Customer Reviews

Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television

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

 

 

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.

Nadia Bolz-Weber is a tall, brash, heavily tattooed Lutheran pastor from Denver who speaks with the sarcastic delivery of a stand-up comic. It turns out she used to be a stand-up comic and her blog is entitled The Sarcastic Lutheran. Her writing is in some ways reminiscent of Anne Lamott. I attended a reading from the book by the author and was intrigued enough to purchase a copy. I've just finished it and found it to be a quick and entirely fun read.

The set-up for the book is this: Bolz-Weber, a blogger and essayist on Jim Wallis' God's Politics site, was asked by a publisher to watch TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) for 24 hours straight and then write about the experience. She asked, "Can I bring my friends?" and when the publisher agreed, she took on the job.

Nadia begins her journal of TBN watching at 5am and concludes at 5am the next day. Throughout that 24 hour period she is joined by a revolving cast of friends and strangers (ranging from seminary professors to gay community workers to her parents to an ex-boyfriend to a Jewish atheist to a Methodist pastor) who sit on her couch and provide running commentary--ala Mystery Science Theatre 3000--on what unfolds on the screen before them. She admits up front that not only has she never watched TBN (other than occasionally passing it while channel-surfing and thinking, "What the...?"), but that she also harbors deep feelings of derision towards Fundamentalist Evangelical Christianity (originating, no doubt, from her upbringing in a Fundamentalist Evangelical home).

One expects snarkiness and mockery, and one is not disappointed. The surprise, however, is the author's chagrin/discomfort at her own cynicism, her willingness to examine her own attitudes, prejudices and shortcomings and her attempts to find something (anything) of value in the tepid swill served up on TBN.

Rather than walk away from her 24 hour ordeal with a smug sense of superiority, Nadia comes to the realization that her own faith tradition also contains plenty of holes and flaws. She wonders "...what the TBN folks would think of me, a heavily tattooed Christian progressive from a liturgical denomination. How would people in their theological camp respond to my preaching? Would they think, as I do of them, that I misuse scripture? Would they be offended at the aesthetic in the community I serve? Would they dismiss my years of theological education as silly and unnecessary? When it comes right down to it, so many of my criticisms of TBN could go both ways, and if that's true then could it also be true, despite us both, that God is at work in my community and (gulp) TBN?"

Thankfully, she also clarifies that "Allowing for the possibility that God may be at work in both my community and TBN is not the same as conceding that TBN's theology and methods are sound."

Throughout the book a tally is kept of the amount of money one would spend by purchasing the trinkets, teaching tapes, books, DVDs and other products hawked during each ministry's TBN segment. The 24 hour grand total, revealed at the end of the book, is flabbergasting. Bolz-Weber also ponders such inevitable questions as What is really being sold on TBN?; Are preachers like Benny Hinn sincere in their beliefs?; and What is the appeal of these ministries, particulary to the elderly and shut-ins? The answers to these questions are disturbing, not only because of what they say about those ministries on TBN but also about Western Christian culture as a whole (including you and I).

Salvation on the Small Screen? is put out by a small publishing company with limited distribution. You're certainly not going to find it at your local Family Christian Bookstore. I do hope that it catches on though because it conveys some great observations in a thoroughly enjoyable manner. It's gotten me to thinking that it might be really fun to have some friends over for a round of TBN viewing.

Or not.

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.

Some of the memories my wife and I have of catching fleeting glimpses of TBN and other Christian TV include bizarre moments like a female televangelist interviewing an armless woman...and asking her how she puts on her makeup; and Robert Tilton spouting out "Someone is called to give a million dollars to this ministry;don't think about it, don't pray about it...just call in!"...followed by a long outburst of tongues to confirm the word.

I have a hard time with many of these shows; but I have to dare to believe God is using some (all?) of them, even if...well, you know.

So I was thrilled to hear that one of my favorite Sarcastic Lutherans (check the author's blog name), and a brilliant thinker, had been asked to write a book about the experience of watching 24 hours of Christian television (in the company of some wonderful hand-picked friends)..TBN, to be exact.

I must have prayed for her the moment I heard she had the job.

As hilarious as the book is(it exceeded even my high expectations here), I found it not only appropriately respectful (some will disagree...maybe even the author!), but hugely helpful in many "serious" ways...
It is her humility ("I, too live in a lavish lifestyle funded by the giving of the faithful, and this realization is discomforting. It is undoubtedly the plank in my own eye" -p.67) and wit that grant her authority to note out loud and in public things any of us have noted privately,like:

"I'm fairly certain that the descriptor 'Christian' when applied to music and TV shows is not an indicator of theological content but instead points to what is absent:profanity, homosexuals, liberals, uncertainty--basically anything that would challenge a particular worldview."

