Using a variety of writing styles - movie script, dialogue, parable, letter, and his typically sparkling prose - Capon discusses religion and happiness in the light of "holy luck." the notion that God uses chance as his normal device for running the world and establishing his relationship with us. Blending his own experiences with ideas from a wide range of authorities, including Augustine. Dame Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Chesterton, and Charles Williams, Capon challenges us to rethink our conception of God, our values, and our entire lives.
"Robert Capon, a maverick writer who explains traditional Christian teaching with freshness and unexpected insights, uses a mixture of genres to reveal how deeply the pursuit of health, money, and love has become a religious force shaping our lives and depriving us of deeper satisfactions. He then reveals how...genuine Christianity is a lot more fun - pointing, as it does, toward a God who creates in play and in love and who uses luck, suffering and human involvement to create a wonderful, serendipitous world. Highly recommended." - Library Journal
"Here he goes again! Applying his sharp justification-by-faith scalpel to overblown 'religion,' Robert Capon cuts to the heart of the gospel. Here is theology as fun - outrageous, irreverent fun in service of gospel truth." -- WILLIAM H. WILLIMON
"A deliciously delightful work by an inventive and entertaining author.... Capon sings of God's radical grace which is the alternative for true happiness. Capon is a gem, uncut, but still brilliant, and this work continues to both delight and inspire!" - Lutheran Partners
ROBERT FARRAR CAPON is an Episcopal priest and the author of many books, including The Mystery of Christ and a trilogy on Jesus' parables - The Parables of the Kingdom, The Parables of Grace, and The Parables of Judgment.
Table of Contents
I) The Pursuit of Happiness1 Movie 3 2 Dialogue 12 3 Interlude 26 4 Story 41 II) The Course of the Pursuit5 Childhood 59 6 Childhood: More 73 7 Romance 99 8 Romance: Further 124 9 Vocation 139 10 Well-Being 154 11 Postscript 165 12 Epilogue 176