Named Best Major Publication by Concordia Historical Institute During the anxiety-laden period from the Great Depression through World War II to the Cold War, Americans found a welcome escape in the new medium of radio. Throughout radio's "Golden Age," religious broadcasting in particular contributed significantly to American culture. Yet its historic role often has been overlooked. In Ministers of a New Medium , Kirk D. Farney explores the work of two groundbreaking leaders in religious broadcasting: Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier. These clergymen and professors―one a Catholic priest, the other a Lutheran minister―each led the way in combining substantive theology and emerging technology to spread the gospel over the airwaves. Through weekly nationwide broadcasts, Maier's The Lutheran Hour and Sheen's Catholic Hour attracted listeners across a spectrum of denominational and religious affiliations, establishing their hosts―and Christian radio itself―as cultural and religious forces to be reckoned with. Farney examines how Sheen and Maier used their exceptional erudition, their sensitivity to the times, their powerful communication skills, and their unwavering Christian conviction, all for the purpose of calling the souls of listeners and the soul of a nation to repentance and godliness. Their combination of talents also brought their respective denominations, Roman Catholicism and Missouri Synod Lutheranism, from the periphery of the American religious landscape to a much greater level of recognition and acceptance. With careful attention to both the theological content and the cultural influence of these masters of a new medium, Farney's study sheds new light on the history of media and Christianity in the United States. "This gracefully written, deeply researched, and subtly argued volume illumines a strangely under-studied topic: the conjunction of the rise of electronic mass communications, the emergence of two radio celebrities from dramatically different traditions, and their role in the reception of historic Christian faith in mid-twentieth-century America. Of evangelicals such as Charles Fuller, Billy Graham, and Aimee McPherson, we already know a fair amount. But by focusing on ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier, this truly pathbreaking volume opens new avenues in our understanding of American religious history." -- Grant Wacker, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Christian History at Duke Divinity School "As a son of radio pioneer Dr. Walter A. Maier of The Lutheran Hour, I thought I had ferreted out all the details of his remarkable life, but I was mistaken. Farney found significant material that I should have. You can imagine my delight at reading this fresh information! Pairing Maier with the equally pioneering Fulton Sheen makes sense, since both were radio forces who brought high skills and erudition to their presentations. Sheen went on to enjoy success in television, whereas Maier's death in 1950, just at the start of that new communications medium, prevented what doubtless would have been an equal success, though without the magisterial purple cape. To keep the comparisons fair, Farney principally covers only the radio Sheen in these pages. Anyone born in the Depression 1930s or wartime 1940s will be able to hear two familiar voices as they read." -- Paul L. Maier, Russel H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Western Michigan University "Nearly nineteen centuries after Paul of Tarsus took up his stylus and wax tablet to connect with the far-flung believers around the Mediterranean, Monsignor Sheen and Reverend Maier used the cutting-edge technology of their day to bring the message of Jesus Christ to new ears. It will be many years before we see the effects (for good or for ill) of the current media on the life of the church, but Professor Farney's engaging work transports us back to the very beginning of the technological age. With the invention of radio, Sheen and Maier could take our Lord's command to 'go out to all nations' to a new level―all from a single microphone in the comfort of a sound booth! They were true pioneers―new apostles of a new evangelization that is still just beginning to bear fruit. I highly recommend this book but not just as a historical glimpse back but also as a sign of what may yet be to come. May it inspire a new generation to take up the Lord's Great Commission using every tool at their disposal." -- Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois "This dual biography offers compelling portraits of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier, each of whom had a rare ability to both cultivate and communicate theological insights. Pairing these media sensations―one Catholic, one Lutheran―allows Farney to tell a story about religion and radio in American culture that is even broader and more interesting than the sum of its parts. In an age when many lament the corrosive effect of new med