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Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints
Saints are not born, they are made. And many, as Saints Behaving Badly reveals, were made of very rough materials indeed. The first book to lay bare the less than saintly behavior of thirty-two venerated holy men and women, it presents the scandalous, spicy, and sleazy detours they took on the road to sainthood.
In nineteenth- and twentieth-century writings about the lives...more
In nineteenth- and twentieth-century writings about the lives...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
September 19th 2006
by Doubleday Religion
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This book is more interesting than the "Lives of the Saints" I read as a boy in Catholic school, giving a picture of saints as real people, not just angels without wings. Reading Saints Behaving Badly, one can imagine that some of these folks would have been hard to live with, let alone love. I do wish, though, that more detail had be given on the conversions these saints experienced. Those must have been profound and moving experiences, but it's hard to get that feeling here.
Informative book that tells the life of a few saints before they were holy people. It made me think about the ethics behind redemption. Some of the saints were murderers and thieves; yes they converted, but by today's standards, someone like them would never be forgiven by society. So, by today's standards, should we still look at them as saints, or should we change the way we look at today's ex-felons? Also, if someone like them became saints, is there still hope for someone like us? Read this...more
Before they were saints, they were great sinners, but most books and stories gloss over their transgressions and focus solely on their great deeds. This book covers some of the most depraved and sinful saints in the history of the church, from playboy St. Augustine to St. Francis of Assisi, a wastrel.
An absolutely fascinating read, one that I quite literally couldn't put down. The stories were quite short, and some weren't as fleshed out as I would have hoped, but the information in them was ver...more
An absolutely fascinating read, one that I quite literally couldn't put down. The stories were quite short, and some weren't as fleshed out as I would have hoped, but the information in them was ver...more
Saints are pretty awesome. The idea of a host of people too numerous to count who do nothing except worship God and pray for everyone who’s not in heaven definitely gives me comfort. When you’re too busy to pray, ask the saints to pray for you. When your prayer needs an extra boost, ask the saints to chip in, too. When you wander astray, ask for the help of the saints who had the same problems.
Read the rest at Austin Catholic New Media.
Read the rest at Austin Catholic New Media.
It is a quick read. Very brief biographies about 28 very different people who each had one thing in common. After converting to (or back to) Christianity, they spent the rest of their lives serving the Savior. The author is straight-forward, and honest: he tells you if information is more likely to be just church tradition or if there is actually evidence to support it as fact. Either way, it is nice to read about Christians in history-other than just the people in the Bible.
interesting! i learned about quite a few saints i had never heard of before and found it quite enlightening. i love the study of saints; human beings just like us (me) who through God's great grace, redeemed them. Some i truly didn't get although he's been revered for centuries is Thomas Becket. i do not see howhe was ever genuinely spiritual, but that's just my opinion and i apologise to anyone whose patron saint is Thomas Becket
Interesting enough... but I would have preferred some more modern saints. Each saint gets a brief bio covering a couple small pages. Most of the saints are pre-1500s and as such have quite.. dramatized? lives. I think most of it is the stuff of legends, so I would have preferred saints who were post-1600 who we knew more facts about and could perhaps better relate to. A warning: this book is obviously written for a Catholic audience, so those unfamiliar with Catholic terminology could be confuse...more
The title implies more naughtiness than is actually documented. Craughwell lays out brief bios of mostly medieval personalities who substantially reformed after conversion experiences. Notable are Saints Augustine, Francis, Patrick, and Christopher. All the stories read nicely and are consistently interesting.
This book provides a great glimpse into the power of conversion of "normal" people from varying backgrounds into a life dedicated to serving others. The author also provides interesting historical context to these people's lives. I found the book slow to pique my interests but it grew on me.
Very insightful and entertaining. I gave me a few ideas for other book that the Saint read or wrote that will deepen my faith.
Very interesting after visiting Rome and touring churches where relics are housed.
Makes Christianity look like a sham.
Nice light read about man and women who started out badly and changed their lives.
I guess there is hope for all of us after all.
I guess there is hope for all of us after all.
May 06, 2008
booklady
marked it as recommended
Recommended to booklady by:
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
Shelves:
hagiography
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer says, "Cathy, this is an entertaining book which some may take to be putting down the saints. However, when I read it I marveled that people so bad could make such a turn-around in their lives and become so good. I took it as a tribute to the power of goodness!"
Thanks Krista! I can already guess who some of the saints were -- or should I say "are"! Despite the provocative title, I 'get' it and you're right, Good is stronger than evil and will always win out.
Thanks Krista! I can already guess who some of the saints were -- or should I say "are"! Despite the provocative title, I 'get' it and you're right, Good is stronger than evil and will always win out.
good
ho hum
Generally speaking, stories about Catholic saints are usually pretty fascinating, and often downright graphic...but the title of of this book is misleading if you're expecting a taste of the grotesque. This book sounds so much better than it actually is...Frankly, the stories are vague and even somewhat dull. Read Butler's classic work on the lives of the saints instead.
Come on now... the title alone is worth the price of admission! If you ever need a reminder that we are ALL (both the godly and the profane) infinitely, indelibly flawed, turn to this book. This is an ideal example of the beauty that can come from the ultimately imperfect existence of humanity.
Not exactly as juicy or exciting as the title suggests. It really was just ok. It was something I picked up from the New Books shelf at my local public library.
I wrote a note about it in my personal blog:
[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...]
I wrote a note about it in my personal blog:
[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...]
Well I thought this would be a great nitty gritty expose of saints lives. Part way through the intro, their was some religious mumbo jumbo about about following the path of god. Ugh. I read a few chpaters, and it just wasn't that juicy. So I returned it to the library.
I enjoyed reading this book, which I would call more a novella. Although interesting, I expected a bit more depth into the stories, and would have liked better-known saints.
Sep 08, 2008
Laura
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who wants to feel like they're not a lost cause!
Recommended to Laura by:
St. John's Book Club
This was a book club book and I love it! Every chapter is a different saints' story. It'd be easy to pick up and just read one chapter then put it back down for a month.
I actually finished this awhile ago, I just forgot to mark it. It was a little dense and not my favorite books about the saints. It is interesting though.
This was enjoyable. Little snippets about mostly not-so-well known saints who were the worst of the worst before they found their way to peace. A quick read.
One of those books that pictures Saints as they are: human beings. It gives us the understanding that everybody is called to be saints.
Excellent read. Humorous, anecdotal, nonacademic. Inspiring: If these people are holy, I can be, too!
Just finished it. Excellent reading.
Just finished it. Excellent reading.
Jun 03, 2013
Chelsea Zimmerman
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2013
Matthew Dudley
added it
May 29, 2013
Amanda
is currently reading it
May 23, 2013
Maxine
marked it as to-read
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