The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Paperback) by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department's curriculum. Then, in her late 30's, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down--the idea that Christianity, a religion she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was. That idea seemed to fly in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a train wreck at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could.

This expanded edition includes more than 50 pages of additional content, including: two open letters from Rosaria, Pastor Ken G. Smith's story of reaching out to Rosaria, Pastor Kent Butterfield's testimony of Christian hospitality, FAQs, psalms to sing, and more.

Title

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
Author(s)

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
ISBN

9781884527807
Format

Paperback
Publisher

Crown and Covenant
Topic

Gender & Sexuality
Audience

Adults
Pages

192
Published

01/01/2015

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey. Rosaria is married to Kent, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina, and is a homeschool mother, author, and speaker.

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Overall rating

4.0 based on 1 review

From lesbian activist to Reformed pastor's wife

13 words: Post-modern, lesbian activist, university English professor becomes Reformed Christian homeschooling pastor’s wife. Intrigued yet? There is so much to love and so much to learn from this book. One of the biggest lessons is in how God got the attention of this professor. After she wrote an article in the local paper critiquing Promise Keepers she “received so many letters… I kept empty Xerox paper boxes on both sides of my desk, one for hate mail, and one for fan mail.” But one of the letters she received wasn’t so easy to categorize. It was from a Reformed pastor, and instead of commending or condemning her, it was “a kind, inquiring letter.” The pastor wanted to know “how did you arrive at your interpretation? How do you know you are right? Do you believe in God?” The letter concluded by inviting “me to call its author to discuss these ideas more fully.” After a week of repeatedly throwing out the letter and then digging it back out of the recycling that’s what she did. As you might expect from an English professor the writing is delightful. She is also no quiet convert, and her pointed questions uncover wonderful Christian truths but also unmask the shallowness and hypocrisy that is such a prevalent part of the Church. One caution: In the course of her conversion the author is confronted with, and takes on so many different theological issues (adoption, homeschooling, the Regulative Principle, etc.) it’s likely readers will find some point on which they disagree. But for a discerning adult, that is a minor issue. And to them this book is highly recommended.

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