The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher is a first-time novel from American screenwriter Rob Stennett. It has been welcomed as the sort of satire that evangelicals need, a kind that is written by a devoted believer who is keen to reveal the weaknesses of modern Christians.
You could even call it an updated version of The Screwtape Letters. You think you are reading about a deep threat that comes to Christians from their enemies but gradually realise that the Christians themselves may be the problem. The concept is instantly intriguing and full of comic potential. A non-churchgoer realises that Christians love buying houses from Christian estate agents and so puts a fish symbol on his adverts with fantastic results. Having realised that he is able to pull off this deception, he broadens his scope and convinces his wife to join him as he plants a church in small town Oklahoma. There he becomes Pastor Ryan, the church leader who promotes kindness and community. Will the congregation realise that he is not actually a Christian at all?
Without difficult bits
The satire becomes strongest when we realise how Ryan Fisher’s motivations are so normal for those wanting churches to work well. When the church only attracts 20 or so, he works out that the best way to expand is to develop an Oprah Winfrey Show style. He interviews members of the church and gets local crooner Cowboy Jack to lead the ‘worship’. He gets everyone singing rejigged pop lyrics, such as the adapted ACDC number ‘God shook me all night long’. Everyone is thrilled with the entertainment and they fail to notice that Pastor Ryan doesn’t teach the Bible. ‘My Christianity doesn’t include all the difficult Jesus and Bible bits’, he says privately.
