Reviews for Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism

The average rating for Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-08-07 00:00:00 Mark Keavney Walton describes the Prosperity Gospel and how the wealth of the leaders is "divinely ordained" and hypermasculine models of God's power. He notes how African-American Prosperity Theology elevates women from their negative stereotypes to "God's leading ladies". Walton notes how the form and function of the minsitry often reflects the pastor's personal narrative. Using Weber's designation of charisma, Walton discusses how the crowd and pastor create a relationship to validate the pastor's authority. He describes how Jakes represents how the commodification of black religious life expanded into a larger self-help market. Bishop Long simultaneously has the righteous indignation of the previous black preachers, but adaptes to postdenominational climate. Walton ends with the point that African-Americans too represent American culture despite being often ignored in scholarship. Informed by: Schultze, Horsfield, and Hoover present emergence of religious broadcasting as a contestation between mainliners and evangelicals. Frankl and Hadden see electronic church as stemming from the 2nd Great Awakening. Bruce excludes African-American televangelism because he and most researchers are focused on Christian Right (also published in 1990 before black televangelism exploded). Hendershot also excludes African-Americans because she argues evangelical media is made by and for whites.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-10-14 00:00:00 Peter Kirby "Appeals to the cultural myths of American success, black victimology, and the Strong Black Man legitimize conservative and anecdotally based views that contradict the liberating intent of televangelists. They may also serve to anesthetize participants to the unjust ordering of the larger society even as persons seek to reolutionize their own world." (16) "Instead of using a single defining term, I posit three dominant ecclesiastical perspectives that make up this contemporary religious phenomenon: the neo-Pentecostal, Charismatic mainline, and Word of Faith perspectives." (77) TD Jakes's theology: infinite compassion of God, reconciliation, optimism Eddie Long's theology: respect, submission, obedience Creflo Dollar's theology: higher life in Christ, positive confession, seedtime and harvest