Don't Call Me Brother: A Ringmaster's Escape from the Pentecostal Church

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but...
Review: ...parts of this are hard to believe. Mr. Miles became a circus ringmaster on the way to his dream of Hollywood stardom, and got entangled in the late-80s web of evangelical Christian corruption. That part of his book, and the surrounding stories, are (relatively) believeable. What isn't is the connections to the Kennedy assasination, Marilyn Monroe's death/murder/suicide, and the Jim Jones religious cult mass suicide in Guyana in 1977. Otherwise, those with an appetite for this kind of stuff will, as Austin Miles himself puts it late in this book (quote approximate), "[you] will read this book, cover to cover, because it [has] lots and lots of juicy gossip and that will certainly appeal to the likes of you!"

Whether it will appeal to the likes of anyone unfamiliar with the PTL scandal--now more than a decade removed--is difficult to say at best.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but...
Review: ...parts of this are hard to believe. Mr. Miles became a circus ringmaster on the way to his dream of Hollywood stardom, and got entangled in the late-80s web of evangelical Christian corruption. That part of his book, and the surrounding stories, are (relatively) believeable. What isn't is the connections to the Kennedy assasination, Marilyn Monroe's death/murder/suicide, and the Jim Jones religious cult mass suicide in Guyana in 1977. Otherwise, those with an appetite for this kind of stuff will, as Austin Miles himself puts it late in this book (quote approximate), "[you] will read this book, cover to cover, because it [has] lots and lots of juicy gossip and that will certainly appeal to the likes of you!"

Whether it will appeal to the likes of anyone unfamiliar with the PTL scandal--now more than a decade removed--is difficult to say at best.

Rating:
Summary: Austin Miles has changed his views
Review: As a friend of the author Austin Miles, and having read the book, I have no doubt over the matters he witnessed firsthand. Although I'm an Assemblies of God minister, I recognize that in all human organizations (churches are human organizations) there will be fallible people with poor judgment and liable to temptation. Austin Miles has come back to Christianity, and has repudiated the negative attitude he expresses in his book towards Christianity, although he still maintains what he saw was true. He and I have had many wonderful conversations, and will continue to do so. He is a preacher again, and travels to churches. He has returned to Christian ministry with lessons learned and a new attitude. Rev. Richard F. Lee

Rating:
Summary: The blame game?
Review: First published at the height of the televangelism scandals of the late 1980's, "Don't Call Me Brother" recounts the story of a boy who ran away to join the circus, became a well-known ringmaster, found Jesus after a miraculous healing of an audience member that occurred after Miles asked for silent prayer for the man, and later became a fixture on the PTL Club. Much of the material here will not be shocking to anyone who followed PTL scandal (and who didn't?), but the slander, hatred, and hypocrisy shown by rank-and-file ministers of the Gospel was quite surprising, at least to me. Also surprising is the contention by Miles that homosexuality and adultery run rampant in the Assemblies of God denomination. I can't help but think he's overstating this just a little. But, there's more to the story than what is emphasized.

Miles is somewhat mysterious early in the book about his first marriage. It almost seems like his daughter just arrives on the scene with scant explanation. As the story unfolds, it seems that his first wife was responsible for getting him caught up in a conspiracy concerning the Kennedy presidency and Marilyn Monroe. Thus, Miles has to go through a name change from Al Maddox, his previous stage name, to Austin Miles. Toward the end of the book, we learn that the FBI has been harrassing acquaintances of Miles, paying them off (or not paying them off, in the case of the good church folks) to come up with dirt on him to destroy his reputation. Therefore, the FBI seems to be as much or more to blame than the church. The hostility he received from the church could have simply come from fear of the FBI. But then, this is a book attacking the church, not the FBI. Miles will probably never write that book.

His second marriage to the love of his life, a Swiss heiress, is threatened by his religious conversion and subsequent departure from his life as a ringmaster to constantly be on the road to speak at churches and religious functions. Once again, it seems the church is to blame for destroying his family. However, if he'd have handled things with a little more wisdom, he could have had Jesus and his family, too. Could it be that he was at least a little bit to blame for the situation?

Interestingly, he still cannot bring himself to explain away the healings and miracles that were part of his ministry. If what a previous reviewer said is true, that Austin Miles has returned to the ministry, then it's probably the undeniable power of God that he experienced firsthand that kept him connected. Hopefully, there are some needed reconciliations that have taken place since this book was written. With all that said, this is a book that is hard to put down once you've started, and is a worthwhile read if the reader keeps things in perspective.

