Yeah, Right, Whatever

I'm going through my regular roster of blogs, and I come across this from Rob at Wizbang.

Today as I was listening my eyes wandered down the list of other hosts who air their programs on the station. Pretty typical talk radio fare: Rush, Dr. Laura, Dr. Dean Edell, Matt Drudge and....Jesus?

That's right. Jesus, apparently, has a talk radio show.

This I had to see. So, I went to the KFI AM 640 web site, and there it was- The Jesus Christ Show.

2000 years ago He walked this earth.... teaching.... guiding.... loving and
preparing to make the ultimate sacrifice...

What if... today, you could talk to Him, laugh with Him...cry with Him? Not
just through prayer, but through the radio...

Tune in this Sunday morning to find out why the young and old from all over the world listen (via the internet & radio waves) for the answers to life's toughest questions.

Hosted by Jesus Christ
And
Produced by Neil Saavedra

At first glance, I was about to completely blow this off as fruitcake California stuff... but I did a little more research (Google is my friend). I'm still not sure of it, but it's not quite as bad as it sounds.

From what I can tell, Mr. Saavedra does a form of "radio theater" where he plays the part of Jesus for two hours every Sunday.

The two-hour broadcast starts with a sermon-like introduction by Saavedra, who then fields theological and practical questions from callers. His listeners run the gamut from doubtful atheists who tune in for entertainment to church-oriented Catholics looking for clarifications and enlightenment of Scripture.

"Everyone’s welcome on the show, but I do not want this to be a Christian lovefest. I want to challenge and frustrate the Christians as much as I frustrate the atheists," he told the Los Angeles Times in its August 10 edition.

No, I'm not very comfortable with the idea of this guy presuming to know what Jesus would say. Then again, Saavedra wasn't very comfortable with it, either.

The Jesus Christ show was the brainchild of (then) Program Director, David G. Hall. He asked Saavedra, who once had an "Hour of God" show, to do a guest spot to answer questions as Jesus on Bill Handel's morning show for Easter, four or five years ago. "I said no, because it seemed so blasphemous," said Saavedra. But then I thought more about it, talked to some theologian friends, and decided that under certain conditions, I would go ahead. He asked to choose all the calls taken, and also wanted to play the role in character as Jesus. Handel honored his requests, and gave a great deal of promo support to the shtick. Reaction was hugely positive.

"I'd walk in with great trembling and pray a lot before I went on," Saavedra said. Back then, he chose his words very carefully. Now, he is more comfortable in Jesus' sandals, but never takes the role lightly.

Honestly, I have no idea what to think of this. On the one hand, like I said, I'm not real happy with someone presuming to know what Jesus would say. (Then again... a whole lot of preachers do that every Sunday morning.) On the other hand, the Bible says "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11- emphasis mine). This guy is reaching a group of people who probably wouldn't receive the Word any other way. They have no desire to go to church (or have been burned by those oh-so-loving Christians in the churches). He provides an opening for contemplation that his listeners may not have found otherwise.

Besides, from the description of Saavedra, I know a few believers like him... not quite made in the mold of the average Christian. I get the feeling God made 'em that way for a reason.

Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?