And God Said "Billy!"

by Frank Schaeffer

From the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy For God... "And God Said 'Billy!' is laugh-out loud funny from page one. It's downright insightful throughout and takes readers deep into the shallow psyche of a sincere Charismatic-Evangelical whose God fails him. That failure turns out, through a hilarious series of tragic-comic reversals, to be - let's just say something close to miraculous.
Also available in paperback.

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Spirituality, Novels, Faith

305 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2013

About the author

Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as “pretty terrible.” He is also an acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction and an artist with a loyal following of international collectors who own many of his oil paintings. Frank has been a frequent guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on NBC, has appeared on Oprah, been interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and appeared on the Today Show, BBC News and many other media outlets. He is a much sought after speaker and has lectured at a wide range of venues from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Hammer Museum/UCLA, Princeton University, Riverside Church Cathedral, DePaul University and the Kansas City Public Library.

Reviews

[Norah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is I think a deeply philosophical novel, dark and garishly black in places, but also full of energy and movement! I could hardly put it down! To begin with, it seemed to be written in a purposely contrived voice, the voice of a member of an American charismatic church, keen to know and do God’s will in his life. As the story developed, I think some people might find it shocking and decide not to finish it, but it is well worth persevering with. It is in fact a challenge to all those caught up in fundamentalist religions. He paints a full picture of life in the American movie industry, racist apartheid-era South Africa and the Russian Orthdox Church. This is an amazing book! I'll be talking about it among my bookish friends, Christian and otherwise!

[Janice Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Wasn't sure initially this was the kind of book I wanted to read - a religious right man who thinks God told him to make a movie. He gets off track. Schaeffer takes the reader into a laugh out loud powerful story with an ending that leaves one seriously contemplating their own life journey. The last few chapters left me in tears. Seldom do I reread a book. I will read this treasure over again. It's brilliant.

[Viktor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frank has major hangups about his upbringing and past participation in the Religious Right lane. But this doesn't justify writing a confused pseudo-biography, full of major immorality, foul language and brutal attacks on some well-meaning Christians. And it fizzles out, leaving no clear conclusion. I'm sorry, but I can't recommend it.

[Al Gritten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schaeffer chronicles the journey of Billy Graham (named for the televangelist), a fundamentalist evangelical Christian who is on a crusade for God. Billy’s journey is at once funny and sad. It is funny in the telling as we encounter Billy’s initial adventures and the way he understands God’s presence in his life. It is also sad at the same time as the reader realizes how close Billy is to the truth of the Christian experience for some. Billy’s journey takes him from Hollywood to South Africa to a desert monastery, and at the same time from a very narrow perspective of faith to a subtle, more organic form of faith that offers a deeper anchor in the midst of the difficulties, heartache and pain of life that he has experienced. Billy’s faith is torn down brick by brick and slowly, tenderly rebuilt one brick at a time. Schaeffer does not suggest that one faith tradition is better than another or that one is less rigid in its structure than another, instead he offers us the understanding that religion, even at its best, and institutional church, even at its best, are the instruments to set us on the path toward God. But they can never become a substitute for the encounter with God and they cannot replace faith with policy and doctrine, creed and theology. Instead, we must recognize the value of them only as they enhance our faith journey and enable a deeper understanding of a God that is active in the world through us. It is in the final chapters that we as the reader, like Billy, come to the reality that faith and not institutional religion is the answer we seek for our journey. Billy’s story is a wonderful tale of a person who must lose his faith to find it, and in finding himself, in finding out finally and completely who he truly is, he once again finds the faith he lost and finds that it much more shaded, toned, colored and variegated than he had ever realized before. Faith for Billy, and for us, in its most simplistic and dogmatic forms cannot be flexible enough for the deepest crises of life – it is the organic faith that Billy finds in the desert that offers him the deepest encounter of God in the end. This is the wonderful ending of the book, bringing us, along with Billy, to the fullest realization of our faith journey. But never fear, I have not offered you a spoiler, for Schaeffer has a few final surprises left before the last page, and his story-telling will keep you turning pages until you are there.

[Kathryn Bundy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an odd little book. Not what I was expecting.

