Soul's Code

We've written before about the cult of consumerism and Steve Jobs' new Jesus phone.

Now a Palm Beach Baptist Minister took it to the next level by offering $15 iTunes gift cards to anybody who filled out a join-up ("connection card") at the church, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Does it smack of a bribe? Nah, it's the stuff of good old-fashioned American "Second Great Awakening" marketing.

American preachers have always employed creative methods, including rousing music, tent revivals and wagon rides to church, Southern Baptist Convention spokesman Roger S. "Sing" Oldham told the Palm Beach Post. "The method is fair game as long as it's not illegal, immoral or against scripture. The message must never be compromised."

Add this to the Satan Says billboard in West Virginia and the "Bizzare Marketing Campaign Trifecta" is now in play.