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The Romance of the Word: One Man's Love Affair With Theology
This wonderful trilogy again makes available three of Robert Farrar Capon's sought-after early works: An Offering of Uncles, The Third Peacock, and Hunting the Divine Fox. Brought together under one cover to stand as a kind of 'theological trinity, ' the books in this volume each offer a refreshingly different take on key theological issues.
380 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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191 people want to read
About the author
Robert Farrar Capon
42 books151 followersRobert Farrar Capon was a lifelong New Yorker and served for almost 30 years as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church. His first book, Bed and Board, was published in 1965 and by 1977 left full-time ministry to devote more time to writing books, though he continued to serve the church in various capacities such as assisting priest and Canon Theologian. He has written twenty books on theology, cooking and family life.
His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.
His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 19, 2022
Reading Capon is a delight like no other: He has a warm, witty, opinionated, discursive style that sweeps you up and carries you along. This anthology of three shorter books (total length: 375 pages) distills his gift, mostly to the benefit of the reader. (At times he can become frustrating with his vagueness, the way he dances around his subject.) You’ll get Capon on the problem of evil, Capon on the work of priesthood, Capon on the function of theological language, Capon on sacrament, Capon on delight, and Capon on Capon. Helpful and beautiful, though novices will want to start with his seminal The Supper of the Lamb.
September 29, 2021
Karaktäristiskt okonventionell
Okaraktäristiskt allt som svår eller obegriplig
Bra tankar och teologi som vanligt.
Men han kommer ivägen för sig själv alltför mkt, och allt känns, med brist på ett bättre ord, gubbigt.
Okaraktäristiskt allt som svår eller obegriplig
Bra tankar och teologi som vanligt.
Men han kommer ivägen för sig själv alltför mkt, och allt känns, med brist på ett bättre ord, gubbigt.
April 5, 2024
In parts most delightful and in parts quite frustrating.
October 3, 2015
Update: upon reading this book again, I find I still rate this book as highly even though in the past couple of years I have thought and read a lot more about the sacramental as opposed to the transactional view of Jesus and the life of a christian. This book started a switch in my outlook on life and lead to a lot of freedom and joy in my life as a christian. And confirmed the wisdom of choosing to go to an Anglican church instead of an evangelical church (even if the evangelical church is as much a sacrament of the eternal truth of Christ's presence in the world as the anglican church is, but in my opinion the evangelical church tends to describe itself and its goals in more transactional terms). Anyway, this book will be one of the cornerstones of the next non-fiction book I will be writing, which will be about precisely this subject: the sacramental view of the world and the good news that is.
I do enjoy Capons informal style, his asides and excursions, and the lively examples he gives. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I like it! This time (maybe because I read it as study, and not purely for enjoyment) some passages were a bit repetitive or not as clear theologically as I would like them. Thus a star less than my original assessment. But as I said, this was not meant to be studied, but to be enjoyed, like a walk through nature with the author, hearing him rambling about his walk with God and the freedom he enjoys, and sharing with him venison pie and a good red wine ...
Reading this book I found out Capon is an anglican. Mmm ... could the fact that I have been enjoying his books the last couple of years have to do something with my switch to the anglican church? I don't know, I just know that in this book he gives a very convincing case for a sacramental view of the way God works, something I also find as true in sunday morning services and communion. Definitely a connection there!
I loved consuming this book, and know that I will have to read it again soon, as it confirmed lots of thoughts that were already swirling in my brain, gave a kind of theological framwork to interpret the movie Cloud Atlas (I watched that one shortly before I started to read this book, and I definitely saw paralels), but also convicted me that I have hardly started to get a grip on how good the Good News really is. I know in my heart: 'This is what I want to believe'. It fits with what I know from the bible about Jesus and from my own experience in listening prayer, but I know I find it heart living out of this truth. (But Capon would say that that's what the sacraments are for, to make visible and concrete something that is already true in our lives, but in mistery). So I look forward to once again take this in, ruminate on it and try to live in it.
That's no punishment by the way, as Capon as always, takes a conversational approach, and mixes a liberal dose of (sometimes even risquee) humor, wit and wisdom in his theological diatribes, which leads to a life-affirming smile while contemplating deep truths. Even though the introduction makes clear Capons life was not that of a saint, his constant conscious choice for grace, love and joy had rubbed of on his character. I very much like to spend time with him.
If you want to read a non-stuffy book on theology, want to know why the good news is Good News, or just want to read a good book, this is a good one to start!
I do enjoy Capons informal style, his asides and excursions, and the lively examples he gives. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I like it! This time (maybe because I read it as study, and not purely for enjoyment) some passages were a bit repetitive or not as clear theologically as I would like them. Thus a star less than my original assessment. But as I said, this was not meant to be studied, but to be enjoyed, like a walk through nature with the author, hearing him rambling about his walk with God and the freedom he enjoys, and sharing with him venison pie and a good red wine ...
