The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus
Dispatches from the Intersection of Christianity and Pop Culture
By Tom Breen
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Subjects: All Cultural Studies, Religion & Popular Culture |
Acclaimed "Internet Theologian" Tom Breen has written a satirical, tongue-in-cheek exploration of pop Christianity. Whether pondering why there are so many Christian rock bands but so few good Christian rock songs or providing helpful tips on writing hip translations of the Bible (hint: lose the boring parts and constantly mention celebrities), Breen offers whip-smart, non-stop fun, along with a side-splitting send-up of our contemporary obsessions.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Internet Theologian Speaks
1 Everything You Need to Know about Christianity, Minus the Boring Parts
2 What Job Can Teach Us about Dating High School Girls, or Bible Translations Wycliffe Never Intended
3 Deck the Halls with Lawsuits
4 Number One Song in Heaven
5 A Field Guide to the Major North American
Jesuses
6 A Way, the Truthiness, and the Lifestyle
7 Applying the Hypostatic Union to a Winning Zone Defense
8 Page-turners of the Last Days
Conclusion: The Further Adventures of Jesus
The landscape of contemporary evangelical Christianity is a complex one, but in Tom Breen it has an excellent, entertaining tour guide, especially if you find concepts like "humility" and "facts" and "necessary footnotes" to be mere annoyances in the way of good writing. Swat those gnats aside, put on a Christian t-shirt, and enjoy the brilliance.
—Jason Boyett, author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse
"In this entertaining gem of religious satire, Breen, an AP journalist, skewers American Christianity from every imaginable angle. Calling himself the 'Internet Theologian,' Breen romps through the Bible, religious history, denominational differences. Halloween, contemporary Christian music and spectator sports, among other topics. Some of the book is pure silliness, but other sections achieve that elusive 'perfect storm' where humor is sharpened by raw intelligence and a keen knowledge of history and theology. Even Breen's glossary of terms is hilarious. Heck, even his endnotes are funny and not to be missed. (One says merely, 'Seriously. Wasn't Calvin a nut?') Readers seeking irreverent, laugh-out-loud musings on the sometimes ludicrous intersections between faith and pop culture will want to read this insouciant guide."
—Publisher's Weekly
Tom Breen currently works as a reporter for The Associated Press. As "The Internet Theologian," his online musings about faith have been read by literally dozens of people, or, possibly, by one person with dozens of LiveJournal accounts. He lives in West Virginia.
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