Rating:
Summary: This was my world!
Review: The author is not a particularly loveable guy. After all he was one among the traveling preachers whom he exposes here. However you probably will feel for him as his life and family fall apart. His stories of the evangelists who travel from church to church rang true to me. My childhood church was involved with the things Miles talks about and he even mentions my former church's pastor by name. (See Angels on Assignment.) I have a childhood memory of a one eyed traveling preacher coming to preach at our church. After having someone blindfold his good eye he proceeded to `read' people's names off their driver's licenses. Once the congregation was all worked up by this `miracle' they passed the collection plate. (If you're wondering how he may have managed this trick of reading with an empty eye socket read James Randi's book The Faith Healers.) Read this book for an eye opening peek behind the scenes of Pentecostalism, televangelism, and the Assembly of God church. If you or someone you care about is involved with this movement I especially urge you to read this book. The connection to Jim Jones (remember poison kool-aid?) was a shock to me.

Rating:
Summary: This was my world!
Review: The author is not a particularly loveable guy. After all he was one among the traveling preachers whom he exposes here. However you probably will feel for him as his life and family fall apart. His stories of the evangelists who travel from church to church rang true to me. My childhood church was involved with the things Miles talks about and he even mentions my former church's pastor by name. (See Angels on Assignment.) I have a childhood memory of a one eyed traveling preacher coming to preach at our church. After having someone blindfold his good eye he proceeded to 'read' people's names off their driver's licenses. Once the congregation was all worked up by this 'miracle' they passed the collection plate. (If you're wondering how he may have managed this trick of reading with an empty eye socket read James Randi's book The Faith Healers.) Read this book for an eye opening peek behind the scenes of Pentecostalism, televangelism, and the Assembly of God church. If you or someone you care about is involved with this movement I especially urge you to read this book. The connection to Jim Jones (remember poison kool-aid?) was a shock to me.

Rating:
Summary: don't call me brother--review by Osmer S. Deming
Review: This book is told in the 1st person and is a fairly easy read. It is a story of a man's journey into the world of the Born Again Christian movement, the Assemblies of God Church, and televangelism. As you can probably guess, the book is divided into, essentially, three parts: 1) Austin's life before the movement, 2) Austin's life during his "holy" days, and 3) The aftermath resulting therein.

But the book is much more than that. Part 1 of the book provides a unique insight into the author's rise from a young misfit lad in a mid-western American town to that of a successful circus ringmaster. Part 1 of the book has a Horatio Alger theme and, in my opinion, is the best part. Part 1 also contains a classic love story--new money falls head deeply in love with European "old money." Read this book, if for nothing else, for Part 1.

Parts 2 and 3 of the book show how a successful self-made man gets snookered by the Born-Again Christian movement. The brutal honesty and detail are striking. His decription of the hypocrisy of the pious is humorous at times and depressing at others. As a result, it unfortunately becomes a bit draggy.

If you are an atheist or agnostic, then what Austin has to tell you is nothing new, but you'll still find it interesting. If you are a Catholic, mainstream Protestant, or Jew, you may fall into the trap of reading this book and of judging the author and the Pentescostal movement with smugness and inwardly declaring them to be a bunch of kooks--don't do this. If you are currently active in the Pentecostal movement, you will be offended by the book and will find it difficult to read. You may even wish that Austin Miles had been born a few hundred years ago where heretics of his sort were burned at the stake.

My only criticism of the author is that he plays the victim card a trifle too much. Contrary to the author's assertions, no one twisted his arm or forced him to do what he did. He may have been "vulnerable" to the overtures of the Pentecostal movement, but all of us are vulnerable at times.

At any rate, this book is eye-opening and should be required reading in the public schools (i.e. the "secular world"). You probably, however, won't find the book in your local high school library any time soon and you definitely won't find it in your local private Christian school until Hell freezes over.

Rating:
Summary: A Wake-Up Call for People Ensnared by Fundamentalism
Review: This book woke me up to the reality of born-again religiosity, the very human scheming and manipulation that goes on behind-the-scenes to stir up people's emotions, keep them from thinking critically and questioning, and keep them "trusting and obeying" -- and tithing.

In this book, Austin Miles tells the story of how he became involved with the Assemblies of God, a fundamentalist pentecostal denomination, first as a "born-again" convert and eventually as a minister. It also details how the more involved he got with the religion, the more his life began to fall apart, and how he finally made his escape in order to put the pieces of his life back together and find wholeness and peace in returning to the "godless" circus which he had left after his conversion.

Yes, there are sincere people within these churches, and within other religious organizations, but there are also plenty of insincere folks who simply want to sell you a lifetime of bondage and dependency and unquestioning loyalty to them. Run, do not walk, from any church or organization that discourages questioning and critical thinking.