Despite the existence of
Ultimate Christian Wrestling, pro-abstinence teen clothing lines and the TV
drama “Bibleman,” local journalist /blogger
Daniel Radosh (formerly of "Spy" magazine) found a lot to like in Christian pop culture. His new book “Rapture Ready!” shines a light on
the highs and lows of the spiritual entertainment market.
What made a self-proclaimed
“secular Jew” so excited about Christian movies, music and such? I have a teenage sister-in-law who is a born-again Christian.
I went with her to Christian rock festival, and there was this kid who came up after
a set by one band and said, “That was awesome! They prayed like three times in
twenty minutes!” It was a really strange moment. I’ve been to a lot of rock
festivals, and I’ve never heard a band evaluated by that criteria. It was kind
of disorienting, so I wanted to understand it more.
You traveled a lot
for this book.Yeah, I did something like fifteen states, from the Bible
Belt through the Rust Belt to outside
Hollywood
to here in
Brooklyn. It’s a wide-spread
culture.
Is the rise of
Christian entertainment sort of a rebellious thing for some people? Definitely. Well, it’s hard to make broad statements; you
can’t lump all evangelicals or Christians together. They all have different
beliefs beyond a few central tenets. But there are a lot of people who think Christian
punk or Christian rock is more rebellious than mainstream poser rock. There’s a
Bible verse a lot of those fans have memorized: “Do not conform to the ways of the
world.”
What’s the oddest
encounter you had?For me, it was more about the littlest details. For
example, it wasn’t that strange that something like Christian raves existed; it’s that they
called them "DJ-led worship." Or it wasn't strage that there’s a Christian pro-life
organization called Rock for Life, but that it has a fetus playing an electric
guitar as its symbol. Or that there’s a line of abstinence clothing called
“Wait Wear” that includes sexy thong underwear with a stop sign. But I guess it’s better
than “If you can read this, you’re too close.”
You mention the lack
of irony you experienced during a Christian rock festival. Did you
discover it anywhere else?Most Christians I met had a sense of humor, even if there is
a strain that distrusts irony. I think good Christian entertainment embraces
it. After all, life is ironic! A lot of bands, they understand irony. The TV
show “Bibleman” is an earnest show in a way…but on some level, everyone on it
knows it’s a poorly produced show with bad special effects. There are in-jokes about
the cast throughout, and even [star] Willie Aames makes jokes about working on “Charles
in Charge.”
Do you have Christian
friends with strong beliefs? I do, but not any who participate in this world. Actually, a
lot of evangelicals are embarrassed by Christian pop culture scene; they think
it’s very cheesy and not the best representation of their faith. And any
Christian who made it to
New York,
they’ve certainly had to shed a bit of that culture.
You met a pastor, Jay Bakker, who lives in Brooklyn and combines a
rock’n’roll perspective with preaching. Yeah, he lives in
Brooklyn,
and he does a sort of church meeting at the bar Pete’s Candy Store on Sunday.
He’s a perfect example of someone who sincerely believes in Christianity and
wants nothing to do with what I write about in this book. I think part of it is
that his parents, Jim and Tammy Faye, get the credit, or blame, for starting up this side of
Christian pop culture. Jay is much more down to Earth, and gave me some
youthful perspective.
What are Christian
comedians like?They have some real problems, because making jokes, in a
way, depends on irony – saying something out of accord with reality. And they
have to face audiences who don’t get it. They won’t get hecklers, but
afterwards people will approach them or e-mail them and say “You shouldn’t say
things like that.”
You recently debated
the merits of Christian rock at a local bar. Yes, and I took the position that Christian rock doesn’t
suck, arguing against a religious person who believes it does. At the end, out
of fifty people, only about four of them still thought it still did suck. Two
years ago I would have thought differently, but there are a lot of good
bands in the genre. They don’t just evangelize or change “Jesus” to “you” to
get mainstream success. Bands now are writing about romance, life in the modern
world, and struggles with faith. I think bands like this help their audience
become more open-minded and tolerant. They’ll play secular clubs, and give
people a different perspective.
Did you go into this
with any expectations?I went in with an open mind. If something was ridiculous or
offensive, I said so, but if something was high quality, I also said so. And that
happened pretty frequently, especially with music. And comedy. I probably
learned more from the Christian perspective on the world listening to Christian
comedians than anything else. And that’s what good comedy does--it illuminates
the world in unexpected ways.
Several Christian pop culture artists mentioned here can be viewed at getraptureready.com
