Product Description

Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And grace is getting what you absolutely don't deserve.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149043 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780310279471
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Ranging from Chicago to Kenya, New Orleans to Ireland, Big Sky to Graceland, Falsani dons her investigative cap and scouts for grace. This religion columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times is a charming guide to places and people who reveal "grace when and where it happens." Eschewing technical theological definitions, Falsani opts instead to tell how she has experienced grace. And we are vicarious travelers, seeing grace—"audacious, unwarranted, and unlimited"—through Falsani’s eyes. She marvels at the devotion of young people who crowd to the pope’s funeral and at the astoundingly independent women of Asembo Bay in Kenya. She wrestles with anger at a misogynist Tanzanian tour guide and anger at God when her mother and beloved cat face cancer. We traipse along with the author and eavesdrop on her conversations, both external and internal. The result is a pastiche of images meant collectively to reveal God’s grace. Though some may find the premise contrived, only a fierce cynic could fail to be drawn in to Falsani’s tales and candid reflections.

Review
"Ranging from Chicago to Kenya, New Orleans to Maine, Big Sky to Graceland, [Cathleen] Falsani dons her investigative cap and scouts for grace. This religion columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times is a charming guide to places and people who reveal "grace when and where it happens." Eschewing technical theological definitions, Falsani opts instead to tell how she has experienced grace. And we are vicarious travelers, seeing grace -- "audacious, unwarranted, and unlimited" -- through Falsani's eyes. She marvels at the devotion of young people who crowd to the pope's funeral and at the astoundingly independent women of Asembo Bay in Kenya. She wrestles with anger at a misogynist Tanzanian tour guide and anger at God when her mother and beloved cat face cancer. We traipse along with the author and eavesdrop on her conversations, both external and internal. The result is a pastiche of images meant collectively to reveal God's grace. Though some may find the premise contrived, only a fierce cynic could fail to be drawn into Falsani's tales and candid reflections." — Publishers Weekly

(Publishers Weekly )

From the Back Cover
Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And grace is getting what you absolutely don't deserve. Award-winning author and columnist Cathleen Falsani says, “People regularly ask me why I believe in God. The simple answer … is grace.” In Sin Boldly: A Field Guide to Grace, Falsani explores the meaning and experience of grace through story and song, quotes and photos. Falsani says, “Grace makes no sense to our human minds. We're hardwired to seek justice, or our limited idea of what that means, and occasionally dole out mercy. Grace is another story.” Sin Boldly is an uplifting, multifaceted, and thought-provoking look at what makes grace so amazing.

Customer Reviews

helpful, delightful and grace-filled
If along with most people you've ever wondered what God possibly could do to transform your pitiful attitudes and pathetic lack of alignment with the demands of the commands, this collection of stories from Chicago Sun-Times religion columnist Cathleen Falsani's recent peregrinations will give you hope and keep you keepin' on, since God lovingly reigns with showers of mercy-filled grace, no matter who, no matter what, no matter when.

On page 57 Cathleen cites a couple of "grace" examples that especially resonate with me: "Sometimes it's having the guts to rebuild, to take a chance, to follow your nose and your heart rather than your head." "Sometimes grace is finding out that your preconceived notions are dead wrong." "And sometimes it's a bowl of watermelon gazpacho when you were expecting Taco Bell."

Discussing the possibility of following precise recipes for spiritual and religious experience and renewal (there aren't any), Cathleen described herself as "rhubarb pie with pistachio ice cream," making me wonder how to describe myself in food, and maybe how I'd describe some of the people I've met.

Cathleen's book chronicles God's "audacious" grace, as she sometimes styles it; and in its free, elusive, characteristically unanticipated and unexpectedness, Grace is audacious, bold and wild. But just as much, grace often is physically tastable, audible, visible, aromatic and touchable: incarnate and enfleshed; in that case, where can grace lead us? What is our response in the Spirit to the Divine Image in which we've been created?

I predict you'll enjoy this book, you'll recommend it and you'll probably want to read it again!

A collection of stories
I wasn't crazy about this book. I was excited to read it, thinking all the wonderful things I would learn about grace. As a minister, I've heard a lot about grace, and agree strongly that it is everywhere, in everything. God covers us with grace, thanks be to God.

But I felt like that almost made this book too easy. Reading it felt like reading a loose collection of stories rather than a well put together book. I don't read many collections because I like books to have continuity. I didn't find that in this book. Each chapter was a new beginning.

It feels weird saying something bad about a book concerning grace, but I just felt like this book told a bunch of stories and then labeled the grace within them afterward. Maybe it's something we need to be doing in all of our lives, identifying the grace that covers us all, but I didn't think it made for compelling reading. It read more like a travelogue covering the authors journeys on safari in Africa, where seeing elephants is a gracious moment, than it did a book delving into a theology of grace.

Bold, Ironic, and brave
Whether reflecting on the urgency of morality or contemplating her own response to the death of (overly) moralizing televangelists, Cathleen Falsani is a rare creature who lives in the real world, struggles to reconcile herself with what's spiritually possible, celebrates moments of grace, and isn't afraid to tell the rest of us about it. My favorite essays in this book are "Oh, Henry" and "Annus Horribilus", which are wry, self-knowing, beautifully rooted in the real details of life (yes, a tree can be that important), and ultimately reflect Falsani feeling at peace in her own life and achingly aware of the lives around her. This is one ironic, hilarious, grouchy, red-wine-drinking-and-convertible-driving adventuress and this book is an unflinching look at her own life, a welcoming gesture to the rest of us, and great read.