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A theologian offers a witty and firmly reasoned exploration of the ambiguities of modern life, discussing how to find faith in a world where rules do not seem to apply anymore and discover grace and relevance in a questioning and questing Christianity. 15,000 first printing.
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Review:
Patrick Henry is a scholar of early Christianity who taught at Swarthmore College and now runs an ecumenical institute in Minnesota, yet he can't say exactly what his book's title means. In other circumstances, imprecise authorial intent might be annoying. But in The Ironic Christian's Companion, such imprecision is actually refreshing. And even though Henry can't quite bring himself to say what "ironic Christianity" is, he's quite articulate when describing what it's like. Ironic Christians, he says, have "an instinctive, abiding suspicion of no-loose- ends answers." They "inhabit a world that is more 'as if' than 'just like,' a world fashioned by a God of surprises."
From the Back Cover:
Henry, who writes like a grandfatherly Kathleen Norris, calls his grab- bag book of autobiographical sketches, literary anecdotes, and spiritual meditations a "field guide" for Christians who seek amazing expressions of grace. With passages such as the following, Henry begins to build a reputation as a latter-day Audubon of the spirit:
Over and over again grace has come off as irony: an off-balance deflating of my pride, sometimes as funny as vaudeville slapstick; a gentle dismantling of my despair (when I'm really hopeless nothing is scarier than hope, so grace has to be indirect, sneaky; clarity when I'm too confused and confusion when I'm too clear.--Michael Joseph Gross
A prominent religious scholar who isn't afraid to shake our assumptions and probe our imaginations, Patrick Henry has written a guide for the "ironic Christian" -- one who strives to integrate truth with faith, to let an expanding knowledge of the world translate into an expanded understanding of God. Drawing on the works of a diverse group of writers and thinkers, from C. S. Lewis and Julian of Norwich to Anne Sexton, Yogi Berra, and Dr. Seuss, he explores the ways in which we can maintain our belief in a God defined by mysteriousness. And with humor, humility, and courage, he asks us to join him in this spiritual quest-and in the dizzying, thrilling leaps that faith invites.
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- PublisherRiverhead Hardcover
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 1573221074
- ISBN 13 9781573221078
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages273
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