Customer Reviews

Skeptic in the House of God

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jim Kelley has written a compelling, honest account of membership in St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capital Hill. To disclose any bias, I have been a member of St. Mark's since 1992, though not a close acquaintance of Jim's. His portrayal shows the effect that a community's support, or lack of support, can have on an individual member, and discusses some of the ways St. Mark's develops a feeling of "community.". Persons interested in the role church plays in their lives would benefit from reading this book, including both those who go to church and are not sure why and those who have not gone to a church in a long time. This book also provides insight to St. Mark's functional education style which should be encountered by those interested in Christian education. Finally, any friends, family or acquaintances of St. Mark's members who have been puzzled by the devotion members have towards this church, or have wondered how a Sunday school class could teach anything of use when the words "God" or "Jesus" are not mentioned, will find some insights in "Sceptic in the House of God."

The appeal of the Episcopal Church once was that intellectual was not a dirty word. Questioning Revealed Truth was what we were taught to do in Seminary, and once it was common - people came for the liturgy, but also to be challenged by controversial ideas.

This story of an open skeptic finding a home in Jim Adams' lively parish on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. is a celebration of that liberating spirit. The stories are funny and warm and hopefuland well worth the read.

Sadly, the culture of intellectual openness is fading away as the Episcopal Church turns ever more inward to obsess on power struggles between fundamentalist and gender rights extremists instead struggling with the underlying theology. Kelly's book may be a last hurrah memoir for what once was.