Literary faith from Dostoevsky to Marilynne Robinson

I went to seminary because of a class I took on theology and literature. I’d studied history and theology, but it was reading fiction and poetry by Flannery O’Connor, Frederick Buechner, and Walker Percy that made me want to dive into the life of God and share God’s life with others.

It has surprised me since then how difficult it is to share literary insights as part of the life of the church. To quote a literary source in a sermon takes too much  explanation. It often comes across as highbrow, pompous, or out of touch. The daring preacher who braves all those shoals and goes ahead with a literary vignette is likely to see it dissolve in her hands. It is difficult to write about other people’s writings about God and not sound like a crackling radio. Occasionally the gist comes through, but it’s hard to listen to.

Somehow Richard Harries has done better than this. The former bishop of Oxford in the Church of England has written a compilation of engagements with literary figures from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Marilynne Robinson, and every single chapter seems fresh and inviting. I learned about authors of whom I had never heard, and I learned new things about authors I’ve read backward and forward.