The Voice of ‘Jesus’ on the Radio

Not quite 8 a.m. Sunday in a dark studio lighted mostly by the glare of two computer screens, talk-radio host Neil Saavedra calmly reassures a homosexual caller, Anna, that she is as valuable a being as any other in Christ’s eyes.

“Don’t let anybody with a collar or without a collar tell you that you are worthless in the eyes of God or that you are not loved in the eyes of God,” says the man behind the supposed voice of Jesus on “The Jesus Christ Show” on KFI-AM (640).

With an earnest belief that his words reflect the teachings of Jesus, Saavedra then scolds the church for what he characterizes as over-targeting homosexuality as a sin while not addressing others. A crescendo of drums follows his comments, and listeners are given the station’s number so they too can “reach the son of God.”

“It is the most bizarre thing to come on the air, claim you are Christ and to answer questions,” Saavedra said. “It feels icky when you hear the concept, but it feels absolutely right in an intense way when I am doing it.”

The two-hour weekly broadcast, in its 10th month on the air, mixes a sermon-like introduction by Saavedra with theological and practical questions from callers. Its listeners run the gamut from doubtful atheists who tune in for entertainment to church-oriented Catholics looking for clarifications and enlightenment of Scripture.

Fielding calls about almost anything from a suicidal Army veteran to a 13-year-old curious about the irreverence of “Harry Potter” books, Saavedra beckons people to ask “Jesus” any questions they may not have had a chance or were too afraid to bring up in church. Challenging listeners to “understand what they believe” and why they do, the host says, he wears the hats of theologian, counselor and politician.

“I don’t want to preach to the choir,” he said. “Everyone’s welcome on the show, but I do not want this to be a Christian love fest. I want to challenge and frustrate the Christians as much as I frustrate the atheists.”

Taking on the identity of Jesus has predictably drawn criticism from listeners who believe the broadcast is blasphemous or just junk. These recent e-mails were among the hundreds Saavedra receives each month: “You are a liar and perpetrating a hoax to poor ignorant souls,” “You are a poor deceived mental case” and the simple “Thanks for giving me a reason to turn off my radio.”

Even loyal listeners such as Stephanie Thomas, whose daughter Hannah asked about “Harry Potter,” say that some friends and relatives with whom she has discussed the show “are horrified” and have reacted by warning her of false prophets undermining the work of God.

Despite the show’s unorthodox approach, even some detractors see the outreach benefits of a religious-minded morning show on a secular talk-radio station with one of the strongest signals in California. “My first reaction was not anger,” explained Jim Lee, a pastor at the Bel Air Presbyterian church who has listened to the show and browsed its Web site. “First I thought, well this guy obviously isn’t Jesus, but, secondly, I don’t think he thinks he is. He probably doesn’t have a good idea of what Jesus believed and thought, but at least he is getting people to talk about God.”

According to David Hall, KFI’s director of programming, the “tons of e-mail” criticizing the show that the station received when it ran previews were no surprise and virtually stopped with the first broadcast. “Neil is probably one of the most knowledgeable theologians I have ever met,” he said, explaining his confidence in the program. “I fully expected criticism.”

Saavedra likens himself to “the skinny bearded guy that plays Jesus every year at your church during Easter.” He sees himself as an actor, an ambassador and a vessel for the teachings of the Bible.

“I had a women call up once whose child had died, a mere infant,” he began, with a New American Standard Bible full of yellow highlighter and red underlining at his side. “Here is a woman broken before me and to a 50,000-watt radio audience, and if anyone tells me I don’t have the scriptural right to tell her that her child is in heaven, well, if that’s what’s going to get me called a ‘blasphemer,’ then call me a ‘blasphemer.”’

The man behind the mike, however, seems an unlikely casting choice as a contemporary Christ. A bald, 6-foot-tall, 240-pound Latino with a thick silver hoop earring in his left earlobe and a handful of tattoos adorning his body (one on his back is a 6-inch-wide bust of Jesus inside a heart), Saavedra is a distant cry from the usual blue-eyed, long-haired depictions of Christ. He hasn’t stepped into a church in at least three years, uses foul language and is the first to admit he is “not the poster boy for Christianity by any stretch of the imagination.”

Yet the host’s rebellious questioning of beliefs and his proclivity for teaching and apologetics (the study of defending doctrines) are central to his role.

Saavedra’s attempts to adapt Christ’s teaching to modern issues appeals to more religious listeners such as Martin Arslanian, a practicing Catholic from Placentia. Arslanian said he stumbled across the show a month ago and stayed tuned because the discussion related to everyday life. “When we think of Jesus, we tend to envision him in a robe with long hair, beard and sandals,” he said. “My vision is a being living 2,000 years ago and not a being that is dealing with contemporary issues.”

Speaking as Jesus enables Saavedra to get past the intermediary nature of pulpit-preaching, he said. And unlike members of the clergy, whose personal shortcomings can mire their messages, as an anonymous radio host he is questioned on fact. “They get to make me accountable for the things I say, and when I am accountable for the truth, it holds more weight,” he said.

No Longer a Rebel ‘Without Direction’

Religious-backed advice seems to come naturally to the host. Raised Roman Catholic but switching to Protestantism at 18, Saavedra for several years led Bible studies and lectured at churches in the area while studying theology and logic at the Chalcedon Christian Academy in Calabasas and Simon Greenleaf School of Law (now Trinity Law School) in Anaheim. Then a rebel “without direction,” he was not “bent on getting degrees or anything other than knowledge” and never enrolled in college.

“I look back and think maybe that wasn’t the best idea, but at the time I didn’t care and ultimately I don’t,” he said, explaining that he finds it difficult to regret a decision that led to his 1990 radio debut on Christian talk radio and subsequent gigs on KFI.

The idea for “The Jesus Show” came after a handful of guest appearances that Saavedra made as Jesus on Bill Handel’s morning program generated enough listener feedback to catch the attention of KFI’s executives.

On the air every Easter and Christmas for the last three years, Saavedra would answer a mix of offbeat questions from the comedian host.

“I had the same concerns of some of the people who hear the show for the first time,” Saavedra recalled. “It was a roller-coaster answering his questions, which could be foul, purposely I think to try to throw me off my game, like ‘Jesus, being a man, did you have to go to the bathroom?”’

Saavedra, of course, answered in the affirmative.

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“The Jesus Christ Show,” Sundays at 7 a.m., KFI-AM (640).