Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture
4/5
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About this ebook
Written with the perfect blend of amusement and respect, Rapture Ready! is an insightful, entertaining, and deeply weird journey through the often hidden world of Christian pop culture. This vast and influential subculture -- a $7 billion industry and growing -- can no longer be ignored by those who want to understand the social, spiritual, and political aspirations of evangelical Christians.
In eighteen cities and towns throughout thirteen states -- from the Bible Belt to the outskirts of Hollywood -- Radosh encounters a fascinating cast of characters, including Bibleman, the Caped Christian; Rob Adonis, the founder and star of Ultimate Christian Wrestling; Ken Ham, the nation's leading prophet of creationism; and Jay Bakker, the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and pastor of his own liberal, punk rock church.
From Christian music festivals and theme parks to Passion plays and comedy nights, Radosh combines gonzo reporting with a keen eye for detail and just the right touch of wit. Rapture Ready! is a revealing survey of a parallel universe and a unique perspective on one of America's most important social movements.
Daniel Radosh
Daniel Radosh is a contributing editor at The Week magazine, a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, and a prominent blogger. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Playboy, Esquire and GQ. In the early 1990s, Radosh was a staff writer and editor at Spy magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and twin children.
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Reviews for Rapture Ready!
28 ratings17 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The author takes an interesting tour around the world of evangelical marketing, a world most people don't realize exists (but then, you probably have seen some of the so-called 'Jesus Junk' - that had to come from somewhere). He visits conventions, concerts, and even the creation museum to see what's happening, and writes about it in a breezy, casual style that makes it easy reading. He also has a great sense of irony, which he needed frequently in his encounters with oblivious evangelicals who think that Jews like to be patronized (or have no clue they're being patronizing). It loses a star for committing what is, in my opinion, the cardinal sin common in this sort of book: the conflation of "I know nice Christians" with the idea that Christianity as a whole is a decent enterprise, but some people have mistaken it and read it wrong. The one thing that hits you in the face as you read through his interviews with various groups and individuals is that for each and every person he talks to, everyone else is doing it wrong. That comes through loud and clear,. and he notices it, as well. And everyone says that everyone else is reading the Bible wrong, making Jesus (conservative/liberal) to fit their own ideology. Which, of course, is true. Which makes this book alternatingly amusing and horrifying. I couldn't put it down.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An interesting, well-researched look into Christian popular culture, from the Left Behind Series to corny/shocking bumper stickers and more.
HOWEVER.
I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately concerning evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christianity. And the thing that I am learning is that maybe I'm humourless, or I need to let go of my ideas of how other people should act, or I take things too personally.
But I do take issue with any book where the author can just sit through a talk encouraging ex-gay therapy without saying anything... but totally loses it on someone over anti-IVF pamphlets.
Especially when the ex-gay speaker is John Smid from the infamous Love in Action. Especially when I've so recently read "Boy Erased," a memoir about the devastating experience of being in that exact program.
I know I'm too much of a one-issue person here. But if there's a book where the author's sitting in a talk about conversion therapy with crying audience members, and he just kind of goes, "ehh, they'll be fine," that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Radosh has written a very readable, interesting study of Christian pop culture. He has a much more nuanced take than I would on a slightly creepy subculture.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The author takes an interesting tour around the world of evangelical marketing, a world most people don't realize exists (but then, you probably have seen some of the so-called 'Jesus Junk' - that had to come from somewhere). He visits conventions, concerts, and even the creation museum to see what's happening, and writes about it in a breezy, casual style that makes it easy reading. He also has a great sense of irony, which he needed frequently in his encounters with oblivious evangelicals who think that Jews like to be patronized (or have no clue they're being patronizing). It loses a star for committing what is, in my opinion, the cardinal sin common in this sort of book: the conflation of "I know nice Christians" with the idea that Christianity as a whole is a decent enterprise, but some people have mistaken it and read it wrong. The one thing that hits you in the face as you read through his interviews with various groups and individuals is that for each and every person he talks to, everyone else is doing it wrong. That comes through loud and clear,. and he notices it, as well. And everyone says that everyone else is reading the Bible wrong, making Jesus (conservative/liberal) to fit their own ideology. Which, of course, is true. Which makes this book alternatingly amusing and horrifying. I couldn't put it down.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I found this book sitting in a Dollar Tree, and the title reminded me of a website I used to frequent so I picked it up. It was much, much better than I thought it would be.The book follows the author's attempts to explore Christian pop culture in America and his attempts to find the strangest, most alien forms that the "parallel universe" can take. If it had been left at that the book would have made, perhaps, a series of humorous posts on a blog for like minded people. Instead, though, you can see that Radosh comes to respect and maybe admire Evangelicals in America, while still maintaining a safe distance ideologically. While he is happy to point out the kitschiness, absurdity, and hypocrisy, not to mention hatefulness and nastiness, of the various kinds of pop culture he explores, you can also see that he comes to find that most evangelicals are not much different from anyone else, they are just struggling to forge their identity in the larger world. The fascinating part of the book is the variety of characters he meets. A large purveyor of "Jesus Junk" who gives him a big hug when the purveyor discovers he's Jewish, Rob Adonis who gave up a career in the secular pro wrestling circuit so that he could start a small federation of Christian pro wrestlers, Jay Bakker who has nothing but love for Jesus and utter disdain for the modern church and modern church culture and their shunning of people in need, and Ken Ham who Radosh says struck him as sociopathic. There are characters from all across the spectrum: it gives a very human look at the individuals who make up Christianity in America.If you are a far right fundamentalist, this book will probably offend you. If you are one of that breed of atheist who believes religion is essentially opposed to humanity, you will probably be annoyed by Radosh's lack of a killer instinct. Anyone else will probably be able to enjoy, and learn from, Radosh's investigation. