'It's Supernatural' TV Show Commentary

By Michael O. Varhola

When I saw "It's Supernatural" listed on the Daystar television network, the first thing that struck me was that the religious networks had joined Animal Planet, National Geographic, and just about every other basic cable network in tapping into the ghosthunting craze. The show's description, "Investigative reporter Sid Roth explores the supernatural," reinforced this impression (Roth is shown at right). I expected, naturally, that they would put their own spin on paranormal activity, and that everything would end up having an explicitly Christian justification. It was, in fact, not nearly so subtle, nor was it much like the references to angels and other phenomena in the opening credits suggested it would be -- or the narrator who intoned "It's supernatural" in his creepiest voice -- suggested it would be. Always nice when deception is the basis for a show on a religious channel.

Indeed, the studio audience format for the show was its "tell" and dispelled any hopes for haunted, ancient, exotic, or even interesting sites. No, our venue for "It's Supernatual" was instead a cheap stage set with a crowd of spillovers from "The 700 Club" (i.e., white, working class, baffled and slightly scared looking). That, of course, is the standard for a Fundamentalist show, and even when they are pretending to do something else they apparently can't resist falling back on this format that was tried and true by the time Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker perfected it as a device for fleecing the flock.

Once the show I watched started, it took the form of an "interview" between Roth and Craig Hill, an author who has written a book extrapolating his theory that the practice of Jubilee observed by the ancient Israelites explains the financial crisis we have experienced since 2008, the Great Depression, etc. What followed was pretty much an apologia of right-wing financial theory justified in Biblical terms. The studio audience liked it because the hosts kept using the words "Bible," "Jesus," and "salvation," but you could see from their glazed eyes that they really had no idea what they were talking about.

There was one thing that definitely made this show worth watching, and that was the revelation that Jews are successful because of magical techniques they unknowingly apply! Hahaha! Ah, scratch a Jew and find a wizard. But most of us kind of suspected that about Jews anyway, right? What Roth points out, however, is that the rest of us can also make use of these techniques to enrich ourselves.

Craig Hill does make what I consider to be the valid and interesting point that people should not work particular jobs just because they offer financial rewards and should instead be driven by a sense of vocation. This is all part of what I found to be a rather confusing mixed message, because the whole point of the show -- or at least this episode -- seemed to be how to achieve financial success. Such success is not achieved by worshiping Mammon through inappropriate jobs but rather through magical techniques that Roth and his guests can teach you: "God will supernaturally compress time in your life if you follow these principles." And the goods and services you need to learn those principles are advertised on the show and can, conveniently, be purchased though Roth's website!

Roth himself is, as his name might suggest, Jewish. So, basically, he is either an apostate who has abandoned the faith of his people, or he is a classic, amoral, and stereotypical Shylock. Ironically, to a Fundamentalist audience who sees Jews not as human beings but rather as devices for fulfilling prophecies, it does not matter which of these he actually is.

So, if you are looking for a new take on the paranormal, "It's Supernatural" is not going to be it. But if you are looking for 30 minutes of "Prosperity Christianity" and have some coin to drop as the price for buying into it, the wily Roth will be glad to accommodate.