Rating: 
Summary: This book and astrology
Review: Several of the reviews have mentioned astrology in relation to this book. Don't let this put you off. It's only mentioned briefly in one chapter, and only then because the author's wife is an astrologer. People are making a mountain out of a molehill.Unfortunately this book only managed a three star rating for me. The fictionalized discussion group chapters dragged the whole book down.
Rating: 
Summary: Very thought provoking
Review: This book was one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read on Christian theology. I read it my freshman year in college, shortly after I had renounced religion. Capon attacked all the elements of religion that I attacked but he answered all of the arguments. I may not have rediscovered religion from Capon's book, but it helped me to rediscover God.
Rating:
Summary: Its hard to categorize this book!
Review: With his characteristic wit, humour, digression and depth, Robert Ferrar Capon has delivered another book centred about grace. In his always inimitable way, Capon is able to present an old theme in a new way, using various writing styles and techniques to get his point across. Having read "From noon to Three" and this book, clearly Capon wants to emphasize - no, pound into your head - the idea that God has done it all, that grace is free, that God simply does not see our sin anymore. He must have quoted the verse "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" and it is the entire world who is in Christ, and we are in Him. This is part of the mystery. As a pastoral tool Capon's perspective is refreshing and greatly needed in our works-loving, bookkeeping Church. Capon writes like a prophet, warning us that we fall too easily into the danger of thinking we have to "do" something. I also enjoyed his discussion of ways that we can view the resurrection. This was an education and well thought-out section of the book. Of course, I have a "but"....I was continually uncomfortable with Capon's approach which, while he claims is theological, often plays fast and loose with the Bible. He was unconvincing in his analysis of the sheep and the goats parable. Moreover, I did not appreciate his several jabs at Bonheoffer, nor his implication that the "medieval" theology of Luther and Calvin, qua medieval theology, was unacceptable. Capon claims that, instead, he is more "biblical" - a term too often bandied about these days. He speaks near the end of ways that our lives need to be, not acceptable to, but "congruent" to the mystery of Christ. And this would seem to me to mean that congruent should be biblical, but no....instead it is okay to practice astrology as if it gave us even the "weather" of things. Meanwhile the bible specifically indicates that it is not a godly practice. How is it then congruent that his wife is a practicing professional astrologer? No, I do not "condemn" her for it, only to question how he can make this claim. Given that Luther has expounded so well on the grace of God, I think Capon takes it too far somehow and goes somewhere that is not warranted. Now, if he read this, he would think that I was falling back into "medieval" or "works" theology. No, I just am not convinced that what he argues is fully biblical. It's not that I want grace to cost anything, just that I think he is not convincing.
Rating:
Summary: Its hard to categorize this book!
Review: With his characteristic wit, humour, digression and depth, Robert Ferrar Capon has delivered another book centred about grace. In his always inimitable way, Capon is able to present an old theme in a new way, using various writing styles and techniques to get his point across. Having read "From noon to Three" and this book, clearly Capon wants to emphasize - no, pound into your head - the idea that God has done it all, that grace is free, that God simply does not see our sin anymore. He must have quoted the verse "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" and it is the entire world who is in Christ, and we are in Him. This is part of the mystery. As a pastoral tool Capon's perspective is refreshing and greatly needed in our works-loving, bookkeeping Church. Capon writes like a prophet, warning us that we fall too easily into the danger of thinking we have to "do" something. I also enjoyed his discussion of ways that we can view the resurrection. This was an education and well thought-out section of the book. Of course, I have a "but"....I was continually uncomfortable with Capon's approach which, while he claims is theological, often plays fast and loose with the Bible. He was unconvincing in his analysis of the sheep and the goats parable. Moreover, I did not appreciate his several jabs at Bonheoffer, nor his implication that the "medieval" theology of Luther and Calvin, qua medieval theology, was unacceptable. Capon claims that, instead, he is more "biblical" - a term too often bandied about these days. He speaks near the end of ways that our lives need to be, not acceptable to, but "congruent" to the mystery of Christ. And this would seem to me to mean that congruent should be biblical, but no....instead it is okay to practice astrology as if it gave us even the "weather" of things. Meanwhile the bible specifically indicates that it is not a godly practice. How is it then congruent that his wife is a practicing professional astrologer? No, I do not "condemn" her for it, only to question how he can make this claim. Given that Luther has expounded so well on the grace of God, I think Capon takes it too far somehow and goes somewhere that is not warranted. Now, if he read this, he would think that I was falling back into "medieval" or "works" theology. No, I just am not convinced that what he argues is fully biblical. It's not that I want grace to cost anything, just that I think he is not convincing.
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