Customer Reviews

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

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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

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."

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!!!

Author Russell Rathbun's perspective of grace is amazingly refreshing. The loose thread that holds together a book's worth of paranoia and preaching pulls in the narrative stitches, so that in the end: we stop seeing conspiracies and we all stop ranting. The new kingdom just sort of takes over. Rathbun has a Flannery O'Connor sense of grace, grotesque and explosive, which makes this book so impacting.
Challenging all notions of faith and mercy, this book takes apart what has become the blanket Christian culture. What remains is an uncomfortable--but sincere--and a fatigued--but re-awakened--sense of faith.

As a tool of easy manipulation and audience pandering, invocation of the apocalypse has always held great power. Detailed iterations of the end times will always appeal to those who see crises under every vine and fig-tree wishing somehow to solve them with shock and awe-a swift and bloodless end of the world.

However, the crisis facing Rev. Richard Lamblove [sic] is not so much apocalyptic fear of the unknown as it is nausea in the face of meager attempts by the so-called Contemporary Christian Culture Conspiracy to make sense of the current crisis in American culture. It seems that the C4 prefers to confront empire with sprawling mega-mall/churches rather than inhabit the catacombs of the American underworld.

Lamblove desires a radical reorientation that metes out judgment and mercy in one fell swoop, that has no favorites and that will cause every knee to bow. Ironically, the only recipient of this dialectical apocalypse is Lamblove himself. Perhaps, in a culture that lionizes autonomy, the narrow way by which one can enter the new world that Lamblove could envision is to break down one preacher at a time.

If you're looking for an answer to Tim LaHaye's vision of the end of the world, don't bother reading this book. The end of the world in Post-Rapture Radio is disorientation, fatigue, and confusion in the face of the coming change. You should read it. It's not that bad.

I guess this book has been out for awhile and I'm probably behind the times (or maybe the author was ahead of his time). I underlined a lot in this book. Here's one of my favorites:

"After all, what takes more faith - to believe that God can save you and offer personal fulfillment and comfort, or to believe that God can reorient the whole world from one of hate, greed, fear and personal gain, to one ruled by peace and justice? A world where there is Good News for the poor, releases for the captives, the recovery of sight for the blind - where the oppressed are free, and all live according to God's good favor. What takes more faith - to believe that God can save you or that God is going to save the whole world and wants you to help?" - pg. 86, Rev. Lamblove (aka russell rathbun)

The best line is on page 110, but don't skip ahead. You gotta read the whole thing, then the punchline will blow you away.

I hope it's not too late - I want to join the revolution!

Russell Rathbun has just raised the bar for Christian fiction. Post-Rapture Radio is fiction - forget for a moment the adjective Christian - at its very best. It is inventive, humorous, shocking, provocative, philosophical and at times quite depressing. It's almost existential. Rathbun has a message, to be sure, and it's directed at Christians. However, unlike most "Christian novels with a message," the message does not weigh the writing down.

In the book, the narrator discovers a box containing various writings of "unknown crazy preacher" Richard Lamblove. The writings include sermons, journal entries & miscellaneous scribbled notes by this man, whose only proof of existence appears to be the documents in the box. Most of the book consists of these various writings, interspersed with notes by the narrator, who is trying to make some sense of the writings. Lamblove is at odds with what he perceives as the "Contemporary Christian Church Conspiracy" that surrounds him and it's either driving him crazy, or driving him sane. Or perhaps both.

There will be a number of people who simply "don't get" the book, which to me only shows how brilliant the book is (all great books are not understood by the masses). Some will hate it because it pushed various buttons, and we all hate when our buttons get pushed. Many will love the book, just because it's so well-written and relevant. My reaction, however, was that I began to identify so closely with Rev. Lamblove that I experienced moments of near despair (a near existential moment - another sign of a great book).

The only shortcoming of the book, in my opinion, was that the Lamblove character is a pastor. The way the book resolved (I won't give the ending away) was fine for Lamblove, but what about the majority of people in the church? What options are open to those trapped in their own Contemporary Christian Church Conspiracy, but without the resources and opportunities of the leadership (not that he gave any specific answers there, either)? I need to ask Rathbun ... perhaps he'll write a sequel.

Post-Rapture Radio is a thought provoking book that is fun to read.
It follows the adventures of one Rev. Lamblove, a disaffected preacher who may be losing his mind. Through a series of journal entries, sermons, dreams and commentaries we read of his growing frustration with consumer Christianity. As Rev. Lamblove becomes more and more insane he makes more and more sense, and you just might see yourself in him and.or the other characters in this book. It is neither preachy nor polemic, but it will make you reexamine your suppositions.

I'm going to meet this guy some day and laugh as loud with him as I did when I read his book. Yet, it's almost satire. Penetrating, poignant and schizophrenic. I loved it.