Jesus Christ Superstar

The Jesus Christ Show.
Oh yes, you can listen to Jesus speak directly to listeners by tuning into your radio the same time each week. Call in with your greatest need, your unanswered questions, your worries... and hear your answer directly from the Man/God Himself.

Sound crazy? Sound interesting?
I was offended the first time I saw the title and didn't even bother to click on the link to see the interview about it. I assumed it would be completely irreverent. I saw the same link again today and decided to give it a moment of my time. This guy, Neil Saavedra, a born-again Christian since age 17, has begun to host a radio show where he plays Jesus and answers callers questions by referencing Jesus' words in the Bible.
I have VERY mixed feelings about this, but mostly negative ones (and I'll warn you that I haven't organized them, so this post may be long and scattered). When callers address Mr. Saavedra, they call him "Lord" or "Jesus." This makes sense since that's his character for the duration of the show, but I would NEVER want anyone to address me with the name of God in any serious manner.
Then I thought, what about acting the part of Jesus for a film? Is that something I wouldn't do? Mr. Saavedra calls his show a type of interactive theatre. He is completely upfront about the fact that he is not God and he knows it. He only inhabits the character for the show. It still disturbs me. In a movie or play, one is speaking lines and portraying a character, not directly answering real people's real questions, some of which have haunted them for years.
The danger is that instead of people talking to Jesus, they will call in and talk to Neil because that is a more "real" experience for them. They're talking with flesh and blood and they can get some kind of immediate answer to something they really want to know. Yes, he's referencing the Bible and yes, he says outside of the show that all his answers are obviously based on his point of view and express only his opinion, but I'm seeing shades of the Catholicism he was raised in.
Strict Catholics go to a priest instead of straight to God and, as far as I know are generally not encouraged to study the Word for themselves. When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn. We have DIRECT access to the throne; access to God's very Word, those words full of life that can separate bone from marrow, soul from spirit. Then I thought about pastors, mentors, therapists, people that Christians go to and ask questions or discuss their lives. Those people might reference scripture, give their opinions to answer questions, even say "Here's what Jesus had to say about this." Isn't this man just another form of mentor for people that call in?
So is this radio show (on a popular secular station) a God-inspired new way to reach the masses that might not otherwise seek Christian counsel for the questions in their lives and don't know how to start to find answers in the Word? I don't know. I don't know his heart and I'm not judging him as a person. (And by the by, the fact that he has struggled with rebellion and is admittedly not living by all of Jesus' teachings himself doesn't help me like the program more, but ultimately that doesn't play into this at all because nobody's perfect.) All I can say is that it seems dangerous to play a role that Jesus should be playing in people's lives. It could cause people to depend on a man that knows a lot about what Jesus said instead of the omniscient One who died for us and actually spoke the Word and can still speak directly to hearts.
I've got many more thoughts on the matter and it would make for excellent discussion, but I'll stop writing and let you read an article about it for yourself.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/16741/what-would-jesus-say-radio-host-takes-on-godly-persona-gives-life-advice