[Steve Masler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Semi-biographical yet not at all true,Schaeffer's book, is a manically funny first person narrative of Billy, a true "fool for God," who hears the voice of God directly. Led by an Abrahamic call, leaving his family and tiny echo chamber of a church, Billy sets off to write and direct a movie that God has dictated to him. Billy's manic mind, impregnanted with the the "Truth" as interpreted by Pastor Bob, leads him to live a bizarre life of semi-nomadic petty survival crimes that are implicitly approved by God as means to an end. As Billy's internal and external journey continue, he begins to be mocked and then threatened by God as his conscience and homesickness struggle against the world as Pastor Bob and God have told him it is. Emboldened by his sense of of purpose, Billy unwittingly falls into a money laundering scheme and becomes the director of a movie that is to be filmed in South Africa during Apartheid. Although Billy continues his deranged optimism amid the injustices of Apartheid, he also continues his petty criminal spree which brings him to the attention of a Calvanist sadistic policeman and eventually exile into the desert. I can't tell you more as you must follow Billy's journey yourself as he follows his fate from his family, to "New Midian," (Hollywood), South Africa and beyond. Like all "journey" stories it is Billy's internal journey which is the mosy important. Billy's life is led by his literal interpretation of Christian scripture. His journey and his interpretation of scripture become jumbled and change, seemingly randomly, but in the end purposefully.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

There a handful of writers that have changed the way I see the world: Mark Twain, Theodore Sturgeon, James Morrow, Kurt Vonnegut, and now Frank Schaeffer. All of these writers have taught me something I didn’t know I already knew. All these writers have reminded me that we are not alone in the universe and that love and mercy will save us if anything can. On the surface it might seem that “And God said Billy” is a critic of fundamentalist theology but it is much more than that. Billy has made an idol of God. He is able to justify his worse behaviour by convincing himself that everything he does is justified because it serves God’s purpose. His beliefs almost destroy him in the end and separate him from everyone he loves. What saves him in the end is the mercy and compassion of an orthodox priest. He learns that the only way we can experience God is through our relationships with others. To paraphrase the Gospel of James,” Faith without community is dead”. To be in relationship with each other is to be in relationship with God. One finial observation, not all sacred scripture is found in the Bible. It can be found in the Science Fiction section of your favourite book store, in your new born grandchild’s smile, in an autumn sunrise and in music. And remember “We’re here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.” Mark Vonnegut.

[Adam Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Review: I like Frank Schaeffer's writing, but this isn't his best work. I get the point, and this is intended to be comic satire. But it is more tragic than comic. Yes, in the end it is a conversion story. And yes it does describe a very real problem that Christians have with trying to justify to themselves using bad methods to try and follow God.

But the hyperbole and ridiculousness of the book doesn't seem to be warranted. The story could be told another way. That being said, it isn't a bad book, just not a great one. At because it is self published it is cheap on ebook ($3.99 on kindle). And it is better than many other self published books. But because I like Schaeffer's previous books I am a bit disappointed by this.

The full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/billy/

[Jaycee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Schaeffer uses his background in religious rightness to tell the story of 'Billy Graham' (no relation just his namesake)and his journey from OCD Calvinism which informs his day to day decisions, including theft. God speaks to him at every turn, sometimes in the person of Jiminy Cricket. This is a hilarious and salty tale of a man attempting to make an almost no-budget film in apartheid South Africa to fund his ultimate goal of a movie about God. Billy starts out obsessed with salvation and accidentally finds redemption...I laughed out loud as the story unfolded and was moved to tears by it's ending. A few slow moments when Schaeffer gives a history of the Orthodox church, but I'm glad I know a little more about it. A great read!

[Chris Seals · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hilarious, and to me, so true of most evangelical Christians I know, and have grown to loath. Dumbasses that they are, think God talks directly to them, like the character Billy. Nimwits that they are, they can justify almost anything their peabrains decide, because it is a sign from above. Saddens me that there are tens of thousands of Americans that vote the way their pastors tell them to, and these folks are too stupid to see that their vote goes against their own best interest. If they were really understanding the meaning of a shepard and his flock, they would perhaps see what sheep they have become, Baaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this novel with the expectation of settling into a familiar place, based on my reading of Frank's earlier fiction (the "Modest Proposal" and the so-called "Calvin trilogy"). It defeated my expectation at once by signaling higher ambitions—taking nothing away from those earlier books, which I thoroughly love.

