{"product_id":"gods-behaving-badly-media-religion-and-celebrity-culture-paperback","title":"Gods Behaving Badly: Media, Religion, and Celebrity Culture - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePete Ward\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Britney and Brangelina to Tiger Woods and Michael Jackson, Western society is obsessed with its American idols and gods of the red carpet. We worship their triumphs, judge their sins, and maintain vigil at their deaths. Can our fixation on and devotion to celebrity culture itself be considered a religion? If not, why do we use religious terminology to describe these stars and our actions towards them? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eGods Behaving Badly\u003c\/i\u003e examines the blurred boundary between popular culture and religion--one that has given way to an often confounding fusion of the sacred and the profane. Flipping through pages of tabloid media and looking underneath the veil of Hollywood's glamour, Pete Ward exposes how, in its consumer life, Western society elevates celebrity to the theological and, in so doing, creates a new para-religion. Inevitably, whether despised or extolled, individual celebrities evoke public moral judgment, creating fertile ground for theological innovation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlucked straight from the headlines, the narratives in \u003ci\u003eGods Behaving Badly\u003c\/i\u003e give concrete evidence of how the religious themes of incarnation, revelation, sin, judgment, and redemption are all woven into narratives we construct about our most cherished--and most villainized--personalities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe holy text of US Weekly? Is celebrity the West's new religion?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePete Ward is Senior Lecturer in Youth Ministry and Theological Education at King's College, London. His previous books include \u003ci\u003eLiquid Church\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGod at the Mall\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Oxford, England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 169\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.42 x 8.48 x 5.58 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 01, 2011\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42166752477319,"sku":"9781602581500","price":44.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/3f8701076934ec84bdca980aae04a936.webp?v=1733322901","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/gods-behaving-badly-media-religion-and-celebrity-culture-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}