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Book Breakdown: Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber

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Book Breakdown: Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-WeberAccidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Published by Convergent Books on September 8, 2015
Pages: 224
Goodreads

What if that person you've been trying to avoid is your best shot at grace today? And what if that's the point?
In Accidental Saints, New York Times best-selling au­thor Nadia Bolz-Weber invites readers into a surprising encounter with what she calls “a religious but not-so-spiritual life.” Tattooed, angry and profane, this former standup comic turned pastor stubbornly, sometimes hilariously, resists the God she feels called to serve. But God keeps showing up in the least likely of people—a church-loving agnostic, a drag queen, a felonious Bishop and a gun-toting member of the NRA.
As she lives and worships alongside these “ac­cidental saints,” Nadia is swept into first-hand en­counters with grace—a gift that feels to her less like being wrapped in a warm blanket and more like being hit with a blunt instrument. But by this grace, people are trans­formed in ways they couldn’t have been on their own.
In a time when many have rightly become dis­illusioned with Christianity, Accidental Saints dem­onstrates what happens when ordinary people share bread and wine, struggle with scripture together, and tell each other the truth about their real lives. This unforgettable account of their faltering steps toward wholeness will ring true for believer and skeptic alike.
Told in Nadia’s trademark confessional style, Accidental Saints is the stunning next work from one of today’s most important religious voices.

 

 

 

monika-chatThis is somewhat of an odd pick for TSS—Christian nonfiction?! But even our resident atheist loves Nadia Bolz-Weber!

april-chatIt’s true! Hearing her speak was amazing, I fangirled out—but she remembered my review of Pastrix which really tickled me.

Check out April's fangirling face!
Check out April’s fangirling face!

danaAs a recovering Evangelical who spent most of this summer tearing my faith to shreds and reassembling it, I loved every part of this book. I love how she holds questions and her own conclusions in a delicate balance while still leaving room for those who see it differently to enter the conversation (which I suspect is what makes this approachable to atheists as well as people with differing faith values).

shannon-chatI feel a little bad about the fact that I liked this book most when it pointed out the flaws in modern Christianity and least when it talked about God. It was like a sign that I’m probably not the best audience.

monika-chatMaybe her previous memoir, Pastrix, would have been more for you? I’m a Christian (and a Lutheran) so I fully resonated with the God-focused parts of the book, but the magnifying glass on the flaws in modern Christianity was probably my favorite aspect. I spent a long time (too long!) feeling like I saw those same flaws, but brushing them off and feeling guilty about what my gut was telling me. Because where I live, that kind of thinking is predominant—you don’t challenge the interpretation of the Bible you are given, you just “trust God.” So to hear someone like Nadia Bolz-Weber voice the same concerns and rebukes…that really spoke to me.

april-chatI felt the same way that Shannon did, this isn’t surprising in the least because I’m an atheist. I definitely preferred Pastrix over Accidental Saints, but there were still parts that resonated with me. The essay on the Sandy Hook massacre gave me shivers and almost had me in tears.

shannon-chatYes! That one definitely got to me. I felt the same with the essay about her officiating the funeral for the kid who had committed suicide.

danaI was also brought to my knees when she spoke of assembling bleach kits being part of their Holy Week observance. Man, handing clean needles and condoms to drug addicts is truly TRULY meeting people where they are. That is raw Jesus. I loved it, and it broke me.

monika-chatI agree, those essays were so incredibly powerful. The “Thief in the Night” chapter about “the rapture” also hit me pretty hard. It really showed how bad religion in childhood and youth can psychologically scar people, giving them something that carries into adulthood. I personally have a lot of anger and disgust about being taught that “Left Behind” was real (Note: My parents didn’t do this, it’s just such a huge part of the culture here it’s hard to avoid, and it seeped into our supposedly “mainline” church). Even though I never fully bought into it, those concepts are intense for a kid to have to work through! So reinforcements, even now in adulthood, are always comforting. Just hearing a minister say “rapture theories are nothing I’ve ever taken very seriously” and tear that stuff apart, recognizing the torment and later, the distrust, it causes (she calls it “rapture PTSD”)…it’s like having someone hold my hand and remind me I’m doing just fine.

danaI so related to the rapture PTSD. And I literally laughed out loud for 5 minutes when she asked “How does a universalist have a faith crisis?”

monika-chatA huge theme in this book is one everyone can relate to: Fighting our nature to label people either “good” or “bad” (“saint” or “sinner”) instead of recognizing that people are simultaneously both. I mean, with election time coming up, that’s a hefty reminder—there are some people I’d much rather villainize and think nothing more about.

danaI also wonder if this book was less appealing to some of you because Pastrix was about all the ways she doesn’t fit, nor do many in her congregation and when we don’t fit, those words are a comfort. But this book is far more about belonging, even if you find you only belong accidentally (or because Jesus has chased your ass down – one of my other favorite lines). As a disenchanted person of faith, it’s easy (and cynically fun) to pick apart and criticize. I’ve done it, a lot. But it’s far less comfortable to recognize all that is wrong and to take part anyway, because even in the mess there is something so beautiful you can’t stand to miss it.

shannon-chatI think that’s definitely true for me. That pull is something that just isn’t there for me at all, so much of the book felt almost like it was written in another language. I can totally see how it would be appealing for many, many people, though.

 

How about you, dear readers? Do you have hangups when it comes to organized religion? Did you find Accidental Saints to be relatable or comforting? 

 

The post Book Breakdown: Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber appeared first on The Socratic Salon.


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