Here is a serious form of satire with a serious purpose: to deflate the pretenses of super Christians and refute the uses to which they subject their faith. Billy epitomizes many of the ways (there are many others) in which Christians appeal to propositional truth and pietistic teaching to justify beliefs and behavior that fly in the face of common-sense perceptions of right and wrong. I can't help pointing out that Billy's character arc starts out in a disturbing place, but it's disturbing partly because readers will recognize some of their own thought processes, rationalizations, and selfish appropriations of what they still affirm as divine teaching.

I hardly want to allude to the story (other capsules will mention the nuts and bolts of Billy's professional quest, his family situation, his geographic odyssey, etc.), but that character arc, and the tensions that set it up from the very first page, will not disappoint the reader who soon asks, "Where can this POSSIBLY end up?"

There's some serious reflection here, and not just between the lines or by implication as double-minded behavior is exposed (even if it sometimes eludes the narrator). I was reminded of writers from Chesterton and Dostoevsky to Rabelais and even Laurence Sterne. Indeed, a character reminiscent of the Grand Inquisitor appears in this story, but a benevolent and wise one rather than a fury of destruction.

It's hard to resist one extended quotation. Spoiler alert: this will spoil nothing and may whet your appetite to read the book. Which character is the speaker here n'importe pas. I'm using asterisks to indicate the *italics* in the original. Quote:

We *can* have it both ways: defend the best of tradition, for instance our glorious liturgies and the English of Shakespeare's glorious language, and yet move forward because we know that God's creation *of* Creation is ongoing and will never complete [sic]. If creation is judged changeless and "complete" -- say in the frozen "roles" of men and women -- and if rules cannot be changed, then that militates against the idea that God is infinite. Stasis binds God to time and place, and therefore He, She or It is no longer God.

For instance we can keep our liturgies intact and yet edit out the openly anti-Semitic language found in many Lenten services that is a holdover from a less enlightened age. In doing so we prove that we've actually been instructed by the *deeper meaning* of our liturgies, whatever the surface blemishes were that once had a time and place but do not have resonance today. ...

Do we follow what the Bible says or what it *means*? ...

There is only one defense against the rising worldwide fear-filled fundamentalist tide engulfing all religions: The embrace of paradox and uncertainty as the virtuoso expression of Christ-like humility. ...

Yes there is a good kind of madness[,] Billy, just as there is a bad form of "sanity" that we call rationalism. This good "madness" teaches us that we're only at the dawn of creation and that the divine is ineffable, something that can be recognized only when it is felt, then remembered, a dream within a dream from which we will only awake for the first time in the presence of God. And therefore all descriptions of this sense will be false, because by definition the experience of God defies description because it is never ending.

End quote. This is a book that will challenge beliefs and bring a holy discomfort to a complacent, self-assured reader ("I know MUCH better than this Billy!") if that reader resists arguing with the story. The end of the questions it raises (and many others) is not firmer, better answers but indeed better questions; a life of openness, rather than surrounded by the closed doors of "absolute truth," is perhaps an outcome any of us would wish for. I can't help being reminded of how Jesus exemplified this, as shown in one seldom-expounded story:

‘Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

‘Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

‘Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

‘“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

‘Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[d]? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.’ (John 10:23–39)

Read, enjoy, be challenged, and (I hope) find yourself at the end on a higher plane where the oneness of creation and of God's purposes for all of us makes an entirely new kind of sense.

[Phil Princey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. Bizarre. Confronting. And enthralling.

A biopic novel trying to make sense of God, religion, and what it means to be human.

Through his characters, Frank evokes a lot of questions (and laugh out loud moments) around religious themes, particularly Evangelicals. At times I didn't know whether to be offended or in enlightened. This book is very irreverent, but really, its irreverence is towards humanity and what we make of God, and not God himself.

This book could be a wake up call for overzealous Christians caught up in their own love of self within the Christian culture. But who of those would catch themselves reading a book like this?

