Strange Angel: The Gospel According to Benny Joe

This is one of those books that I lend out to friends, do not get back and then rebuy a year or so later when I want to give it to somebody new.It is the story of Benny Joe, a child raised in one of the old style fire and brimstone southern U.S. Barn burning Pentacostal families. This book is less interesting as a gay auto-biography than as a snapshot of a time and style of living that hardly any of us, not raised in the midst of it, have any idea about. The thing that makes this book different from so many books written by gay men raised in strict religeous households is that Benny Joe is not bashing his religeon or his parents, in fact he loves both. This is made abundantly clear at the end of the novel.The novel is full of hilarious observations and descriptions of daily life. The fact that he explains pentacostals tendancy towards obesity as the result of gluttony being the one sin that his church overlooked as far more minor than dancing, drinking or pre-marital sex got a laugh. His first hand accounts of faith healing and prayer circles that go on for days, yet far from being bored or unhappy, as a child he was very excited to participate since, with no TV this was a great form of entertainment. Descriptions of being frightened by a particularly large parishoner running around the church speaking in tongues, and how he could always tell how great a church service had been by how far over the womens beehive hairdo's were leaning when it was over were all told with both humor and fondness..These are just a few snippets from a man who studied to be a pentacostal minister, told somewhere between documentary and camp.In addition to being a such an interesting view of this lifestyle and of the individual life of Benny Joe, this book give great responses to people who use Bible quote to attack homosexuality. I almost felt sorry for the obnoxious anti-gay woman that engaged him in a conversation outside of a gay bar and tried to use Biblical passages to oppose homosexuality, this boy was a former Pentacostal minister and with one question made the woman look (and hopefully feel) like an idiot. Nobody can throw around Bible quote like a minister.If you can find this book, pick it up, you won't regret it. If you do, lend it to a friend, they will love it. I have to say, in some odd ways this book reminded me of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" I know that sounds odd, but in that movie, although she was pointing out the humor in being Greek, you could tell it was also a partial love letter, this book was similar and if you can find it, buy two, one for you and one to loan out.

Benny Joe Davis wrote what is likely the best real-life account of Ultra-Hard Core American Protestantism, as practiced in Dallas, Texas, in the 50's and 60's. His account of a minister assuring his congregation that any woman whose head was stuck in a hair dryer when the Rapture came ... would not be able to ascend up to Heaven ... or the description of the midget Pigmy Africans, as related by the daughter of the returned missionary ... are absolutely classic. I've given away dozens of copies; would distribute more if I could find them.Benny Joe died of AIDS in the 90's. I've wondered if he could have done a second book; we'll never know. If you like Grizzard, Ivins, Blount, Prarie Home Companion, etc., you'll LOVE Strange Angel. The incredible real-life humor of the book is tempered at the end by Benny Joe's frustration with his Church ... but, it's written with a sincerity that will reach out and grab you.And then there's the fellow college student (attending a snake-chunking Shiite-Fundamentalist school of questionable value just south of Dallas) forever tagged with a nickname ... the same name he wrote on a current events exam: "Who is Premier of China?" "Mousey Tongue."

Great book about a gay man coming to terms with his sexuality despite his fundamentalist upbringing. Poignantly humorous in parts,it reveals the hypocricy of some of those who teach and preach this philosophy. If you are gay and were or are being brought up in a strict fundamentalist setting,you must read this book. I have quite a few spare copies.

Although I was raised Southern Baptist (we thought Pentecostals were just plain wrong, mainly for speaking in tongues, which was the devil's language), I could see a lot of similarities between the two denominations. Both call for unquestioning faith in scripture, although Southern Baptists seem to be able to pick the verses they want to follow, while Pentecostals rigidly follow most (but not all) verses. Pentecostals make a lot of noise, too, while Southern Baptists tend to be more reserved-- at least at church. And, if you believe the rhetoric that both demonations push, it's impossible for one of their members to be gay-- especially one who was brought up in the church. And yet, that's what happened, in my case, as well as in the case of the author, Ben Davis. And this could serve as proof of "nature vs nurture." Try as we might, the church couldn't save us from being who we were born to be. (If religion is the only answer to "cure" gays, why are so many heterosexuals non-religious?) "Strange Angel" is well-written, although I did find myself hurrying to turn pages-- less by being caught up in the story than by finding a few minor sections long-winded. In spite of that, it's a good look at the inner workings of the Pentecostal Church, and the hypocrisy that's rampant there, as in every denomination, as well as the lengths some gay people will go to belong, while attempting to deny the fact that they are gay and no amount of praying can change it (although they can stay celibate or enter loveless marriages, which seems to be the goal of most "Christian' denominations. Organized religion has become a haven for anyone who seeks to prove, through twisting or abusing the words of the Bible, their own superiority. Come to think of it, American Militia groups serve the same purpose. Check out this book. It's a lot of fun, and regardless of your stand on the church, you'll learn something, either about the church or about how tough it is to be gay and growing up in the church. Either way, you won't be disappointed.