The Ironic Christian's Companion

by Patrick Henry

These days, the loudest Christian voices seem very sure about many things that might still be thought open for discussion. But modern life has few, if any, clearly drawn lines, no rules that always hold true. For Patrick Henry, there are no answers without loose ends, and God is full of surprises. His book is a companion, not a how-to manual -- a spiritual resource that is also an antidote to boredom and a teaser of the imagination. It is a guide to living with faith in a postmodern world.In interlocking essays, Henry muses on the ambiguities of time and place, on paying attention, on hope and prayer. His book is also a journal of life as a professor of religion, into which are woven the observations of other writers he has encountered on his metaphysical travels.

Like Kathleen Norris, Patrick Henry brings a questing intelligence, humor, and great writing to his investigation of the relevance of Christianity in the modern age. The Ironic Christian's Companion does not pretend to answer the big questions, but in lucid, engaging prose it sets out to identify what they are.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Christian

273 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 1999

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those nebulous books: did I get the "meat" out of it? Or was I clueless? I think the gist of it is that there are no pat answers. in questions of hope especially. We were meant to be questioners. The fact that we are probing hope at all shows at least some modicum of faith.

Three stars b/c the topics here morph and meander. Some "chapters" honestly were more interesting, more crystal clear (but not absolutely) than others. My poor tired brain struggled with grasping the mathematics and dimensions of time. And I had to LOL: after several years I spent in a Protestant Bible study: Mr Henry, a Protestant, is definitely not a "creationist".

The book is steeped in controversies: who says that episodes of anything must have a beginning/middle/end? And why can't it be middle/ending/beginning? Look at Bible stories of the Prodigal Son. Look at Joseph and his brothers.

Oh in the biographies of life/love there can be so much agony in all our uncertain lives: Mr Henry has had his own pain, carried his own crosses in his personal life. I like how he grew and learned from some personal gaffes. Sooner or later you're at the other end on these. I only hope people were 'there' to build him when he was in a hell point of his life: he came out of this maybe not with certainties, but surely had better questions to ask and learned to see subtle tools of grace at work.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad I read this book. There is much to chew over in it. The author weaves many bits and piece of well known stories and life experience to wrestle with the Christianity of his growing up and of his adult life.

[Luci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve tried twice but it didn’t grab me enough either time to continue, as much as I like what the title conveys for all of us seekers.

[Marian Beaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few books of the theological or contemplative variety include an “Index of field marks of the grace of God,” an echo of the book’s subtitle. However, The Ironic Christian’s Companion by Patrick Henry does. And even fewer books written by theologians and thinkers include references to the likes of Yogi Berra, Maya Angelou, Lewis Carroll, John le Carre, Dr. Seuss, and Gilda Radner in the same volume.

I was intrigued when the religious scholar Patrick Henry spoke of Keats’ Negative Capability. In my view, any writer who can link Keates’ Negative Capability (the capacity to experience and allow mystery and intellectual confusion over certitude) and Christian grace is capable of engaging both my mind and heart. I definitely agree with one reviewer who asserts that Henry fully understands the ambivalence many Christians feel, allowing uncertainty as part of their belief system.

At the outset, Patrick Henry states emphatically that his book about ironic Christians will not add a new denomination to the Catholics, Pentecostals, Methodists, and Orthodox already in existence. Rather, he offers companionship to readers searching for understanding, not easy answers – a way of knowing, not certitude.

He declares (196) that “Jesus inhabits the land between ‘never’ and ‘it must be precisely thus,’” an assertion this reader/reviewer can live with. Additionally, a religious scholar who can make theological sense of “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” has my vote. Yet, hope resides in the midst of confusion: “Friendship brings me full circle, back to hope, which really is the biggest challenge presented, and the biggest promise offered, to ironic Christians.” (183)

This book can appeal to open-minded readers on a quest for an understanding of grace in a Christian context. Author Patrick Henry will definitely challenge readers' assumptions and probe their imagination.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite this book's awkward title and even more awkward (and misleading) subtitle, and despite its having come this close to unraveling in the final two chapters (where Henry's writing and attention shift from the elegance and attention of a James Hillman or Frederick Buechner to the repetitive mawkishness of a Robert Fulghum), the book is a winner. Henry, more often than not, articulates specific observations for me (i.e. the function of one's superior, be it an abbot or a boss in the workplace) that I have long thought but have never been able to articulate, and broadens my understanding of faith (in practice and in theory) in ways I hadn't anticipated it broadening.

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally.
This was a nice book, and nice to read in small doses.
Mr. Henry seemed like he'd be sort of a pill in real life, but on paper he had some interesting things to say about being a thinking Christian in the world (which apparently, makes you ironic), sometimes a little too hippified and sometimes a little too staid.

Plus, it made me think about LOST. Don't even ask how, it just did.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thoughtful book in which the author grapples with integrating Christian faith and beliefs into a contemporary culture and mindset --- very readable.

[Sheepngoat1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spiritual memoir with humility