This is a provocative book, but probably only bears as such for those who feel its punch. But my guess is that Frank Schaefer, given his other books, is simply being honest about his own journey, rather than trying to upset Christians; and many of us so called Christians should be able to relate somewhat (more than others) if we are truly honest.

Becoming a fan.

[William Guerrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schaeffer's characters are preposterous, exaggerated, Carl Hiassenesque, over-the-top stereotypes, as, it is clear, he intended them to be. The story is a wild and outrageous ride.

There is something about this book that I found maddening, something I attributed as I read it to a carelessness that I could not understand. I will not identify it in this review, because by the time I finished the book I was reasonably sure the author did it intentionally, and that it has a place in the story. I cannot say more here without risking a significant spoiler. I am sure many readers will have the same reaction I had--something that the author could have easily avoided, in my humble opinion, without doing any harm to the story.

Those who know Frank Schaeffer's story will recognize autobiographical elements in this novel.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! There are many tidbits of wisdom and insight within the story. Reading the story of Billy, I was taken back to my own days living in the cultish culture of conservative Christianity. It was hard to read, honestly. I’ve been out of this for several decades and am still healing. Reading this book though, brought a little more healing to the mind that can’t seem to forget. Exposure, it seems, can be good for the soul. Especially when the journey takes one to a positive and freeing resolution.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of this book was worth waiting for. What follows is a rewrite of an email I sent to Mr. Schaeffer shortly after finishing his book in 2013. My apologies if it is a bit disjointed; I don't generally send fan mail, but this book resonated with me:

After purchasing this book, I could not put it down.  I came at the "faith thing" from a completely different angle  - atheism - and was probably spared a good deal of what the protagonist endured.  I came to Christianity through reading Bible stories and religious experiences that compelled me to find a framework into which to make sense of them. However, I did go through a series of steps in my spiritual journey. one of them being to buy too much into fundamentalism and the other of them seeking comfort in some of the rigidity of Catholic orthodoxy.   This book, especially the last half of it, really helped me to begin to crystallize what that journey has been in a number of ways. I have enjoyed reading Mr. Schaeffer's writings on the Huffington Post and have purchased others of his books (and will now make sure I read them:)).

There are three things that stand out in the writing for me: Schaeffer's honesty, his courage, and most of all, his tenacious love for his family. 

Insisting on a "fact-based" reality would seem to be self-evident, but it is sadly surprising how that seems to escape so many people of faith! His honesty in describing the inner workings, however shocking, of the main character's mind, is breathtaking - and it makes the internal changes he goes through all the more dramatic and heartrending. 

As I have read what Mr. Scaeffer has written in the Huffpost and in his books, I know how much courage it must have taken for him to simply tell the truth as he saw it -like leaving the comfort of family behind. What amazes me - and this may either be care on his part or his Christian upbringing - is what appears to be a complete lack of rage  in those Huffpost essays.  I do love the irony of the part of the book when Billy finally curses and screams and discards the God of his youth, that it is then that God truly appears to him amid all that death in the form of the humble Father Dmitry. 

a footnote:
When the author's mother died, his tribute to her life was truly the most loving testament I have ever read: it moved me to tears.  They say it is a sign of being a grownup when we can love our parents and yet see them as they really are.

[Stephanie Waterhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read a few other books by Frank Schaeffer, so when I bought this one I sat down to read it with a different frame of mind. At first the book seemed to be all jumbled up to me not making any sense whatsoever. When I finally realized it was satire, then I was able to read with enjoyment.

The book pokes fun of fundamentalist. The main character, Billy Graham, not the evangelists, thinks he's on a quest for God to make a Christian movie one day, but before he gets to the task he encounters life. He deals with life by quoting scriptures to justify his behavior, and communicates with the various voices in his head, including God. His rationales are beyond belief. I found myself laughing at him, judging him or seeing today's so called Christians in him. With the politics of USA being so polarized today I can imagine the "far right" acting justified with their unChristlike behavior towards others and falsely backing up these beliefs with the misuse of scripture. (I almost felt ashamed to be called a Christian seeing how the foolish souls operate in today's society.)

If one is part of the far right thinking, then this book will not be enjoyable to read...may feel offended and see it as blasphemy. Others may read it and say, "see...this is the reason I don't want to believe" but yet there will probably be a people who will just read it as satire and then walk away thinking it's a so-so to good book to read. I find myself in the last category.

