Jesus Died for This?

Book Review.

Garrison, Becky. Jesus Dies For This? A satirist’s search for the risen Christ. Zondervan. 2010.

B.G.- Becky is a contributing editor for Sojourners. Her writings are described as ‘odd and sundry publications’.

Comment. Henry.

The reading of this book has been my introduction to religious satirists. I must say that I am not really comfortable with that literary approach for presenting spiritual truth so the reading has been a learning curve for me. The writings and activities of religious activists and satirists probably bring some element of balance to our spiritual environment. Satire, like humour, creates discomfort and/or stress when it is used as a weapon not a tool. Becky comes from a position of Episcopalian views that are not supportive of evangelicals generally. (Billy Graham is one evangelical that is exempt from her ‘barbs’.) Her ‘search for the risen Christ’ is very genuine and that gives validity to her observations. She describes her writings as ‘patches’ of a blanket, i.e. experiences that take her literally all over the map.

On her ‘pilgrimage’ to the Holy Land Becky she focuses on the distracting commercialism that has nothing to do with historical Christianity. “Despite all the spiritual silliness that abounds throughout the Holy Land, this sacred soil smiles. Dirty... dusty... delivered. For in this grit and grime, God becomes real and revealed.” (37)

She describes the Book Expo America conference in NYC as “holy hucksters pushing the latest faith fads”. (43) During a visit to the U.K. Becky took in the “Greenbelt” (53) experience. “These services seemed more real than many of the megawatt and watered-down worship services I experienced back in the States.” (57) She visited a number of sites in Ireland that are a part of Celtic Christianity.

Becky’s ten-day press trip to Jordan during Ramadan introduced her to “a country rich in history but poor in capital”.

During her involvement at “Soularize 2007” in Florida she gained a greater appreciation for presenters like N.T.Wright, Brennan Manning and Jim Palmer.

In November 2007, Becky’s book “Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church”, was launched by Church Publishing at the American Academy of Religious/Society of Biblical Literature in San Diego. From the heavy weights of San Diego she moved on to sin-city Los Vegas and ended up taking in the Robert Schuller Christmas extravaganza. These were great venues for serious satire.

Becky gives us a brief look into her family history, including her challenge of growing up in a dysfunctional family and becoming an orphan at seventeen. Roger Williams who made substantial contributions to early American state/church issues and government constitutions was one of Becky’s ancestors.

Becky visits the west coast cities of Seattle and Portland. Karen Ward pastors the Church of the Apostle (COTA) that becomes a positive experience for Becky. She really puts the screws to the “Mark Driscoll Show”. In Portland some time is spent with Kurt Neilson and Saint Peter and Paul Episcopal Church. She appreciated a visit to the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, the Grotto.

On to Minneapolis with a stop at Mark Van Steenwyk’s Mission Deo “an Anabaptist lay intentional community”. (202) Back in NYC Becky covered the, “A Night of Hope with Joel & Victoria (Osteen)” in Yankee Stadium. To call this event a service, having charged $15 admission and then asking for an offering on top of that, did not sit well with our religious satirist.

Becky summarizes her writings as a “small smattering of snapshots and photos of empires that turned my stomach. What if we all took our cameras and photographed what the body of Christ looks like to each of us? That would be a slide show worth watching.” (217)

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