Tom Ford Jewelry - Should Christians be offended?

Nah!  I don't think so.

The designer, Tom Ford is not religious - he is spiritual.


In fact, there is no mention of his religion anywhere online - at least any that I could find. It doesn't matter however, since he has clearly made statements such as, "I am a spiritual person in an eastern religion kind of way."  And, "Nature is the closest thing to God and I don’t mean God by any sort of religion but by the connection to the universe, which I think we have lost."  Sounds clear to me - he's not interested in organized religion.

I would like to suggest he is neo-pagan - his religion is materialism, his spirituality is nature based.


I think many post-moderns are spiritual but not religious, in the same way. I'm not a philosopher - and I'm not an academic - but this type of neo-paganism seems to me to be rather pervasive among celebrities and people in the arts - and more pointedly, Tom Ford's spirituality seems typical for gay men. I'm speculating of course, but Ford's new jewelry line is more suggestive of ancient phallic cult symbolism than Christian iconography.


In the ancient religions, the phallic symbol represented fertility and "cultural implications with the male sexual organ". Today these cultural implications clearly represent male to male sexuality, as well as the pervasive influence of pornography, not to forget the popularity of erotic sexual aids, as well as all sorts of penis enhancement medications and or surgeries.

So - back on topic.  Should Christians be offended that Tom Ford made a phallic amulet in the form of a cross?

Why?  St. Paul tells us the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.  What can one expect?

I'm not a Ford customer of course.  Just remember, fashion is fickle.  Like cosmetics, it is an industry which lies to those who consume it - and it is fleeting; like Tom Ford's youth.  Tom Ford is not very kind to his clients - and he also restricts his clientele.  He very famously said he doesn't design for fat people.  Hence, he doesn't have to try very hard to offend anyone outside his purview or interest.

I'm going with 'No' ... I doubt Tom Ford's phallic 'cross' is meant as an insult to Christians.  I'll bet he is not even interested in Christianity enough to harass religious people.  I would refer to his amulet as a fascinus instead of a cross.  Fascinating - comes from the Latin fascinus, BTW.

In Tom Ford's line, I'm guessing it's kind of gay.  Gay jewelry - with a hefty price tag.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. - 1 Corinthians 1

"Yeah ... but ..."

Creepy Christmas Gifts: Ouija Boards

It would appear that Ouija boards are fast becoming one of the “coolest” and “must-have” Christmas gifts of 2014, but the church has fiercely criticized the trend calling it “absolutely appalling,” and strongly warned people to “not let this darkness” into their lives. - Source

Christmas and the occult.

First of all, I would strongly urge people to avoid Ouija Boards entirely.  It's not a game.  It is a portal to the occult and very dangerous.  Its influence clings to you like pitch - believe me.  Exorcists have warned about such 'games' and dabbling in the occult, seeking to communicate with the dead - something clearly condemned by Scripture and the Church.  Like so many other prohibitions, this too is often ignored by those who blow off Catholic teaching on this or that issue.  

My mother gave us a Ouija Board for Christmas one year - I was in grade school.  My brother and sister and I played with it - but they were clearly manipulating it to freak me out.  They soon bored with it, but I remained fascinated and toyed with it alone - nothing happened however.

Reminiscing about that reminded me that my mother had a fascination with the occult.  Evidently when she was little, her mother and dad gave the kids a Ouija Board too - which is one reason why my mom bought us one.  She said it was just a game - but she was also curious to see if it 'worked'.  She also believed in fortune tellers.

Before she knew she was pregnant with me, she had her fortune told and the reader told her she was pregnant - sure enough - she soon found out she was expecting.  Whenever my mom told the story, she always added anecdotes of other accurate readings the fortune teller told those who were with her.  I always wondered if that brush with the occult had any detrimental effect upon me - the foetus in her womb?  Likewise, since she was a fallen away Catholic, was my mother a target for some sort of infestation of the demonic type?  Without going into detail, she endured a great deal of evil and was also felled by some very serious sins and compulsive behavior, as well as severe depression.

That said, as a teen, my friends and I also fooled around with the board, and though weird things happened to others who used it - nothing significant happened to us.  Although we freaked ourselves out with creepy stories.  Nevertheless, it led me to dabble in the occult, getting into astrology, fortune telling, and all of that kind of stuff - it was also a trendy thing to do, along with drugs and Eastern spirituality.  

When I suggest these things cling to us, or embed themselves in the memory, what I mean by that is sometimes an experience we believed was true can 'obsess' a person.  When I was in high school I asked the board when I would die, and the cursor moved to two numbers.  I have been tempted all my life to attribute some truth to that.  Intellectually I disregard it since the devil is the father of lies - nevertheless, my memory is not fully purified of the thought.

If that is the worst story I have, I suppose it seems harmless to play around with the board - but it is not.  The exorcists have real stories to tell.  My point is that Ouija and the Tarot and astrology opens the soul to dark influences and forces - principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world.  The memory and all the faculties can be stained, our judgement, our discernment clouded - perhaps the greatest danger is simply to be anaesthetised to the diabolic delusion that pervades the world at this time.

To be sure - it is not a game. 

Arise O Lord and let your enemies be scattered, 

may those who hate you flee before your Holy Face.

Link: Ouija Board is #5 in the top toys for Christmas.

Art at top: Edward Gorey