In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God by Gene Robinson, Seabury Books, New York, 2008.
I agree with Joan Chittister that this book is grounds for the conversation that most people want and most people need on the subject of what it means to be gay and Christian in both church and society. In the Foreword Bishop Desmond Tutu suggests that Bishop Robinson’s Diocese of New Hampshire would not recognise him in the caricatures that make out he is consumed by the one issue of the acceptance of lgbt (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) persons in the church as full members. It is obvious that Gene cares about so many issues: the Iraq War, and the erosion of citizens’ rights in the wake of the deep anxiety and fear that have characterised U.S. politics. Desmond Tutu draws attention, for example, to Bishop Robinson’s visit every Christmas Eve to the New Hampshire State Prison for Women.
Comments on Biblical themes permeate the book. The last section is partly a comment on the parable of the Good Samaritan. As he travels through the South Pacific, meeting church leaders in different places, I could almost hear the conversations. Sydney wasn’t mentioned by name, but the descriptions were telling. In discussing the parable of the talents, he offers this interpretation:
The Christian life has more to do with investing than with saving, more to do with risking than with protecting, more to do with living with boldness than with proceeding with caution…
Do we know the master? Do we know God as the gracious giver of all blessings, entrusting to us the necessary gifts for an abundant and joyful life? Or are we, as the New England preacher Jonathan Edwards used to say, merely “sinners in the hands of an angry God”? Do we think of ourselves as co-creators with God, using our gifts to be God’s loving arms in the world, no matter the risk or cost?...
What I’ve learned in my life is that abundant and joyful life rarely accompanies “playing it safe.” (pp 88-90)
This is not a heavy book, in ideas or size, but it is useful for deep reflection. It would also be a very good book for a discussion group.