May 16, 2008
The Art of Faith
Follow what you know how to do well. Frank Schaeffer's memoir, Crazy for God
, offers an unexpected mirror into the American experience. From being one of the brains behind the founding of the evangelical political right, to his stalwart, enthusiastic support for Obama today (we talk about Obama a lot), Frank's trajectory has taken him through various stations of faith. Strong character having been bred into him, he's managed eventually to come to terms with it all. A great example of personal resiliency. And he's a spectacularly brilliant writer to boot. It was kind of Frank to take time to talk with me and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Total runtime one hour. Have Faith → find Grace.
Comments
I was disappointed in this particular installment — because Frank Schaeffer came across as frustratingly self-absorbed. He seemed incapable of having much of a dialogue — so often instead engaging in multi-minute monologues that frequently were pedantic rather than enlightening. Yes, his history is interesting — and his perspective on religion and politics was occasionally rich &mdash but as often he seemed to undermine himself by coming across as overbearingly self-satisfied. So often did he steer the conversation towards a mention of a former book or article that I almost expected the interview to conclude with, "I'm Frank Schaeffer — and I approved this message... Brought to you by the Frank Schaeffer for President committee".
You remain a gracious host and I look forward to future installments of your podcast.
Posted by: anonymous | May 18, 2008 12:01 AM
On Frank's style, pushing his books didn't bother me at all and, to be honest, I'm not sure whether that's Frank so much as doing lots of book interviews and it being expected of him. One thing about this particular podcast that surprised and pleased me: it was picked up and linked by the very famous science fiction writer David Brin, on his blog.
Posted by: George Kenney
|
May 18, 2008 12:37 AM
I think this show is the most reasonable pro-Obama articles I have come across, particularly because it focusses on all the right reasons he should be elected. I will be passing this podcast onto my mother in particular, who like many other people, think hilary is as much a vote for change as Obama, and is the champion of women's rights. Please. As your show points out this woman is so sculpted, molded, refurnished and buffed into the perfect status-quo politician that any sense of unicity or femininity has been effectively neutered from her.
That being said, is Obama so different? While he remains the best candidate within the box, he remains in the box. Has he not had to jump through the same time honoured hoops, appeased the same rich white interests, and condemned the same figures from his past as every presidential candidate before him?
I hope that this election will not result in a world wide sigh of relief, while the scepter passes from one hand to another, backed by the same 2 party oligarchy and its backdoor bankers.
As always i look forward to your next show, keep up the great work.
Posted by: mike | May 18, 2008 4:01 PM