The Tempest-Tossed Church

by Gerard Windsor

In The Tempest-Tossed Church award-winning writer Gerard Windsor explores what it is to be a Catholic. Interlaced with twelve moving cameos, he entertains and stimulates with anecdote, history, forays into art and literature, and the occasional bit of gossip. Starting with how you get religion in the first place, Windsor moves on to the Gospels and the personality of Jesus Christ, and the possibility of any relationship with him. He then grapples with the existence and nature of God, and winds down with the grubby present realities – the factions within current Catholicism, scandal, sexual abuse, argument and bigotry.

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2017

About the author

Gerard Windsor has published nine books of fiction, memoir and essays, his last novel being I Have Kissed Your Lips. His most recent book is Ned Kelly and the Odd Rellie, a history of Australia in fifty clerihews. He won the Pascall Prize for criticism in 2005 and is represented by his fi ction in the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. He is currently at work on a non-fiction account of an Australian infantry attack in Vietnam in 1968.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea why I decided to read this as I am not a Catholic, perhaps I was hoping to better understand this strange face of Christianity. I say "strange face of Christianity" because even more so after reading this, Catholicism appears to be more about "church" and tradition and not about God, hence not really a true face of Christianity.  I felt sorry for the author. The book is interesting in the wide range of topics it touches on but the snarky voice that takes a swipe at Lyle Shelton and the Anglican archdiocese of Sydney did not endear itself to me as a reader. Lyle and the Sydney Anglicans have been true voices of Christian faith and belief willing to speak up. Labeling them as "more or less villanous,  fundamentalist right-wingers" was petty and nasty. Speaking of media, the mention of the ABCs Lateline running a program in the 70s which basically supported  pederasty was an eye opener. Overall a book probably of more interest to Catholics.