Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture | 
 enlarge | Author: Daniel Radosh
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 129321
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 0743297709
Dewey Decimal Number: 261.0973
EAN: 9780743297707
ASIN: 0743297709
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
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Product Description
What does it mean when a band is judged by how hard they pray rather than how hard they rock? Would Jesus buy "Jesus junk" or wear "witness wear"? What do Christian skate parks, raves, and romance novels say about evangelicalism -- and America? Daniel Radosh went searching for the answers and reached some surprising conclusions. 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Funny and Refreshing July 2, 2008
Radosh is an outsider to this world of Christian pop culture, and his encounters are both humorous, well-informed and reflective. Without too much eye-rolling, he sincerely connects with the people behind such diverse entertainments as Bible Man and pro-wrestlers for Christ. Below the surface absurdities, Radosh uncovers the humanity of it all, and the often misunderstood and sometimes sinister implications.
Well done and relevant June 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great read, written with the perfect combination of humor, wonder and respect. It definitely opened my eyes to the wide, diverse world of Christian pop culture, and the Christian religion in the United States, and made me think more seriously about what Christian pop culture means for the future of mainstream culture--as well as politics, education, civic life, etc. Since reading this, it seems I can't open the newspaper without noticing an article about something Christian--Christian...more This is a great read, written with the perfect combination of humor, wonder and respect. It definitely opened my eyes to the wide, diverse world of Christian pop culture, and the Christian religion in the United States, and made me think more seriously about what Christian pop culture means for the future of mainstream culture--as well as politics, education, civic life, etc. Since reading this, it seems I can't open the newspaper without noticing an article about something Christian--Christian license plates, Christian gyms. Well done and relevant!
Quick and enlightening read June 1, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a former believer who engages in what some call "recreational Christianity" much of what is presented in this book is already familiar to me. However, there were more than a few pearls and bits of trivia that made this book a worthwhile purchase and charming read.
 A multi-faceted read May 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It Shouldn't work. A liberal Jewish journalist/humorist dives in to the alternative universe of Christian pop culture and returns with a book that is simultaneously smart, informative, jaw-dropping, funny, and fair. That doesn't seem possible, does it? Well, Daniel Radosh has proved that it is with Rapture Ready. Clearly writing for the coastal, lefty crowd he's part of (and I am part of), it's an introduction to all the Christian versions of the various pop stuff we're all assaulted with every day. This is all very familiar, except much more Christ-y. And if learning about such a universe doesn't interest you, give the book a try just for the humor. He's got a great way of injecting a funny observation at just the right moment, just at the point where something has to be said. And there's one full-out parody, a fake interview with Stephen Baldwin, which is both a classic and serves as a much needed breather for those of us who, um, get really creeped out by evangelicals.
But that brings up one of the most important things about the book. It is not a Christian bashing. Through it (and through the multimedia appendix on its website), you learn about all the non-crazy evangelicals too, the ones who don't make the news. And you learn that there is good Christian rock music (my fave: mewithoutYou), and there are funny Christian comedians, and, perhaps most importantly, there are liberal voices in evangelical communities. (Some.) By combining several different approaches to the subject, Rapture Ready comes out a unified whole: part scholarly examination, part adventure, part funny-book, part cure for the all-too-persistent feeling that there is nothing but conflict in the future between evangelicals and secularists.
Entertaining but flawed May 25, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I just finished this book. Written from an "outsider's perspective", the author (a secular New Yorker of Jewish ancestry) devotes each chapter to a different aspect of the "alien" and often "foreboding" world of American Christian pop culture, sharing his insightful and occasionally surprising observations. It seems that for nearly every mainstream (I always refuse to use the word "secular" every time I reference the standard world experience) popular culture phenomenon, Protestant-Evangelical-Fundamentalist American Christians have managed to construct an equivalent, faith infused alternative "Christianized" experience marketed just for themselves, thus creating a largely private cultural world that is not widely known to people living outside of the American Christian culture. While the vast majority of these imitative Christian pop culture fabrications pale in comparison to their "real world" counterparts (Christian novels come to mind) and some fail both miserably and hilariously (Christian wrestling, anyone?) there are, I will admit, a few Christian pop culture creations that are actually good enough to be considered nearly as good as the real thing. In my opinion this applies to a short list of contemporary Christian identified musicians that I personally find appealing (Andy Hunter, Victoria Williams, Moby). And as one person interviewed in the book noted as well, I don't think anyone can honestly look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and say Michaelangelo sucks because he was Christian.
While it's a pretty entertaining read, I do have some criticisms however with Radosh's style and approach to the subject matter. I realize he was making a very conscious and deliberate effort to be respectful, but in doing so his missed opportunity after opportunity to point out the hypocrisy that is so apparent in modern Christianity. Also stemming from the fact that he's apparently atheistic as well, this approach becomes even more disappointing.
And so I found this somewhat typically liberal, uncritical "live and let be" attitude became quite tedious as the book progressed. Although Radosh interviewed and mingled with hundreds of hard core Christians before the book was over, I can only recall at two points in the entire book did he actually get angry. The book would have been much stronger if he'd played up the snarky dialogue and allowed himself to react from his gut a bit more often, but then, it's obvious to me he was making a deliberate attempt to hold back and play to both sides.
Coming from where he does, though, it is understandable why he chose this approach, even though that does not make it excusable. I promise if Mr. Radosh were forced to live in the Red State Bible Belt in his everyday rather than having the luxury to observe this parallel universe from a curious yet detached tourist's perspective, he would find himself significantly less charmed and patient with the average Christian and all of their contrived pop culture detritus.
I believe as well, his extremely reserved approach was influenced by the noble idea that by "respecting" (as in not overly criticizing) Christian culture, he can encourage some cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between Christians and non-Christians. Just for example, at one point he states that when a Christian tells a non-Christian they're going to hell, it's actually said out of concern for that person because the Christian genuinely doesn't want them to go to hell. He is wrong on this point and in saying that he gives this community far more credit than they deserve. Here's your phone call from God, Mr. Radosh: the majority of the Christians you interviewed were also being overly nice to you too, when the fact is, behind closed doors, most born agains view people like you, the liberal atheists and agnostics, as their enemy. And I can assure you the majority of Christians that go about making those types of statements most certainly do relish the fact that the enemy is going to endure an eternity of hellfire and endless eternal torment. Therefore, there really is no point in trying to engage these types with dialogue and understanding and by granting them this much "respect" you are really doing both sides a great disservice, by perpetuating their mindset and validating it.
So I suppose, with some reservations I recommend the book I guess, as Radosh is an interesting and entertaining writer and the subject is rather unique, even though it's rife with missed opportunities.
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