Friday, June 25, 2010
Evolving in Monkey Town
I fell for Rachel Held Evans' personal story right from the beginning. I've never met Rachel, but her story felt much like my own. I couldn't put this book down. Luckily, I had a long plane trip scheduled last week and this book was the perfect travel companion.
This is a delightful book about a girl who grew up as part of the Evangelical sub-culture in the small town made famous for being home of the Scopes Monkey trial. It's well-written, playful, open, and honest. Anyone who has lived in, around, or simply crossed paths with southern-fried Evangelical Christianity will find something to like about this book. The author is not harsh or judgmental about her self-described roots in fundamentalism, but she's willing to risk opening up her experiences for a good honest examination. It's a refreshing story about how the author made her way out of that kind of religion and into something exciting and full of life.
"What makes a person a fundamentalist is not what beliefs they hold, but how they hold them, and I was holding onto mine with a death grip, partly because I was convicted, but mostly because I was afraid. I was afraid of being wrong. I was afraid of not having all the answers. But mostly I was afraid of change."Rachel let go of some long held beliefs and that caused a few problems along the way. I enjoyed reading about the interesting people she's met, the tension she wrestled with along the way, and her willingness to leave a few things unsettled. Resting in uncertainty can seem like a difficult place to be, but it's actually very liberating. In my opinion, it feels much more honest and much less suffocating.
"I'm no longer ready to give an answer about everything. Sometimes I'm not ready because I feel that an answer does not do justice to the seriousness or complexity of the question. Sometimes I'm not ready to give an answer because I honestly don't know what the best one is. Sometimes I'm not ready to given an answer because I can tell that the person asking doesn't really want one anyway."
20 comments:
Great review, man. Now I'm even more interested in this book.
I uploaded to my Kindle Saturday and finished it yesterday. Amazing how it overlaps with my experience too, through about the first 9 chapters. Only my wrestling took place 30 years earlier and there were few people to talk with about it and nothing was emerging to help us out.
Mike,
What's your story?
Steve
Steve,
I was blind but now I see ;)
You're the second one to recommend this book. It's a done deal. Just ordered it.
Sounds amazing - perhaps I could borrow it? :) I'll "trade" you for your Barbara Brown Taylor book!
Jen, you can get in line behind Veronica. She started reading. It's a quick read, so she'll be done soon.
Finished the book. I enjoyed it. Somehow, I feel Rachel's journey is far from done. I still see changes in the winds. After listening to her interview with fundy, Bob Dutko, I can tell she's in for more changes.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/202662/Rachel-Held-Evans-on-the-Bob-Dutko-show.mp3
This sounds like a really good read. I love her comments on Fundamentalism, I've had my own enternal battles with that throughout my life. I will have to pick this up
Mike
WHAT YOU MUST DO TO BE SAVED
To be saved, you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
However, that's not all. Sacred Scripture clearly shows other things you must also do to be saved:
• You must endure to the end. Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:13, Mark 13:13.
• You must accept the Cross (suffering). Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24-25, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27.
• You must be baptized with water. Mark 16:16, Titus 3:5, I Peter 3:20-21.
• You must be a member in God's true church. Acts 2:47.
• You must confess your sins. James 5:16, I John 1:9.
• You must keep the Commandments of God. Matthew 5:19-20, Matthew 7:21.
• You must heed the words of St. Peter, the first Pope. Acts 11:13-14, Acts 15:7.
• You must eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ. John 6:51-58, I Corinthians 10:16, I Corinthians 11:23-29.
• Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. CCC 1996, John 1:12-18, John 17:3, Romans 8:14-17, 2 Peter 1:3-4.
The only Church that meets all the requirements of Salvation is the Holy Catholic Church.
Michael,
Thanks for that comment. Your insightful words really added depth to the discussion about Rachel's book.
I belong to a progressive church in Gilbert, Arizona. My pastor and several of our members come from more conservative and evangelical traditions. One member in particular is gay, which is an important detail because coming to grips with his sexuality necessarily caused his faith to evolve.
It is fascinating how in spite of ending up in pretty similar places, the faith of our youth continues to inform how we process things.
I noticed that you are a fan of Borg. How would you say Rachel's epiphany compares with Borg's discussion of passing through atheism on his way to an adult faith?
Mike, awesome review, this looks great. And speaking of evolution, you should review this book that just came out by this Hopkins med student about the use and abuse of science and faith in the evangelical community that he grew up in. It's called Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics.... I got it on my Kindle last night and haven't put it down since, it's totally up your alley.
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I was looking for this particular information for a very long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Thanks for the review. I'd heard of this book but not read anything about it until now. The quotes you reference indicate a book of depth and reflection. I'll check it out. Thanks for this blog, too. I'm new to it, but it seems thoughtful - which is rare in the world of religion unfortunately.
Thanks for the review of the book. While scrolling through the comments it looks like I might have to read 2 books, "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics"! I may not agree with them but I like to read from all different view points.
Thanks for the lively discussion as well.
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