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I originally heard about this book from a review by by a friend, which I can't find now, and I immediately wanted to read it (which of course meant it went on my wishlist and I didn't get it for ages). A lot of the stuff he talks about in the book is after my time, but even so, a lot of this is so familiar to me. I was never the super Christian kid, the one who's all into the Bible and excited about God (though I knew quite a few who were), but I did grow up in this sort of environment and it was really interesting reading about it from an outsider's perspective.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A fascinating view inside the alternative world of evangelical Christian culture. As someone who knows nothing about the subject it was eye opening to say the least. Within the world of Christian culture there is pretty much everything that there is in the world of secular culture. The book talks about Christian book publishing, rock music, theme parks, TV shows, movies, festivals, children's books, comedians, professional wrestling (!), sex advice (!!) and museums. The book includes interviews with some of the practitioners and artists and lots of statistics. There is also a nice website, getraptureready.com, with links to some of what he is talking about.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daniel Radosh, an outsider to the world of the American Christian subculture embarks upon a journey that takes him to Christian music festivals, Bible themed amusement parks, and interviews with Christian authors. Radosh, who is of Jewish background, shares his frank reactions to the products, places, and people he encounters. His viewpoint exposes much that is regrettable about the consumerism that drives many of these ventures. But Radosh is also surprised by the genuine efforts of Christians to reach out to him, to point out their own shortcomings, and their lack of hostility towards him as a self confessed secular liberal. A Christian myself, I found Radosh's book to be an enlightening read. His manner was breezy and light, but he still did not shy away from discussing controversial topics. I learned a lot about the Christian subculture that I often am a part of, some things I didn't like, some things that made me sad, and some people that made me a bit proud in how they shared their faith intelligently and with grace. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in popular culture--Christian or not--as the 'parallel universe' many Christians live in is one that is often over looked, yet it has great influence in our country. It is also just a flat out enjoyable read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was hilarious. We have nothing like this where I am from. I've been to churches in Europe, but they are more like art museums. The only time I ever opened a bible was to rip out a page because I ran out of rolling papers. I never knew anyone believed any of this stuff...The book gives insight into those who do...the pop culture aspect gives new meaning to the word 'low brow'.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I felt that Radosh failed to offer any new insight into the popular culture of Evangelical Christianity, and his condescending tone made it all the worse. It doesn't get much worse when a sociologist has nothing but disdain for the very people he is studying.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5For the most part, I really enjoyed this book (although he got a little unnecessarily snarky at the end, I thought). I was expecting this to be really funny--and parts are--but it's more of a sociological look at Christian pop culture than an AJ Jacobs-style book.Still, it's definitely worth the read. I got some reading suggestions (Ted Dekker, who I had actually heard of before, of course) and learned more about a lot of things I wasn't really aware of. So if you're in the mood for an intelligent, mostly civil view of Christian pop culture from an outsider's perspective, definitely pick this up.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radosh's investigation into the world of Christian Evangelicals and Christian Pop Culture is poignant and hilarious. Having grown up in this world, this "parallel universe," I can vouch for Radosh and his experiences related in the book. It brought back a lot of memories (good and bad). Most importantly, it holds a mirror to the actions and dogma of an ancient religion and its adherents' attempts to relegate itself/themselves to modern times.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A book that promised more than it delivered. Yes, it was interesting to get a whip around look at various aspects of Fundamentalism/Evangelism in the United States but there seemed to be no real analysis or insight into the different groups we visited. In the end I noticed two things -- that somehow the mainstream embracing Christian-themed culture was supposed to encourage Christian themed culture to expose itself to the mainstream and that somehow atheists were to blame for not being more tolerant of those who didn't tolerate them. I would also question how clearly Radosh understood the basic tenets of the groups/people he encountered. No one who understood how deeply central "salvation by grace only" was to the theology of these people would suggest that living more "out in the world" would help them to see how good many non-like-them people were. In short, a disappointment.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Entertaining yet thought provoking expose of Christian, and more specifically Evangelical, popular culture. The author goes to music festivals, conventions, conferences, museums, bookstores, and yes, even churches in order to interview those instrumental in providing Christians with their own "parellel universe" of culture. I laughed a lot, but so often it was with the author, and I didn't feel it was at anyone. Radosh ekes out some some fascinating admissions from some of his subjects and remains open to being wrong.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An eye-opening survey of several aspects of Christian popular culture. Music festivals, the Bible publishing industry, the politice of Christian music, church governance, and many other elements ae protrayed in a series of chapters that are close to essays. The book had several distinct transition points that made it easy to come back to. Given the topic, the author displayed a good amount of objectivity, particularly given that he identifies himself in the book as a "secular Jew". There were some instances when the author's opinion was clearly evident. This is a very thought-provoking book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This read like an overly long magazine article, and I was tempted to give up on it after the first 100 pages or so. But, it was for my book group, so i kept reading. Some of the more intersting chapters were near the end, so I am glad that I did. But, to the extent that the purpose of this book was to point out the ridiculousness of the religious right's culture and politics, that was much too easy a task.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I thoroughly enjoyed this engrossing and humorous account of the Evangelical Christian world. Daniel Radosh covers a lot of territory from Christian Rock & Festivals, bookstores and merchandise, avenues to reach non-christians (extreme sports, wrestling shows, etc.), Creationism to Theme Parks. Daniel Radosh accomplishes his exploration with an appropriate balance of respect and humor, though at times, it is hard to let go of how bizarre the culture has strayed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Christian world, although hard-core Evangelicals may become defensive during parts of this book. As it is there are several of us at my work who are reading and discussing this book together. It is hard to put down!