- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; No edition edition (Mar 30 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0864923821
- ISBN-13: 978-0864923820
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #566,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
From the author of the award-winning memoir, A Blue Boy in a Black Dress, this follow-up, subtitled "A Journey Beyond Belief," revisits and continues Rigelhof's story. Written after he suffered a stroke at age 59, the story deals with his experiences as an altar boy in Regina (from the amazingly youthful age of five) through his life at seminary in Saskatoon and Ottawa, his near-suicide, and his present secular life as a college teacher in Montreal, the "city of churches." This tour of the attractions (mostly intellectual) and failings (mostly sexual) of Roman Catholicism includes a wide variety of intriguing topics: Saskatchewan history, the immigration of the Volga Germans to the new world, the nature of dyslexia, the mind of Thomas Merton, the results of Vatican II, the future of charismatic Catholicism, and so on. Portraits of a number of priests he has known are a highlight of the book, as the author provides an excellent depiction of the good and not-so-good men who are drawn to the clerical life, from narrow-minded bishops to tough drill-sergeant types at seminary to softer, gentler souls. Particularly fascinating is Father Kitchen, a teetotaler who brings duty-free booze to his friends and who is in constant conflict with "'Archy'--the archbishop--whom he regarded as arch-enemy and arch demon." The description of this priest's lesson to a farmer who beats his wife is alone worth the price of the book. Nothing Sacred is a smooth, thoughtful read from a literate, intelligent man. --Mark Frutkin
Review
The choice man for reading our society’s erratic spiritual pulse. -- The Montreal Gazette
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2.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
2.0 out of 5 stars
"Nothing Sacred" veneer for religious skepticism, Jan 3 2005
By C. Tropiano - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Nothing Sacred: A Journey Beyond Belief (Paperback)
After watching an interview with Terry Rigelhof, I was convinced his new book was nothing more than a dishonest foray into organized religious practice. At the outset, Mr. Rigelhof has left the Christian faith for what he calls the possibility of "living with a non-traditional faith." This amounts to a euphemism for atheism, and his distaste of Christian denominations is clear, and I would say tragic. In his own personal dilemmas, such as a recent stroke, he fails to realize some of the good that came out of his illness. He readily discounts the benefits that can arise out of difficult situations, opting instead for a materialistic bent on events. What others may call miraculous and providential, Rigelhof simply dscounts as "interesting." He doesn't really mention anything about the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus; should not any cosmological or ontological tests for who God is be based on the founder's claims? Yet, he lays at the feet of church leadership certain epistemological questions that can only be answered by God himself. What appears to be a honest heart felt expression of one's struggles with belief, ends up being a myopic and scattershot criticism of religion, and Christianity in particular. I found this book hard to read because it was too melodramatic, and often to the point of absurdity. Which further points out Mr. Rigelhof's obssession with emotion laden arguments against instutionalized faith, not realizing the subjective foundations of such arguments actually work against him. I certainly think people should read this title, but I would caution against its clever subterfuge of honest inquiry.
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