Post-Rapture Radio: Lost Writings fromthe Failed Revolution at the End of the Last Century [Hardcover]

Russell Rathbun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2005

In Post-Rapture Radio, our faithful narrator finds a mysterious box containing the sermons and journal entries of a genuine, unvarnished American character the Reverend Richard Lamblove. The little-known Lamblove–tried and failed–to revolutionize contemporary Christian culture. As his journal entries, cereal box scribblings, and random notes written on paper scraps reveal, Lamblove sees contemporary culture as shallow, overly individualistic, and consumed with the kind of status measured by money, power, and celebrity. And American Evangelicalism—which has been integrated into the culture as a whole—has similar failings. Reverend Lamblove vanished without a trace, but Russell Rathbun has “compiled” his papers into a compelling critique of contemporary faith an antidote to faith-as-usual and a wakeup call for Christians to genuinely respond to the gospel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hilarious, passionate, infuriating, revealing, alarming, perplexing, illuminating. In short, apocalyptic. And definitely required reading for anyone seeking a faithful Christianity in the heart of the American Empire."
—Andy Crouch, columnist, Christianity Today

"Once in a while a book reaches out from the page, grabs me by the scruff of the neck, and says something so pithy, so smart, and irreverently funny that I almost bust a gut laughing. That's what Post-Rapture Radio did to me on several occasions. The fact is, sometimes satire is the best way for us to see our own foibles, and this book is a wonderful antidote to much that ails the church. It's A Confederacy of Dunces for Christians."
—Tony Jones, author, The Sacred Way

"Funny and thought-provoking. It challenges the way one thinks about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the church in his name."
—Gordon Gano, singer and songwriter, Violent Femmes

"Søren Kierkegaard said that people held in the grip of an illusion cannot be directly reasoned with. One must assault them with appealing but apparently absurd stories and even contradictions in the desperate hope that indirect communication can accomplish what direct communication cannot. Russell Rathbun may be Kierkegaard's great-grandson or something. If you have no illusions, you don't need to read this. Otherwise . . ."
—Brian McLaren, pastor (crcc.org), author, A New Kind of Christian (anewkindofchristian.com)

"There are times when the tongue-in-cheek can become a light in the mind—when 'off the wall' becomes the plank of reality. Richard Lamblove was a driven crusader in his last-ditch stand against the shallowly fervent. I feel the fury in his futilely scribbling a final battle plan on the remnants of cereal boxes and scraps of cardboard. Alas, were it not for Russell Rathbun, we would not know of these lost writings nor feel the loss of great truth to the forces of evangelical glitz."
—Calvin Miller, author, A Hunger for the Holy and Loving God Closeup; professor, Beeson Divinity School

From the Inside Flap

Post-Rapture radio

From Russell Rathbun—the man who has been dubbed the "Maureen Dowd of Preaching" by the Minneapolis City Pages—comes this boldly engaging fable. In this provocative and laugh-out-loud funny book, Rathbun explores the often uneasy relationship between authentic faith and its cultural trappings, which faith must try to make sense of.

In Post-Rapture Radio, our faithful narrator finds a mysterious box containing the sermons and journal entries of a genuine, unvarnished American character—the Reverend Richard Lamblove. The little-known Lamblove tried and failed to revolutionize contemporary Christian culture. As his journal entries, cereal box scribblings, and random notes on paper scraps reveal, Lamblove sees contemporary culture as shallow, overly individualistic, and consumed with the kind of status measured by money, power, and celebrity. And American Evangelicalism—which has been integrated into the culture as a whole—has similar failings.

Reverend Lamblove vanished with-out a trace, but Russell Rathbun has "compiled" his papers into a compelling critique of contemporary faith—an antidote to faith-as-usual and a wakeup call for Christians to genuinely respond to the gospel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787973939
• ISBN-13: 978-0787973933
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,139,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Russell Rathbun is one of the preachers at House of Mercy Church (houseofmercy.org). He lives in St. Paul with his wife, two children, and their dog KoKo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars habanero sauce for the evangelical soul, April 25, 2005

By 

Brett Larson (Milaca, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Post-Rapture Radio: Lost Writings fromthe Failed Revolution at the End of the Last Century (Hardcover)

If you are all too familiar with evangelicaldom, or you've become disillusioned, disgusted, or appalled with American fundamentalism, this book will give you a painful ache of recognition as well as a good laugh at the expense of the "CCC" -- the book's code for the "contemporary christian culture conspiracy."

The book is supposedly the lost writings of Richard Lamblove, who seems to be an alter-ego for the author. Through a series of sermons, rants, and paranoid ramblings, woven together into a loose narrative, Lamblove/Rathbun exposes the absurdity of contemporary evangelical Christianity. If you're an ex-evangelical, or an evangelical who doesn't buy the whole bill of goods, or an evangelical who likes to challenge his or her assumptions, or a left-leaning Christian with the red state blues, this book will make you feel like you're not crazy and you're not alone.

I don't know who those guys are that reviewed it (I keep my distance from Christianity Today). This book seems to get rave reviews from inside the "conspiracy," but don't let that bother you. If Christianity Today thinks it's in on the joke, then the joke's on them.

Clearly this guy likes the whole Jesus thing, but he's able to communicate about it in a thoughtful way that would appeal to people with a passing interest in American religion. He also has a seldom seen attitude (from evanglicalism, anyway) that you're okay whether you believe it or not.

It's a little Soren Kierkegaard, a little Walker Percy, a little Flannery O'Connor, even a little Kurt Vonnegut. Rathbun just might be Kierkegaard's knight of faith in the disguise of a "crazy unknown preacher" (to use the book's phrase) from St. Paul. If he'd start a church around here, I might even find my way back into the fold.

Brett Larson
Milaca, Minnesota

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Funny to Read Just Once., May 17, 2005

By 

Meagan L. Howland "fighting inertia" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Post-Rapture Radio: Lost Writings fromthe Failed Revolution at the End of the Last Century (Hardcover)

Seldom does a theological work that is full of depth in its scholarship bring gut wrenching guffaws that cause my husband to actually ask me why I'm laughing so loud. Rathbun's work is as easy to read as it is poignant in its message. This is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered, "What's up with that whole Christian thing?" A Christian reader will never again be so steady nor so sure nor so quick with all the answers. This is a book that reminds us of the core of Jesus' message, "Love as you are loved."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satirical Slap in the Face, May 18, 2005

By 

Steven D. Smallwood (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Post-Rapture Radio: Lost Writings fromthe Failed Revolution at the End of the Last Century (Hardcover)

Ouch!! Once I got his literary device, his satirical critique hit home with both humorous and distressing poignancy! The sad truth is that many leaders in desperate need of updating of their methods and models will fall victim to a wholesale exchange of contemporary style for contextual substance. Russell Rathbun's critique of ultra-modern Christianity is a must read poking fun at our attempts to contemporize ministry without the accompanying and necessary spiritual depth, character, and authentic (and ancient) substance of the gospel. Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!