Reading this book I found out Capon is an anglican. Mmm ... could the fact that I have been enjoying his books the last couple of years have to do something with my switch to the anglican church? I don't know, I just know that in this book he gives a very convincing case for a sacramental view of the way God works, something I also find as true in sunday morning services and communion. Definitely a connection there!
I loved consuming this book, and know that I will have to read it again soon, as it confirmed lots of thoughts that were already swirling in my brain, gave a kind of theological framwork to interpret the movie Cloud Atlas (I watched that one shortly before I started to read this book, and I definitely saw paralels), but also convicted me that I have hardly started to get a grip on how good the Good News really is. I know in my heart: 'This is what I want to believe'. It fits with what I know from the bible about Jesus and from my own experience in listening prayer, but I know I find it heart living out of this truth. (But Capon would say that that's what the sacraments are for, to make visible and concrete something that is already true in our lives, but in mistery). So I look forward to once again take this in, ruminate on it and try to live in it.
That's no punishment by the way, as Capon as always, takes a conversational approach, and mixes a liberal dose of (sometimes even risquee) humor, wit and wisdom in his theological diatribes, which leads to a life-affirming smile while contemplating deep truths. Even though the introduction makes clear Capons life was not that of a saint, his constant conscious choice for grace, love and joy had rubbed of on his character. I very much like to spend time with him.
If you want to read a non-stuffy book on theology, want to know why the good news is Good News, or just want to read a good book, this is a good one to start!
August 16, 2015
Capon is a very engaging writer who is fun and entertaining to read. Theologically, he is impossible to pin down to a specific label because he holds so many unique and often surprising viewpoints. I couldn't say that I agreed with everything that he puts forward in this volume, but I appreciated the book for making me think outside the box.
This book is actually a collection of three of Capon's early books. The first -- "An Offering of Uncles" -- is a witty and eye-opening view of life, in which the author makes the world come alive through stories and theological insights. It covers quite a range of material, but I dare say you won't be disappointed in the journey.
"The Third Peacock" deals with theodicy and the problem of evil in very "Caponian" way -- through fairy tales with surprising twists and turns. "Hunting the Divine Fox" was designed to be a sort of overview of theology, but again, done in an unorthodox manner which doesn't seem very textbook. It was by far my least favorite (and probably the least orthodox), but it did still have its moments.
I would recommend this collection to any student of theology who loves to think. As the title suggests, Capon has a deep love for theology and the Word of God, and his excitement for the subject matter shines through in his unique style of writing. Though I wouldn't agree with every position the author takes, I'm still giving this book 5 stars because it was just so doggone fun to read.
This book is actually a collection of three of Capon's early books. The first -- "An Offering of Uncles" -- is a witty and eye-opening view of life, in which the author makes the world come alive through stories and theological insights. It covers quite a range of material, but I dare say you won't be disappointed in the journey.
"The Third Peacock" deals with theodicy and the problem of evil in very "Caponian" way -- through fairy tales with surprising twists and turns. "Hunting the Divine Fox" was designed to be a sort of overview of theology, but again, done in an unorthodox manner which doesn't seem very textbook. It was by far my least favorite (and probably the least orthodox), but it did still have its moments.
I would recommend this collection to any student of theology who loves to think. As the title suggests, Capon has a deep love for theology and the Word of God, and his excitement for the subject matter shines through in his unique style of writing. Though I wouldn't agree with every position the author takes, I'm still giving this book 5 stars because it was just so doggone fun to read.
April 14, 2012
Been on a Robert Capon reading kick of late… …and this title, just like all the others, did not disappoint.
It's actually a trilogy of books, some of Capon's earliest, but bundled together, edited, and some new "preface" type content added as originally these were penned in 60s/70s, but this 3 volume bundle published in the mid 90s.
It's hard to quantify the content -- one review I read on the internet somewhere else described it as "teaching theology without teaching theology, by quirky metaphors and quaint reflections". And indeed, that is an apt description, but there is more to it than that. If you can look past the whimsical old-school vernacular, there is unbounded treasure within Capon's words. And there is quite a bit that flew over my head, or past my nose, and I will have to devour this text again. But when I do connect with Capon's framing of the Mystery of Christ, my head starts spinning and I feel like I've stumbled onto a glorious, joyous sight.
It's actually a trilogy of books, some of Capon's earliest, but bundled together, edited, and some new "preface" type content added as originally these were penned in 60s/70s, but this 3 volume bundle published in the mid 90s.
It's hard to quantify the content -- one review I read on the internet somewhere else described it as "teaching theology without teaching theology, by quirky metaphors and quaint reflections". And indeed, that is an apt description, but there is more to it than that. If you can look past the whimsical old-school vernacular, there is unbounded treasure within Capon's words. And there is quite a bit that flew over my head, or past my nose, and I will have to devour this text again. But when I do connect with Capon's framing of the Mystery of Christ, my head starts spinning and I feel like I've stumbled onto a glorious, joyous sight.
June 26, 2012
Ummm. It was certainly different. It took me a while to catch on to the style, and understand where the book was heading. But as it developed, it made me think... about life, and about our relationships, and about what is most important in life. I need that.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews