Customer Reviews

Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I felt that the author was able to incorporate good observations on the cultural nature of Gen X. The pop nature of the book and the inclusion of various types of fashion and electronic media were of importance to his subject. As a person from this generation, I was able to resonate with many of the assumptions about culture and their inclusion in the shaping of spirituality. The irreverant and ironic criticism of institutional religion found articulation in Virtual Faith as well, as it was developed from the perspective of Gen X Christianity.

I was disappointed though, by the poor use of the four music videos. I felt that too much was read into their imagery by the author. My own thoughts are that much of the second part of the book became mired in an overdeveloped desire to place spiritual meaning upon these cultural icons. I don't think that much meaning was there, which undermined the character of the book.

I did appreciate though, the book's attempt to bring together cultural and spiritual aspects in Christianity, and express the irreverent reverence of Gen X.

I read this book for a Youth and Culture class in seminary and it was by far my favorite book of the semester. Beaudoin does a good job in describing a generalized picture of Generation X's conception of Christianity, but there are two places where I feel he misses the mark somewhat.
I feel that Beaudoin could have made better choices in his selection of videos, and this is not about personal preference or taste. Soundgarden's "Outshined" or "Rusty Cage" were both more attuned, in my estimation, to the emotions, struggles, and general attitude of Generation X than "Black Hole Sun", generally speaking. Beaudoin could have also explored why a band like Pearl Jam, which is overwhelmingly non-imagistic, could still continue to have an impact despite Pearl Jam's lack of visual exposure beyond 1992. Another example: replace "Like a Prayer" with Tool's "Sober" or with Nine Inch Nails "Head Like a Hole", and you've got something. And one last musical point: where is hip-hop? Surely the amazing success of rap music in the ninties, especially gangsta rap, says something about Generation X theologically.
My second critique concerns Beaudoin's theological engagement. I simply feel that he could have gone a little deeper. I was also looking for some wrestling with the greats. I took Systematic Theology the semester before I read this book and was looking for Beaudoin to utilize Barth, Tillich, Bultmann, etc. An examination of Tillich's views of Christianity and culture would have been especially rewarding in the context of the book. It simply seemed to me that Beaudoin could have gone a tad deeper theologically.

This book has been a huge influence on young adults, on parents of young adults, on pastors, and many others. Because of this, I approached the book with some skepticism, thinking that it might be "selling out" my generation.

But I was surprised. I have 3 main comments:

1. The book not only makes many fascinating comments about how our spiritual lives interact with our cultural lives, but the author has a sense of humor about him. Some of his interpretations of popular culture are over the top, but I wonder if he didn't intend to be excessive, so as to be ironic in his own way? (He talks about irony being a key trait in contemporary culture.)

2. The four basic themes he talks about are spot on for younger generations today: suspicion, experience, suffering, ambiguity.

3. I only wish he could have sampled some more "ethnic" forms of pop culture, like African-American or Latin music. But he doesn't claim to do everything, and no one can do it all in one book.

Using his own life and experience, Tom Beaudoin has opened the door to understanding and reaching out to a segment of our population that has been for so long misunderstood and/or overlooked in regard to matters of spirituality and faith. Although I did not agree with all of his interpretations, I thought his portrayal of suffering was very honest and on target for many in his generation. His poignant examination of Generation X with suggestions for ministry is an invaluable resource for anyone in ministry to this population, as well as for those beginning to look at the issues facing the next generation now coming of age.

One difficulty I had with Beaudoin's work, however, was its limitation as far as ethnicity and culture. Although Beaudoin referred to his peers as Generation X, he is really only examining a segment of that population. Much of his material is specific to a Caucasian middle class culture and is not applicable to others. He relies heavily on music video and as we all know, tastes and trends particularly in music vary widely between ethnicities and/or cultures. I would like to have seen him team up with other writers or sources who could have added some of the missing pieces so that the material would be more reflective of Generation X and not just a segment of it. I was struck by Beaudoin's assertion that Gen X believes in inclusivity; indeed I have in my own experience seen this to be true. However, in reading Beaudoin's book it felt as if the African American youth to whom I have ministered were invisible or non-existant. Inclusivity begins by being inclusive, and in order to avoid making the mistakes of the past generations one must determine not use the same methods. I would encourage Beaudoin and others to use that same nature of challenging traditionalism in this area as well, rather than to once again picture the same limited view of American culture that has for so long promoted suffering similar to that which he writes about in his book.

