“And he’ll get into heaven. He’s a miracle.”

This is a quote from Jane Fonda, from CNN’s obituary of Ted Turner, who died today at the age of 87. I’m struck by the hope in those words, uttered by a woman deeply hated by conservative “Christians” about a man equally loathed.

But Jane Fonda became a Christian. And Ted Turner did more good than probably any of the pastors occupying pulpits in the megachurches of Atlanta, of which there is no shortage of supply.

On the subject of heaven, my mom—while in the depths of our Southern Baptist days, when she was the employee of our church and during one of those swings where the fundamentalists held sway—once said, “I think we’ll be surprised who’s there and who’s not.”

I’ve long held that bit of wisdom dear to my heart.

***

I actually don’t know much about Ted Turner. The Turner name is ubiquitous in the Atlanta area (seen on the bottom of nearly every billboard you pass when driving on the interstate, in addition to all the television networks). I remember when I first went to Atlanta, sometime in 1994. It was the first time I’d ever seen a “real” city (Orlando’s skyline is low due to its proximity to the airports, and more people visit the theme parks many miles away than the actual city center—at least in those days) and I remember the high tech billboards advertising all the Turner networks. Other than this, I knew Turner was the founder of CNN, married to Jane Fonda, and an outspoken atheist. I also knew that he’d claimed to read the Bible many times and that it didn’t make him into a believer—a fact that pastors and teachers in my youth would use in reference to Satan quoting the Bible to Jesus when He was tempted in the wilderness.

But as a result of the hatred certain members of my childhood church directed at him, I came to suspect that he was a person worth learning more about, since it seemed clear that if it was someone my church didn’t like then they were probably a good person, by virtue of the fact my church didn’t like them. From this I learned that Ted Turner was a committed philanthropist, largely dedicated to animal conservation and environmental causes, most notably the reintroduction of bison to the American West.

***

Ted Turner was indirectly responsible for the fostering of my sense of humor.

I remember when Cartoon Network first aired and I watched it nearly all the time. There was a day where I had stayed home with my grandparents. In those days Cartoon Network was just an endless cycle of obscure Hannah Barbera shows. And on this particular day a single episode of Top Cat aired in a constant loop. I kept it on. I remember text eventually scrolling on the bottom of the screen saying that there was a technical issue. I became convinced that it was intentional.

Years later I would read that the staff at Cartoon Network in the early days were bored as hell. They thought they would be able to create new shows. I can easily see these guys looping a single episode of Top Cat for several hours during the middle of the day when practically no one was watching as either a joke or as a means to slack off.

Anyway, the story goes that these Cartoon Network guys approach Ted Turner, begging him to let them make new stuff. Ted’s reply was “we just bought the entire Hannah Barbera catalog, do something with that.” They were given practically zero money, but at least the green light to develop new programming. For creatives, this is grounds for the opportunity for something truly magical and what resulted was maybe the single most subversive television show on cable TV at the time: Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.

I knew Space Ghost. And Birdman. I knew them because my mom insisted on going to the earliest Sunday morning church service and so I would be awakened before the sun on the Lord’s day. I’d put on the TV and, of course, there was nothing on. Except, for some reason, Ted Turner stuck random installments of Space Ghost/Birdman on TBS at that hour. So I’d watch those while my mom attempted to usher me into a shirt and tie for church.

The moment I saw Space Ghost: Coast to Coast I knew I was watching something made by people like me. Yeah, they were older (I was in like eighth grade when it came out), but we were on a similar wavelength. I’ve heard people like Hal Sparks talk about how seeing Monty Python’s Flying Circus made them feel less weird and less alone. That was what Space Ghost did for me.

That show, of course, gave birth to the entire “Adult Swim” aesthetic and ethos—fifteen minute shows with extremely offbeat humor and janky animation.

Cartoon Network would also play a key role in my love of anime through the Toonami block in the afternoons (where I would fall in love with Robotech), which would put anime alongside American shows like Thundercats and allow me to see the connections (those old shows were made in Japanese animation studios).

So, thanks Ted for being a penny-pincher and giving ground to some truly incredible GenX art.

***

Is Ted Turner in heaven? Well, I don’t think too many people are in heaven (aside from the Lord God, Christ Jesus, and the glorified saints and angels). I also tend to think that we all get to heaven, eventually, since heaven is destined to come to earth and the New Jerusalem features gates that never close.

Is Ted Turner experiencing rest? That’s the real question. I’d like to think so. I’d like to believe that his questions are being answered. That he finally understands why his sister suffered, why his dad was such an asshole and that they are finding reconciliation. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read about it in his many obituaries.

What I find most interesting about Ted Turner’s death is how we have a rare billionaire, one who’s death is the grounds for lauds and accolades. A man who is remembered for all the good he tried to do.

At a time where we decry the billionaire class, where we lament with the psalmist about our having to put up with the “indolent rich,” we have Ted Turner. An atheist who ended his speeches with “God bless.” A driven workaholic who lived in his office for 20 years (by his own estimation), who was the second largest landowner in the United States at one point, owning 28 properties. He owned yachts. He fits the description of so many lamented billionaires, yet defies being held in their peer. He was a man who could have done much evil and instead tried to do much good. Even if his media empire and the 24-hour news cycle he created have been co-opted by capitalist greed to foster much harm, it didn’t seem to be Ted’s intent (and from many accounts he was deeply saddened by losing influence over his companies).

Saint Paul writes in Romans:

Gentiles don’t have the Law. But when they instinctively do what the Law requires they are a Law in themselves, though they don’t have the Law. They show the proof of the Law written on their hearts, and their consciences affirm it. Their conflicting thoughts will accuse them, or even make a defense for them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the hidden truth about human beings through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14-16 CEB)

I think about Ted Turner. Here was a man that did good, even as a non-believer, out of a sense of obligation to the wider world. Saint Paul prefaces this section by noting that it is the ones who do the works of the Law that are justified, not those who simply hear it. So Ted read the Bible and it didn’t lead him to become a practicing Christian. But he was raised in an environment that fostered in him a sense of decency and obligation to his neighbors, to be empathetic to others. That’s got to count for something, yeah? Especially when we contrast it with the selfish wealth-hoarding of so many prominent pastors.

Ted Turner is the rare billionaire that inspires at least one prominent Christian to publicly hope that he is heaven-bound. I share in that hope too.

Rest in peace Ted.

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The Rev. Charles Browning II is the rector of Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Honolulu, Hawai’i. He is a husband, father, surfer, and frequent over-thinker. Follow him on Mastodon and Pixelfed.

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