Will I recommend this book to others? I guess this will be determined by the audience asking the question. Not for young people just getting started in the faith, because it could confuse/or lead to atheism. Not for sceptics or judgemental Christians. Recommend only to those who have open minds and can appreciate good satire.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, my friends, is a schizophrenic novel.

It starts off as a freaking hilarious send up of hyper-evangelistic Christianity in modern (well, 1980s, but with a modern tone to it) America. Billy is a conservative Christian who's been sent on a mission from God to New Midian (Hollywood) to get a movie he's written about the Bible made. While remaining fanatically true to his cause, he's willing to lie, cheat, and steal, all with praises and hallelujahs and spirit language and "naming and claiming" to make it justified as part of God's cause.

The book takes a sharp turn when, in order to get the creds to pursue the God film, he gets a job directing a horrifyingly D-grade film he's written, full of sex and violence, in South Africa. This puts him on a collision course with apartheid, the South African police, and his life (and faith) falling apart, even as the story goes from zany humor to sudden pain and darkness.

And then there's a crazier turn in a different direction (if not dimension) as Billy gets smuggled out to an Orthodox monastery in Namibia where, after a bit more narrative, we suddenly shift into a different style, parables and Socratic dialog and diary entries, all of it on liberal Christian theology.

And then it ends with a satisfying but left-field denouement.

I was sorely tempted to give it 2 stars, but each of the component pieces of it is ... interesting, albeit in tonally very different ways. I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book to, to be honest, just because of that blend. But it's ...

... well, interesting. Curiously interesting.

[Rock Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a nod to full disclosure, I received a free copy of Schaeffer's latest work for review. Now that I've read it, I'll be buying & paying for some copies as gifts.

I rarely read in contemporary fiction tones so familiar to my Calvinist doctrinal studies. And even less frequently have I encountered a voice positioned between the extremes of exclusionary Abrahamic fundamentalism & absolute atheism. Finding both in Frank Schaeffer's AND GOD SAID, "BILLY" was a treat. During this read I had several laugh-out-loud moments as well as pensive, put-down-the-book pauses to consider profound concepts.

There was a patch where I considered not finishing BILLY. I mention it now only to advise fellow readers to push through if you find yourself in a similar spot. To have missed this completed gem would have been my great misfortune. Schaeffer has brilliant perspectives and he communicates them well. I'm already looking forward to his next offering.

[Danny Cowell]

A little sarcastic, but I appreciated the book because I was part of the conservative Christian sub-culture for part of my life. Schaeffer helps show the absurdity of our belief systems and how we rationalize our behaviors and try to fit them into the biblical narrative when it's convenient. I'm a follower of Christ and this book helped me step back and question my motives and beliefs. Not a bad thing to do from time to time.

[Patricia Ayite · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end is better the beginning

When I realized that this book was written over several years, its somewhat disjointed feel made more sense. I did not like the writing style all that much, though became accustomed to it as I persevered in reading it. It had some very funny, relatable anecdotes for those of us brought up in the "church," and his "anti-conversion" at the end was the most believable part of this story.

[Don Zabriskie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable story

Very much like the paradox spoken of repeatedly in this novel, Frank Schaeffer takes the reader on a journey so initially repulsive and unappealing that I suspect many never finish the entire novel. The reward, if you come to seek and find it, comes from perseverance to the end. This is a beautiful story of spiritual growth.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow -- what a ride! I laughed, I scratched my head in bewilderment, I choked up… Frank Schaeffer is a brilliant writer, who includes more twists and turns than any road through the mountains. But what a story of redemption, of love, of healing.

[Lori Schwilling · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Laugh out loud funny"? "Hilarious"? I must have read a different book. Schaeffer is guilty of the very hubris that he ascribes to fundamentalists. The author does not further the conversation; rather, he reduces it to the lowest common denominator.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing first hand look at how the ultra religious look at the world around them. Every 'christian' should read this book and look within. The ending will blow you away.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so much. Hard to put what I'm feeling about this one into words. Ugh.

[She Schenker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my review here.

[Selina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think maybe mr Schaeffer has some kind of religious OCD, or his character, Billy does.