Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: teddy bear club, dream center, spiritual promotion, New Testament, Old Testament, Joyce Meyer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Salvation on the Small Screen is fast, fresh, funny and filled with surprising twists. It is easy to point out what's wrong with a broad satirical target like televangelists. It is tougher to watch closely, with patience, empathy, and openness. Yet, Nadia Bolz-Weber and her eclectic companions find the divine even amidst the most painful religious programming. Now that is miraculous --Craig Detweiler, PhD, director, Reel Spirituality Institute, Fuller Theological Seminary and author, Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century

Review

"The concept is as clever as it is brave: Spend 24 hours watching `Christian television' programming, and bring friends. Talk about what you see. Let hilarity and poignancy ensue. Lutheran minister Nadia Bolz-Weber gives us a wincing and winsome look through those cable channels that many ignore and many others make their spiritual bread and butter. With Salvation on the Small Screen? in hand, the reader can thoughtfully go `behind the label' and check out the ingredients of the oddly-influential Christian media. Bon appetit!"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Seabury Books (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596270861
• ISBN-13: 978-1596270862
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #239,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nadia Serves Up a Delightful Televangelist TV dinner, September 26, 2008

By	Becky Garrison "Religious Satirist" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Nadia Bolz Weber boldly goes where few Protestants have gone before--the prosperity palace. As she samples their titillating theological tidbits, she critiques the ungodly excesses displayed by these religious rock, while also noting the lessons mainliners can glean from these seemingly saccharine shows. Throughout Salvation on the Small Screen, she reminds me that even though TBN shows may be sinful and shameful to one's spiritual health (and they are, trust me on this one), we're all brothers and sisters in Christ. And like these prosperity preachers, I too have fallen short of the glory of God and need Jesus as my savior.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Christian Television Without Pity, December 8, 2008

By	WitherWing (Naknek, AK USA) - See all my reviews

It shouldn't be too surprising that a self-identified progressive Lutheran seminary grad and her (usually) mainline and/or agnostic friends find TBN to be strange, offensive, unintentionally hilarious, and at times quite touching. I work in the "Christian-Industrial Complex" she talks about and go through the same motions when watching.

Nadia and her friends witness 24-hours of America's most watched Christian TV network. Through this, she finds massive sets and smiling preachers professing their love to viewers they'll never meet. She also finds out that "commercial free" programming can include selling a lot of bizarre trinkets and kitch. She witnesses hours of asking for money, singing oddly phrased choruses, honorary Doctorates, cheap puppet shows and cartoons, a few confusing prophecies about Israel, and Ann Coulter.

Like numerous other books recently deconstructing pop-Evangelicalism for outsiders (Rapture Ready, Churched, Body Piercing Saved My Life - to name a few), there is the feel of a tourist here. She latches on to what is initially odd or novel and compares it to what she considers normal at home. She asks questions about methodology, and wonders aloud if any one actually believe what they are saying. There are times when her questioning and comments seem like a long pat on the back for her liturgical, "progressive" Lutheran tradition, and some preconceived notions that shatter seem telling. At one point she actually seems stunned that a show with Pentecostal roots has an insightful, balanced look at race relations - as if that issue belongs to her particular bent. On the other hand, she tends to admit things like this, and spends time wondering aloud if her Lutheran tradition is limited due to its desire to separate from Evangelicals. The result is a graceful view of TBN and those on the network -- critical, but finding hope and ministry in the midst of a lot of silliness.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Wit, October 20, 2008

By	James Townsend (Charleston, WV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I read about this book on a blog and decided to order it from Amazon. I was not disappointed. The author writes with wit, and the kind of humor that is lacking in today's writing. She also raises some very good questions that have needed to be raised.

What's more, and this is something you don't see every day, she writes with a humility that's brave enough to point out the "shortcomings" of her own traditions while analyzing others.

She articulated very well so many of the issues that I have had in the past with Church TV.

All in all, it was a very fresh approach. Humor, honesty, and humility. You don't often find those qualities successfully woven into one book.