I am enjoying it already and I am picking up a few good tips. It is a satire written as a how to guide.
Throughout he describes the antics of faith healer charlatans and the money they make. He even has some websites where you can get your ministerial credentials.
Bill comments now and again on Shuck and Jive as Freethinker321. I should also thank Bill for reviewing Shuck and Jive on Blogged.com. Bill gave me a 7.8:
This is the blog of a liberal minister living in Tennessee. He writes about matters like race relations, homophobia, the Iraq war, and his more conservative counterparts in the pulpit. His tone is cordial yet borders on the combative at times. He also employs cynical and irreverent humor to communicate his positions. I say all the above to describe this fellow, not criticize him.
I enjoy his writing and the passion with which he defends his views. He comes across as self-righteous at times, self-congratulatory in his enlightened beliefs and quick to label others as intolerant instead of trying to understand them. But I commend his courage in speaking his mind to an often hostile audience. You may love him or hate him, but you will find his blog worth your time.
Pretty accurate, I would say. Although an 8.8 would have been nicer.
I give you a 10. :P
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear him rate Ablogination. :)
But I think it's all most Conservanoids can do to make it out of one of my posts with their skin attached.
But he was fair to you which, you'll surely agree, is pleasantly unusual.
As for the book, sounds interesting. That's them. The red-faced screaming goons and their Hell Fire & Brimstone routines.
Benny Hinn is the one that makes me want to vomit the most. Here's a guy who's sole mission in life it to take advantage of the faith of simple, often desperate people.
These vermin fill gullible people with false hopes literally about life and death.
Their like have caused people to forgo real medical treatment for fairy tales.
I have no doubt that the mind can do wonderous things in relation to pathology. Any real Dr will tell you that a good state of mind helps healing and general wellbeing,
(Then again, so does Morphine but that's another story)
but Hinn is a fraud like they all are. Those that claim to be healed were paid to make the claims. It's a circus.
Others just keep going back again and again because they're told "God has a special time for you" or similarly lame S*&#.
There's a very special place in Hell (nothingness) for the likes of these.
Actually the 7.8 was the closest I could come to a "4 out of 5 star" rating, which is the system Amazon uses and the one I'm most familiar with, as I review books on that site on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI've found most people rate blogs, books, etc. almost entirely on how much they agree with the author, which is in my opinion rather pathetic. Many Americans need to relearn the meaning of the phrase "I disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."
I've always found Pastor Shuck's blog to be interesting and well written. As a theological moderate I agree with him more on social matters than doctrinal ones. But I can strongly identify with his stance on issues such as spiritual abuse and social justice.
As for my book, I invite any interested parties to visit
www.getrichwithgod.info. Peace.
Thanks, Captain!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks, Freethinker...
"I've found most people rate blogs, books, etc. almost entirely on how much they agree with the author, which is in my opinion rather pathetic. Many Americans need to relearn the meaning of the phrase "I disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.""
Hallelujah.
About half-way through, "How to Get Rich..." and I am enjoying the stories.
A couple who didn't make your critique (or praise : )) are John Hagee, and the Left Behind wackos. I suppose there are either too many fish to fry in one book or they may qualify under a different heading.
It is beyond tele-vangelist now, and now we should consider the multi-media-vangelists.
There is a little bit about the Left Behind crowd in the chapter on fundamentalism, but yes, Hagee and countless others didn't make the cut simply because of length considerations.
ReplyDeletePlus, I wanted to focus primarily on those who are clearly guilty of financial misconduct, blatant falsehoods, etc., and not those who simply hold crazy ideas.
Hagee may be a wacko, but I suspect he is a sincere wacko, and thus falls under Paul's admonitions in Romans 14:1-12. Benny Hinn, the Copelands and similar characters are another story entirely. They're not stupid or deluded, they're monsters.