Flirting with Monasticism: Finding God on Ancient Paths

Beth Slevcove

"As Karen Sloan takes us into the hallowed hallways of a Catholic Dominican community through the hallowed hallways of her own seeking heart, she unearths priceless treasures from our ancient Christian past. Flirting with Monasticism is a wonderful guidebook that calls us to be rooted in our own traditions and open to the God who expands our hearts and minds, and leads us through uncharted terrain toward fullness of life."

Phyllis Tickle

"I have never read a gentler, more fully human or more candid story about the intersection of evangelical and Catholic ways of being the body of Christ on earth. Our tradition would be well served if there were more such stories and such Christian candor."

Brian McLaren

"Karen Sloan is an emerging leader whose honest voice, thoughtful insight, personal vulnerability and theological generosity deserve respect and careful attention. Many sincere followers of Christ will, like me, feel a deep resonance as they read Karen's story of coming of age in the context of passionate spiritual aspiration."

Publishers Weekly

Readers from an evangelical background who want some sense of the riches of liturgical traditions, particularly Roman Catholicism, will find an apt guide in Sloan, a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary who is a Presbyterian campus minister. Having grown up in a megachurch, she writes of finding herself drawn to the Dominicans. Part of the appeal is her romantic attraction to a male novice in training to enter the Dominican Order. Readers who understand the vows monks take will probably grow weary of Sloan's unrequited infatuation and apparent lack of realization that the relationship is a dead-end. That aside, Sloan is an excellent translator of Roman Catholicism for evangelical readers. The book, which reads like a blog, explores areas where evangelicals may feel at home with monasticism (community life) as well as with practices that feel foreign (praying to the saints and the Virgin Mary). She reflects early on about being an outsider and getting little help learning Catholic traditions, but the year she spent "flirting with monasticism" left her with a deep appreciation of things Catholic, especially those related to contemplative life and practices. Young evangelicals, particularly those who self-identify with the emerging church movement, will find her narrative intriguing. (Dec.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.