Father Joe is a religious book with a very human side, a biography of sorts whose main character comes in late and only dots the printed landscape intermittently but is the one person who makes the story worth reading slowly and more than once.

If you are denominationally minded but disenchanted by sectarianism you will love this book. If you are on the outside religiously but maintain a distant interest, you’ll find Father Joe compelling. He gives new hope to those still looking. He clarifies the issues, brightens the image of religion and puts a human, yet truthful face on truth.

He’s universal. Whatever your background you will relate to Father Joe.

This book illustrates the difficulties of combining divine and human realities. In true satirical manner the technicalities of Christian theology is juxtaposed with human frailty demonstrating the discord between the two but without the insult.

Lots of humor and very entertaining – at times Monty Python-ish – but mostly an honest, sometimes humble look at the struggle to mesh bare truth with experience. Although written from a Catholic perspective, verities embraced by all Christians are featured: selfishness is sinful, forgiveness is needed, penance has many forms, sex is a healthy reality and so on. [Read more…] about Book Review: “Father Joe”