I'm a little bit older than this age group discussed. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm near the advance guard of the Boomer generation! However, as someone charged with developing educational offerings for my church, I found this to be compelling reading.

The age group of 18-30, no matter what generation in recent years, has typically been absent from our pews. What makes the Gen-Xers so different, Beaudoin says, is that they WANT to be in a spiritual place, and are hungry for it. He cites evidence from music, music videos and other sources of pop culture appealing to the Gen-Xers.

One of his arguments I found especially interesting was that which states that this generation has grown up not knowing war, hard times or any of the events that tend to galvanize previous generations. His theory is that this explains the rise in popularity of self mutilation, otherwise known as body piercing and tattooing, as visible signs of the theme of "suffering servant."

Whether one buys into his theories or not, there is much here to provide food for thought for mainstream churches wanting to reach out to the Gen-Xers. He looks at those aspects of Biblical stories that have appeal to this group; he speaks of styles of worship or study that would most attract them. I don't think anyone who has looked at shelves of bookstores can disagree that there is a great spiritual hunger in our world. Beaudoin's book will certainly enocurage us to think about how that hunger could be met for this demographic group.

Beaudoin has hit a nerve. He gives some good and lucid interpretations of how GenX'ers express their basic concerns, but . . .. GenX is suspicious of institutions, given to personal experience, consider suffering to be spiritual, and consider ambiguity as a fact of faith. Are these new themes for genreation X or simply themes for those who are young? Seems Baby Boomers were like minded when they were 20 to 35 year olds. I am now 50 still suspicious of institutions, yet a minister within Presbyterianism. I revel in personal experience but am conscious of the importance of community in life. I still believe that suffering is spiritual, why else would we have demonstrated for civil rights, against the war, and lived for greater freedom in fashion and sexuality. Ambguity will always be a part of faith why else could Beaudoin quote something so ancient as the Bible, "I believe, help my unbelief"? That's not to say this book is all wet. It's a good book for anyone in ministry. However, of late I've read too much that treats the themes of GenX as if they are new. There are certainly some new twists made possible by the TV and Computer, but they are age old. Much older than I. Where Beuadoin succeeds is in showing us how GenX expresses many of these themes. Even there it seems to me he pushes things a bit as he tries to give meaning that is quite rich and deep but may not have been more than a unconscious impression for the artists. In fashion, some may consciously dress for message, but I doubt most do. He does bring out the areas of suffering that have characterized GenX which those who live and work and minister with these young adults need to be sensitive to. I am glad I read the book and recommend it to others.

I went to high school and college with the author, who has always been a talented writer, capable of manipulating complex thoughts in a clear manner. It is refreshing to see him approach such a difficult task as discerning God in popular culture--where God is most obscured by transitory whims, the antithesis of God who can best be sought in quieter arenas. God _is_ holy, and to seek him in the profane is a challenge best put before the X Generation, which more deeply rejects the premise of its ancestors than even the flamboyant boomers who still hog the media. Our generation (X) will soon be forgotten because of our worship of the fleeting. But, this next generation's glory rests on the fact that we _peacefully_ rejected our ancestors' belief systems. Tom is devoted and earnest, more than is revealed by his writing in this book, and I eagerly anticipate the next work from his able hands. Tom's premise is exciting, and coupled with liberation theology as it can be applied in the richest nation on earth, would make something worth laboring for--but until that is done, it's just an overdeveloped idea written by one more interested in provoking thought than founding it. To me, liberation theology says that we should teach the people how to liberate themselves from the oppression that is upon them, and Tom's angle--that Generation X approaches spirituality differently than its predecessors--is exciting, but not expressed in a way that evokes action in me, nor does it do what God has always done, call people to rise above the oppression upon them in a peaceful manner. Another review called this book blasphemous and wondered how it could be written by a man of God. Inappropriately harsh, but the answer to the question is--because the book is an idea, not a call to action, which must meet more stringent demands than an idea.

With VIRTUAL FAITH, Tom Beaudoin has taken enough material to write two books and squeezed it all into one. It is, at once, an autobiographical essay on the life and experiences of Mr. Beaudoin and his own critical commentary on (a significant portion of) what he calls "GenX."