One well-crafted subtheme: ,I must say Bolz-Weber's passing insights about "simulacra" (12, 56) or "hyperreality", which at first glance appear as easy jokes....are incredibly helpful. This is territory that Ian Robertson picks up regarding U2's intentionally ironic and subversive "Even Better Than The Real Thing"/ZOO TV era use of this method (Chapter 6 in the Mark A. Wrathrall edited "U2 and Philosophy").

And finally, how about this? At one point in the 24-hour marathon, a Christian celebrity "sits on a garish sofa talking about how Jesus is better than nightclubs, which is, of course, a false dichotomy. I believe in Jesus and nightclubs,or even Jesus in nightclubs, but that's another story" (133)

Or is it?
Maybe that point is the prophetic punch right through dichotomy to"real reality," and the very story, of this vital book...or the next one she will hopefully write.

Full review:

[...]

In her first book, Bolz-Weber does what some might consider impossible: she combines theological reflection, prosperity gospel, elevated caffeine and sugar levels, and the effects of sleep deprivation into something that is both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply thought-provoking. Assigned to watch 24 consecutive hours of programming on Trinity Broadcasting Network and reflect thereupon, she and her friends zero in on what makes much of this programming deeply disturbing. The book is worth the purchase price simply for the chapter subheadings, which had me laughing out loud. However, the book is not simply an exercise in skewering the deficiencies and excesses of the programming, although it does that superbly. Bolz-Weber is one of the rare individuals who is able to turn her laser-like gift for critical reflection back upon herself and her own tradition as well as toward the assigned target, and that is what makes the book so thought-provoking. This is not a book to be read once, but rather to be read once and then savored more deeply. Bolz-Weber raises questions that more liberal Christians need to consider, and takes us for a riotous journey along the way.

What's Christian about Christian TV? "Salvation on the Small Screen?: 24 Hours of Christian Television" is the results of a social experiment from Nadia Bolz-Weber about her one straight day of being a couch potato, exposing herself to an unhealthy dose of Christian programming. Witty and insightful, Weber draws insights from herself and those who just happen to stop by to endure her torture alongside her. Not to be confused as an indictment of Christianity, but instead Christian Television, "Salvation on the Small Screen?" is a unique and humorous work that may surprise you.

I met Nadia at the National Great Emergence conference in Memphis this weekend. She is lanky, a confessed ex comedian, with icon tattoos on her arm, and recently ordained by the Lutheran Church (ELCA). She read many stories from this book, all of which give great insight into the evangelism portrayed on tv, much of which is hysterically funny.

And when it's not funny, you'll cry.

I highly recommend this book. One of the freshest things I've heard/read in a very long time.

Salvation on the Small Screen is hilarious, intelligent, and honest even when it's painful to admit that Trinity Broadcasting Network might not be entirely evil. Nadia Bolz-Weber and her menagerie of friends discuss the virtues and follies of their own religious upbringings and traditions while examining the sometimes disturbing programming on TBN. At times deep and theological yet well balanced with irony and humor. Candid and straight-forward, this book discusses the sometimes predatory and often irrelevant and absurd stories, sermons, and programs designed to "bring Christ to the masses" while also addressing the ways that mainline denominations may be missing the boat. This book is perfect for anyone who believes that there's a place for humor and critical analysis within Christian communities.

The author and many friends spent 24 hours listening and commenting on TBN programs. Many religious statements from a variety of people of faith and of no faith made an interesting commentary. I also liked the fact, that, in spite of her initial cynicism, she developed a better understanding of her relationship, as well as that of others, to God.

By the way, she missed the question: Which book of the bible is the story of Jonah in? Off the top of the head, Do you know?

While the premise lends itself to a superficial treatment (24 straight hours of watching religious programming), the author did a fine job of balancing perspectives. As a Lutheran myself, I particularly enjoyed seeing the programming through her eyes and thinking that our observations probably would have been very similar. I gave it four stars instead of five because I would have liked to have seen a treatment of this subject over a longer period of time, and in a way that didn't carry the risk of a loss of attention after having been up for many hours. (Also, there were some editing errors that bothered me.) Still, I very much enjoyed the book and hope the author turns her attention to another subject soon!