Rosaria Champagne Butterfield weaves a narrator that hardly any Bible-belt kid could relate to. Nonetheless, the trials she faces and conclusions she comes to by God’s mercy, can relate to every demographic. Her “life commitment to Christ was not merely a philosophical shift,” and “it was not a one-step process”(44), but a destruction of her identity in preparation for God’s design. However, this is not a summary of the book, but rather a review and documented opinion on its contents. Butterfield, in my opinion, has created a novel that flourishes with literary merit and discusses controversial religious beliefs alongside solid theological statements. Butterfield is quick to mention her previous job as a professor at Syracuse; she was one of the leaders in her field of study, applauded by the community for her work, and a credited literary expert. So, …show more content…
This does not mean the reader has to agree with everything she says. For example, I disagree with a big point she chooses to indulge on. Butterfield is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, which is a denomination that believes in the importance of only singing psalms. Her reasoning for her beliefs can be simplified down to sola scriptura, “the authority of scripture “(89). I’m in agreement of sola scriptura as a doctrine but her arguments fall flat in my opinion. First, I feel that her conclusion is drawn too much from sources outside of the Bible. Second, there is no commandment of God to sing only in psalms. The closest anyone will get is Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Besides this opinion, Butterfield makes many points that I firmly agree with, such as “Compassion means ‘with suffering’ and involves entering into suffering of another in order to lead the way out” (144), and “Mercy ministry always comes down to this: you can help, but only Jesus can heal,” (146) to name a few. While some of her theological points aren’t very sound, many more