Rowan Williams’s “Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer”
Good morning to my literate fallen angels! What’s up? Lol So today I wanted to take a short break from poetry to do a review on this book my priest gave me. I finished reading it over a week ago but I got so caught up in my poetic injustice that it totally slipped my mind until now. Anyway, the title of the book is the same as the title of this post so no need to repeat myself. There were only four chapters and 80 pages altogether so it was quite an easy read. Baptism. Bible. Eucharist. Prayer. You probably noticed me using these four terms in my previous posts as of late. I’m not sure that someone born into Christianity is supposed to go in the same order as I stated or if it’s in a random sequence. Regardless I definitely didn’t go in order. I thought Baptism was a way to cleanse my spirit of sin but it’s much more than that. Williams’ ideals on Baptism were that it’s a way to allow the Holy Spirit to enter your life to accept that we are all suffering one way or another but we should acknowledge it and be there for one another. The text font and size made it even easier to comprehend what he was saying. Bible was the name of the second chapter. I thought the Bible was a collection of stories about the past when Jesus was still around but by reading Being Christian, I now realize that was the tip of the Iceberg. The Bible is a book of revelations which are basically all the trials and tribulations a person is destined to go through one way or another. It’s not about the confusing family trees or the hard-to-pronounce names. But it’s about putting yourself in the characters’ shoes. It’s about handling situations of all sorts. Everything that happens in our lives happened to our ancestors and the generations before us as well as future generations. Love. Heartbreak. Corruption. Betrayal. Family quarrels. Adultery. Politics. That list literally goes on and on. Check out my older post: Life is a play! I usually don’t use the word literally unless the situation calls for it and this one certainly does. I learned in the third chapter that Eucharist is not for a select group of chosen people but a way to imitate and symbolize the Last Supper. Bread is His body, Wine is His blood. We “feast” as a way to appreciate Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. I notice from personal experience that a priest doesn’t let you partake in the “feast” unless you’ve been Baptized. I always have to cross my arms over my chest until I get Baptized sometime in November. It’s better than being completely left out. Prayer is the last chapter and it had me improving the way I pray. It’s not about talking to God directly but talking to Him through Jesus. For Jesus was God in human form as a way to prove to mankind that he was real. Before Christ, barely anyone believed in God but they couldn’t see him for themselves. Gratitude. Forgiveness. Blessing. Some reasons prayer is done. I enjoyed reading this book and I will treasure it always. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter and the margined quotes that stood out from the reading made it easier for me to focus and comprehend what each chapter was really about. Overall, I would give this book a 4.5/5. Now I know for sure what it takes to be Christian. If I came across as preachy or Jehovah-witnessy, I apologize for this nuisance. But it’s a book review and if you don’t want to be preached then don’t see it that way. I love you all, my fallen angels! In every passage in the Bible, love always conquers all forms of evil. So let’s stop being negative and open ourselves up to new experiences and ideas. Get to know one another as much as possible. No gossip or digging for dirt on each other, but really allow yourself to understand how another person views the world and their beliefs. Agree to disagree. Have a wonderful day! Over and out.
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