperreality.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great book for those who work with young people on a day-to-day basis and live from a Christian spirit

[Paul Newnham]

This is a great book and I am half way through really enjoying

[Cherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with a lot of Christian lit, book brings up a couple of good points and puts a name to real life issues but still generalizes too much to be applicable, IMO.

[Trinity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. I gleaned so much from this book about the concept of hyperconsumerism and how it affects my emotional and spiritual well-being. I highly recommend it!

[Debbie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of two halves. Both depressing and hopeful. Needed tighter editing.