Tortured Wonders: Christian Spirituality for People, Not Angels

A 2004 Publishers Weekly Book of the Year; 2004 Quills Award Nominee &quotReal redemption involves both body and soul. Clapp not only understands this doctrinal truth but profoundly grasps how popular culture has profoundly caused us to miss it in our churches. . . . Clapp’s style is insightful, earthy, and astute. He knows how to explore complex issues in ways that always make his ruminations fresh.&quot--ACT 3 Review Poet George Herbert marveled that the human being is &quotonce a poor creature, now a wonder . . . tortur’d in the space/Betwixt this world and that of grace.&quot In Tortured Wonders, Rodney Clapp takes up the topic of embodied Christian spirituality with poetic intelligence and flair. With wisdom and flashes of humor, he reminds us that we are &quotin-between&quot creatures--neither entirely body nor entirely spirit, neither apes nor angels. Tortured Wonders begins by showing how orthodox Christian spirituality &quotnever gives up on the body.&quot Clapp addresses the incarnation of Christ and the resurrection of the body, as well as the place of sacraments in Christian spirituality. Later, Clapp conjures pop-culture figures and narratives, namely Elvis and Bambi, to explore the spiritual consequences of our contemporary phobia about death and obsession with spectacle and celebrity. He calls us to embrace our creatureliness through a string of irresistible topics: Is there sex in heaven? What is the most &quotbiblical&quot posture for prayer? What can we learn from non-Christian spiritual traditions? Pastors, counselors, and anyone interested in Christian spirituality will appreciate this lucid and insightful book.