Customer Reviews

Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church: Eyewitness Accounts of How American Churches are Hijacking Jesus, Bagging the Beatitudes, and Worshipping the Almighty Dollar

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a moderately conservative Christian, I was expecting this book to be more bashing than insightful.

I was wrong - this book should resonate with any true Christian concerned with the politicization of the church. While we may not agree on many subjects, I too have been deeply disturbed by how much hatred has crept into the daily religious experience and think this book does an excellent job walking through numerous, specific examples in a light-hearted and insightful way.

Christians take heed - we have lost our way and need leaders that are more spiritual than political. This book is a good step in the right direction.

Like all memorable satire, Ms. Garrison's book has something to offend everyone and something to make us all take another look at what we thought we believed. In a series of essays that invoke the spirit of Monty Python and George Carlin, she tackles those two subjects your mother told you not to bring up at dinner parties--religion and politics--with fearlessness, insight and, above all, great love and good humor. The fact that this book has stirred up such controversy shows that she has hit more than one nerve in doing so. But those nerves needed to be hit!

Read this book. Laugh at it, argue with it, call your friends to debate it. One thing I can promise you, though: you won't be bored by it!

Ms. Garrison's thesis is that warring red and blue politics have left the American sense of community black and blue. The Kingdom of Heaven, reflected in that beloved community, escapes the politics of parties, and cries out for individuals of faith to recognize each others' calling.

Few writers today have had the wide experience of all sides of American religion as those at the Wittenburg Door, a magazine that has the rare quality of being equally funny to the fundamentalist, evangelical, mainline, or radical who is able to laugh at herself.

Avoid this book if you don't have a sense of humor or if you maintain the conviction that you are your own personal savior. For everyone else, read the book with the expectation of enjoyment and rare insight into both sides of American religion.

Like her work for The Wittenburg Door, Becky Garrison's book is insightful and provocative, told by someone who truly cares about what is happening in institutions she holds dear.

What's important, and not necessarily indicated by other reviews here, is that it is also relevant to non-Christians (I'm Jewish) who might think the subject matter doesn't pertain directly to them. In fact, at a time when the Religious Right is dominating the party that holds sway in all three branches of the government and our president claims to be ordained by God, "Red and Blue God" may be even more important for those of us in the minority to know just what's going on. Becky tells it all, in a way that will leave you laughing, no matter how angry you might be at the time.

When I was in seminary twenty-five years ago we would hoot and holler over the biting satire of The Wittenburg Door magazine. I still remember a piece on "Dogs Who Love the Lord." Becky Garrison is a senior contributing editor for the Door and self-described "non-partisan religious satirist," and in this book she collects some of her material to parody the pious. She reports on her coverage of the Republican National Convention, reflects on the environment, does a drive-by shooting on the gay issue in a way-too-short chapter (three pages), wonders about pro-Israeli ideology and anti-Semitism, touches on volatile issues roiling our public schools, grapples with abortion, and decries our worship of mammon.

Satire carries inherent risk factors. Skewering everyone equally can be hard. Garrison lambasts the left and its "mainline insipid drivel," but most of the fuel for her fire comes from the right. You read more about Robertson, Falwell and LaHaye than you do about Spong or the Jesus Seminar. Sanctimony and sarcasm are close cousins of satire; it is hard not to sound unctuous. At times she lapses into ad hominem swipes that add little to her humor. Do we really need to hear about the bad behavior of Bush's twin girls? Not every reader will warm to her smart-alecky style. Like most satire, you will need to consult other resources for the heavy lifting on the issues that she raises. Finally, satire has its limits in that it is always easier to criticize what you are against than to explain what you are for, to tear down rather than to build up, to generalize and exaggerate rather than to work through the complex details of difficult issues.

These are minor quibbles, though, given the underlying message that Garrison conveys. First, as she notes in her preface, her mission as a Christian satirist is to "mock idolatry." Given the seductive power of the many idols that tempt us, we should not shoot the messenger, however risky her task. Second, I am always challenged by warnings about the cultural captivity of the church. However much believers might disagree about social, political, economic and global issues, surely we should be able to agree that whatever a "Christian" point of view looks like, it ought to look and sound very different than the cant and cliches from either the left or the right. Finally, Garrison sounds a clear note about the command to love those with whom we disagree. She echoes the wisdom of the German Pastor Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984), who protested Hitler's anti-semite measures in person to the fuehrer, and who was eventually arrested, then imprisoned at Sachsenhausen and Dachau (1937-1945). He once admitted, "It took me a long time to learn that God is not the enemy of my enemies. He is not even the enemy of His enemies.

Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church is a wonderful addition to the canon of thoughtful books on the state of the Church in America in 2006. The difference is, it's often very funny. Becky Garrison is an accomplished writer (primarily with the legendary religious humor and satire magazine The Wittenburg Door) and a keen observer of culture. Red and Blue God is well-written, fast-paced and worth the time, regardless of your religious/political views.

"RBG,BBC" is a great book. It is relevant and challenging for everyone - conservative and liberal, democrat and republican.

In fact, I not only recommend that you read this book, I CHALLENGE you to read it.

After all, if you're weary or scared to then it means you probably need to the most!

I found my self chuckling at Ms. Garrisons' observations on the church and the people that drape themselves in a religious coat. This is big considering my sense of humor does not run in this vain.

The author does a good job of being humorous in describing the plight of modern churches. Called to be in the world but not of the world, many are becoming entrenched in political debate and in "showy" Christianity rather than authentic spiritual conversion. The author provides well-documented instances problems with the church in the public forum and provides insight on how things can be improved. Her insights are thought provoking, sincere, and respectful.

There have been a lot of books written lately describing the problems in the church today, and there's a reason: it's necessary.

Becky Garrison, a religious satirist associated with THE DOOR magazine, (formerly THE WITTENBURG DOOR) confronts the problem head on. As you might expect from a satirist, the book is funny but it's also uncomfortable in places, as she catches a lot of issues dead-on accurately. Theologically, it would be hard to put Ms. Garrison in a neat, cut-and dried category. (In her introduction she gives an outline of her life) She has enough experience with both the conservative and the liberal sides of the Christian community to know exactly each side's weaknesses. And - mostly important, Becky knows her own weaknesses, tells the reader that she herself is still a work in progress. In fact, this is an important factor that makes her writing effective.

A lot of the book deals with her alarm at the way politics have polarized the church. The book was written during George W. Bush's presidency, so some of the information may be a bit dated - but not too much, really. We still have these issues going on. She takes on many of W's policies, and especially goes after churches who try to marry Christianity with a certain political party or agenda. She dutifully goes after Pat Robertson, James Dobson, as well as Jerry Falwell (no longer amongst the living). But she also jumps on the liberals' case as well. In fact, on page 51 she says, ". . . if Jesus stepped into the RNC or DNC headquarters Karl Rove and Democratic head honcho Howard Dean would show Him the door for sure. No way . . . would they even remotely consider his candidacy as leader of the Free World - but then again, Jesus made it clear that His kingdom lay elsewhere."

Most importantly, she urges Christians to dialogue and communicate each with each other about issues. She takes on politics, "green" environmental issues, abortion, the Middle East, and prayer in schools - whew! Nobody can ever accuse Ms. Garrison of being a lazy writer! Appendix A and B are - um - let's say - thought provoking. But I'll let you find out about that for your self.

In the last chapter she appeals to genuine Christian love. Now I just hope that people will read this book and take it to heart.