Christ is not a commodity. Using Christianity to hawk one's wares is roughly akin to the money changers in the temple and we all know how that turned out.
Christians need to start focusing on Christ in our own lives and quit using him as a "social thing."
Well, some of the greatest art in the world is based on the events in the Bible and Biblical figures. I don't think too many of those artists got rich, though. They didn't mass produce their paintings either.
I see no evidence presented that Christianity was used in any way to sell anything. This is the LATimes reporting here.
I agree with that in principle. That is my fundamental issue with Christian bookstores. On the other hand, they cater to a niche market which is inadequately served by anything else. Also, many Christians want to know that they're dealing with Christian businesses. Of course, they are assuming, often falsely, that the following is true: (1) that businesses operated by Christians will follow Biblical principles in their business dealings and (2) that "Christian" businesses will not support anti-Christian ideology.