Scan barcode
A review by vegantrav
Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions by Rachel Held Evans
4.0
Evolving in Monkey Town is a memoir of the author's religious journey from faith and certainty to doubt and openness. The author, Rachel Held Evans, grew up as a conservative Christian, the daughter of a Bible college professor.
As a college student, Evans reflected on the religious diversity of the people of the world and considered the notion that, according to her religious beliefs, only members of her faith would escape hell, and she began to rethink some of the main tenets of her faith. She could not accept the idea that a good and loving God would send so many people to hell.
Evans also began to question other aspects of her faith: its refusal to accept lesbians and gays, its antagonism towards evolution, its political conservatism, etc. Today, she is still a Christian, but she is now a more open-minded, progressive Christian and lacks the absolute certainty that her religious beliefs are right and all others are wrong.
If you grew up, as did I, in the world of fundamentalist Christianity, you will probably recognize many of the experiences that Evans describes. She does a great job of presenting the world of fundamentalism without caricaturing it. She writes with a spirit of charity, and she engages thoughtfully with the controversial issues that she addresses.
I enjoyed this read primarily because I have been on the same spiritual journey as Evans, although, as an atheist now, I have gone much farther with my doubt than Evans has.
As a college student, Evans reflected on the religious diversity of the people of the world and considered the notion that, according to her religious beliefs, only members of her faith would escape hell, and she began to rethink some of the main tenets of her faith. She could not accept the idea that a good and loving God would send so many people to hell.
Evans also began to question other aspects of her faith: its refusal to accept lesbians and gays, its antagonism towards evolution, its political conservatism, etc. Today, she is still a Christian, but she is now a more open-minded, progressive Christian and lacks the absolute certainty that her religious beliefs are right and all others are wrong.
If you grew up, as did I, in the world of fundamentalist Christianity, you will probably recognize many of the experiences that Evans describes. She does a great job of presenting the world of fundamentalism without caricaturing it. She writes with a spirit of charity, and she engages thoughtfully with the controversial issues that she addresses.
I enjoyed this read primarily because I have been on the same spiritual journey as Evans, although, as an atheist now, I have gone much farther with my doubt than Evans has.