Well written for the most part, the book makes several sweeping generalizations with regard to what motivates the "irreverant generation," spending a great deal of time (all of PART II) searching for significance in popular music and especially music videos from the late 80s and early 90s. While much of his information is insightful, Beaudoin often s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the meaning of videos and songs; beating a dead horse (as it were) and drawing conclusions from songs which were never intended (i.e. REM's "Losing My Religion"). In short, much of PART II (the book's longest segment) amounts to little more than professional proof-texting which diminishes the other, more impressive and insightful features.

This project could (and perhaps should) have been published in two volumes (or even three): one (or two) focusing primarily on Generation X itself, and the other presenting a critical commentary on music, music video and possibly even broadening the scope a bit into TV shows and movies.

The short version: VIRTUAL FAITH is a good first try; helpful for those who are interested on finding out one man's interpretation of pop culture and its effect on people in the 90s. But it takes on too much and does too little with it. I look forward to the "Revised Edition" or the "sequel" should one ever be produced.

I grew up with all these videos and icons too, but I'd say that Beaudoin is 90% wrong and a bit too creative in his analysis and interpretation. As a friend of mine put it, "I can't believe people think this garbage is how we feel. "South Park" is a better picture of GenX religiosity."

While Beaudoin occasionally has an interesting remark (usually a quote from someone else), I found the book to be an over-enthusiastic attempt to create a system or a theology where one doesn't exist. To call GenX irreverence a "lived theology" or a spirituality at all is as laughable as any attempts to define these alphabet generations on any level. In my experience, the kinds of attitudes and opinions Beaudoin talks about are more often the result of widespread ignorance about religious/spiritual matters -- GenX religious criticisms are off the mark, mostly because they tend not to know or care much about the traditions and beliefs they attack. The key is something that too many people don't seem to get: that we have to mold ourselves to the absolute truth of God, not the other way around. Looking for answers about God in popular culture can only be misleading because it's a fickle and shapeless thing by its very nature, unlike truth. There may be pieces of truth found in it, but it hardly qualifies as a theological system.

Beaudoin is essentially calling on "institutions" to relax and/or change their ways to accommodate the uninformed, despite the fact that so many don't know what they're looking for. This "democratic" view sounds nice but does nothing but water down doctrines and "systems" that have been taking root for 2,000 years. Should we not trust that God knows what He's doing? We should start to blend it all together because young people haven't learned much about Christianity, and because this will make them feel accepted? We should start to make radical changes in the way we teach Jesus's message because of a half-dozen rock videos and their "lived theology"? Does Beaudoin really expect even young people to believe that in piercing their navels they're making a deep spiritual statement or that people reflect on their own experience when gazing at another's pierced navel?

One last (and unimportant) thing that really annoyed me about the book is Beaudoin's flowery academic language. He's trying very hard to sound brilliant. Words like "bricolage" and "orthopraxis" are strewn liberally across the pages -- the above-mentioned friend told me, "He should be arrested for excessive abuse of a thesaurus." He should follow C. S. Lewis's advice about writing: "Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don't 'implement' promises, but 'keep' them. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean 'more people died' don't say 'mortality rose.'" I realize that at times Beaudoin is trying to be funny, but it doesn't float. What's next? "The Tao of Jerry Springer," or "God is Too Sexy: Images of the Divine in the Videos of Right Said Fred"? There's no question that the alphabet generations are hungry for meaning, but in looking to popular culture for sustenance they'll only remain starved. There is a reason, after all, that millions of them flocked to Rome to say goodbye to Pope John Paul II in 2005, a man who would likely have had a few things to say to Beaudoin.

Beaudoin's former Harvard professor calls him the GenX Virgil. Let's not kid ourselves. Hand me my Thomas Aquinas, please, I need a dose of reality after this brush with virtual faith.

This book was an eye opener to me. I am only ten days younger than Tom Beaudoin. The many parts of this book were like reading my own life story. Tom hits the nail on the head with many things discussed. I would have liked to have seen some more work with some other mediums. He seemed heavy on the music video genre. He uses many good sources in explanation, but I would have liked to have seen more of his own opinion on a few subjects. This seemed very evident in the section on Tradition and Traditionalism. He tended to go from one source to another with little expression of his own. On the whole this book is written very well and tells about the Generation X population, and how we struggle with our religious life and expressing ourselves theologically.