Friday, September 28, 2012

Wowed by an Unlikely Book

When you stand as close as we have to real life miracles, you will get roughed up. . .Splinters fall from the cross. They travel a long distance and they pierce the skin -- maybe even the heart. And wrapped in this risk and danger is God's embrace and promise to work all things (even evil ones) to the good of those who love him. . .[W]e are not to be Pollyanna about this. Many of the "things" we will face come with the razor edges of a fallen and broken world. You can't play poker with God's mercy -- if you want the sweet mercy then you must also swallow the bitter mercy. And what is the difference between sweet and bitter? Only this: your critical perspective, your worldview. One of God's greatest gifts is the ability to see points of view that exceed your personal experience. That is what it means to me to grow in Christ -- to exceed myself as I stretch to him.
-The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, pp. 124-125.
Rarely have I finished reading a book and thought, "I want to buy a stack of these to hand out to people." But The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, is on that short list. Since I can't buy it in bulk right now, I wanted to at least say something about it here. I first heard about the book through reviews (there's a good one here) and bought a copy directly from Crown & Covenant Publications. You can also get it from Amazon, and apparently there's now a Kindle edition.

The thing about this book is that there's probably something in it that will nettle or disturb virtually any reader. I'm not normally drawn to books like that; they're too exhausting. But the story of Rosaria's conversion is never provocative for its own sake -- it always points to Christ. So even though I wouldn't call it a leisurely read (I finished the book in two sittings because it was too hard to put it aside for long), it has a hard-edged beauty that will stick with you.

Rosaria was a tenured professor of nineteenth-century literature specializing in queer theory at Syracuse University. In the process of researching a book on the American religious right, she was welcomed into the home of a Presbyterian minister and his wife. Through many conversations with them and others, her whole world was upended as she came to accept the precise claims of Christianity that she had set out to critique. By the end of the book, Rosaria herself is a Presbyterian minister's wife with experience in Christian college teaching, church planting, classical homeschooling, and foster care. But, as you're probably guessing, there is a lot more to the story than that -- and it's the messiness amidst all those things that made the book especially beautiful to me.

I finished Secret Thoughts with unanswered questions and points of disagreement, and I'm sure that in subsequent readings, I would find more; but what the book emphatically did was make me think differently about the power of the gospel. Even if you're not sure you would like Rosaria's story, I'd encourage you to give yourself the opportunity to be surprised by it. I was. And if you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think.

7 comments:

  1. I have just finished the book and I feel the same way as you. I want to buy a stack and give them to my friends and get together and talk about it!

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    1. Nancy,

      I'm glad to hear that others feel the same. I'd like to see Mrs. Butterfield's book gain a wide readership!

      Thanks for your comment! As it happened, I received it when I got home from a women's Bible study at my church -- in which we're using your book The Lamb of God! So I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say thank you for your work on this series; the Lord is using it to deepen my walk with Him, and I know that's true for many others as well.

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  2. It's actually a free book to check out from Amazon's Lending Library for Prime users. I'll read this ASAP, although that likely won't be until Christmas break.

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    1. Good to know. I'll be interested to hear what you think, Victoria.

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  3. I would love to read that! It sounds great!

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  4. I loved the book, but was saddened by the fact that there are very few people with SSA or those who haved lived a Gay life-style that have been openly and warmly supported in their conversion and sanctification in a open and loving church community. Most of us have been afraid to be known.

    She is a great writer, but I also wanted to know more of her back story.. And I wish every Church would be as hers

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Sally.

      I agree that I'm left with questions about her story. And I wish that talking about this subject didn't have to be a frightening prospect.

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