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Author: Gene Robinson
Publisher: Seabury Books
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $15.68
You Save: $9.32 (37%)
New (24) Used (6) from $15.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 32128
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1596270888
Dewey Decimal Number: 283.092
EAN: 9781596270886
ASIN: 1596270888
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wake up and smell the coffee! June 27, 2008
Outstanding reading. Bishop Robinson combines his knowledge of things biblical with compassion and wit; honesty and reverence. This mans gift of humaneness, logic and loving leadership are outstanding. To those dedicated but errant followers of the old way I say, "Wake up and smell the coffee." This is our chance to be part of a challenginly new and honestly loving rebirth of our church..
 Sobering memoir June 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Gene Robinson is known worldwide for one thing - his sexuality - and this book seeks to show that his ministry is rather more than just being part of the storm over gay priests in the Anglican church. The book is a series of reflections on different aspects of ministry, not offered in any particularly logical order but growing out of his experiences as a priest and then bishop over three decades. It's not an autobiography and there are many parts of his life alluded to but not really explained; instead he uses the pages to show how people's attitudes towards gay and lesbian people can be similar to those towards women, non-whites and disabled people, and how difficult it is to know, if we are part of a majority group, what it's like to be in the minority and how hard it can be to be treated fairly.
What's remarkable about the book is the way in which Gene Robinson does not come across as bitter against his many detractors; he sees his ministry as the most important and overriding thing, such as in the local women's prison where he is a regular visitor. The final chapter, discussing the forthcoming Lambeth concert in 2008, is a plea for those in the church to genuinely listen to lesbian and gay members but is a plea that appears to have fallen on deaf ears. This is a sobering and at times moving book which doesn't really seek to discuss the issue of homosexuality and the Bible per se, but more looks at congregations in the church, Jesus's words that all are welcome, the difficulties for homosexual people within the church and the need for genuine discussion about the issues.
A Must Read! June 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
No matter what one's personal feelings are about the ordination of an openly gay bishop, I believe that it is important for each of us to know something about the life and beliefs of the man who is at the center of the controversy in the Episcopal Church. This book reveals Bishop Robinson's strong, Biblically based faith which has led him to a life of love and service, including outreach to the disenfranchised. He has shown the remarkable ability to understand and forgive his enemies, many of whom are within the church.
I have reviewed and recommended this book for my own parish and for friends and relatives. I am a grandmother and long-time Episcopalian.
Inspired words from someone all-too-human June 13, 2008
Bishop Robinson's memoir is highly inspiring. While he includes reviews of the transformative times of his life, he devotes a majority of this book to discussions regarding his church and social justice. He is an enlightened advocate for marriage equality - and human decency.
When I saw the Forward was written by Desmond Tutu, I knew that one of Jesus's disciples was sharing his life, beliefs, and values.
The Bishop's Tale June 9, 2008
Robinson, Gene. "In the Eye of the Storm:: Swept to the Center by God", Seabury Books, 2008.
The Bishop's Tale
Amos Lassen
We knew that this book would be coming---after all, Gene Robinson's election to an Episcopal Bishopric was big news. Robinson moved into a stormy controversy when he consented to his election as the ninth Anglican bishop of the diocese of New Hampshire in 2003. He became the leader in the most controversial issue in Christianity today as an openly gay man.
I was expecting to get a bit of a personal look at Robinson in his book but in actuality there is very little. We do learn that he came from a poor, religious and uneducated family somewhere in rural Kentucky. We learn that he had been married and fathered two children, that he had a bout with alcoholism and we hear about his 20 year commitment with is present partner, Mark Andrews, but that is about it and we heard all of that on news reports. He is, after all, the first openly gay bishop and the media has caused him to become a larger-than-life figure, so it is only natural that we would want to know more about him.
There is a great deal that departs from the classic understandings of the doctrines of Christianity and how the Church has interpreted what the Bible says about sexuality. As we all know the Bible has quite a lot to say about many things that I do not necessarily agree with. It certainly justifies racism, slavery and the degradation of women. In the first section of the book is Robinson's defense of homosexuality according to his faith. There is not much new in his arguments, they are the ones we always hear. He claims that most of the Bible's teaching about homosexuality is non-traditional and has been misinterpreted. Robinson says that the Scriptures are not totally free from error. The Old and New Testaments are the word of God but they have been dictated to man and directed through human media.
Robinson's discussion of the vulnerability of sex is the most interesting aspect of the book and his claim that God wants to raise the oppressed gives hope to all.
I found the book to be a bit disjointed--twenty-three short chapters which are more like sermons; there is little if no transition between them. There is really nothing new here and the book only gains power at the end when Robinson writes that we need to live "in communion" with both those that agree and disagree. Have we not always known and done just that?
There is no question in my mind that Robinson has done a great deal for the entire gay community just by allowing himself to be who he is. I may not agree with what he says and I may not find his book to be what I wanted, but I do respect the man. He is fascinating and brave.
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