Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars
| PentecostalTheology.com
566
Book Reviews
Kate Bowler,Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved (New York,
NY: Random House, 2018). 178 pp. $26.00 hardback.
Kate Bowler’s memoir Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved chronicles Bowler’s experiences of a sudden Stage IV cancer diagno- sis and her confrontation with the questions of theodicy. Woven through her narrative is the deconstruction of American prosperity theology and the recon- struction of a practical theodicy. Moving beyond a facile “everything happens for a reason,” Bowler creates a middle ground between a passive utter reliance on God and a heroic effort characterized by unending striving.
Bowler’s preface introduces her story and highlights the major themes of the memoir. As she describes her diagnosis and treatment, she engages with the focus of her own academic career—the prosperity gospel, which she describes as a theology that solves the problem of evil by claiming that as an individ- ual’s faith in Christ grows, God rewards the believer with increasing health and wealth. Although many Christians ridicule prosperity adherents, Bowler pinpoints the ways in which she—and other Americans—have accessed pros- perity teachings to explain evil and to gain self-determination.
Chapter 1, “Diagnosis,” contrasts her sudden cancer diagnosis and immedi- ate surgery with popular Christian conceptions of fairness and the American dream. Readers, particularly undergraduates, will appreciate the way Bowler articulates what college students often wonder: “Does God even care” about my life (7)? That question, unanswered, looms large over the rest of the book. Chapter 2, “Object Lesson,” flashes back to when Bowler faced numbness in her limbs, which quickly became the “object” of prosperity queries about her spiritual shortcomings. Bowler considers whether health and prosperity really demonstrate a life headed in the right direction, and she asks, “what if rich did not have to mean wealthy, and whole did not have to mean healed?” (21). While readers familiar with prosperity gospel theology will appreciate Bowler’s ability to humanize these beliefs, those unfamiliar could miss the richness of Bowler’s critique of the prosperity gospel and her ingenuity in creating a prac- tical theodicy. Readers in the latter category would do well to read these chap- ters alongside Bowler’s first book, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel(Oxford, 2018), to gain a deeper understanding of her constructive work.
In Chapters 3 and 4, readers familiar with the prosperity gospel will rec- ognize common themes such as sowing “seed faith,” which Bowler contrasts with her experiences of sickness before cancer. Chapter 5 shifts to what Bowler describes as her “new cancer life” (55). Confronting her own mortality, Bowler starts to find a middle ground between surrender, which means acknowledging her lack of control, and “heroic self-rule,” which requires she continue work-
PNEUMA
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/15700747-04004007
1
Book Reviews
567
ing full days while undergoing chemotherapy and refusing to ask for help (87). This tension continues in Chapter 6, “Christmas Cheer,” where, as the church prepares for the birth of a savior, Bowler determines to save herself (105).
Throughout her diagnosis and treatment, Bowler wrestles with the advice volunteeredbywell-intentionedpeople.Chapter7detailstheresponsesBowler receives from her New York Times op-ed, “Death, the Prosperity Gospel, and Me,” after which she received hundreds of emails, letters, and videos. Here, Bowleridentifiesthreemainresponses:theMinimizersthinksheshouldaccept the illness without complaint, the Teachers examine the educational aspects of her experiences, and the Solutions people recommend smiling and continuing onward. This taxonomy is especially helpful to pastoral caregivers and to self- reflective readers.
Some readers may be distracted by Bowler’s chapter 8, “Restoration,” in which she takes up cursing for Lent. In the Christian tradition, Lent is a time of solemn reflection on mortality. This liturgical moment is of particular import for Bowler: “I am facing death and the church has demanded that, for the forty days of Lent, everyone stares it down with me” (133). But she is frustrated by Christians who focus instead on self-improvement and anticipate Christ’s res- urrection well before Easter Sunday. Readers offended by Bowler’s language might remember that the biblical text is translated, and in its original language, the Bible is full of profanities (Cf. Melissa Mohr’s Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing, Oxford University Press, 2013). Bowler’s more significant challenge reminds readers that bearing with suffering loved ones will mean being uncom- fortable and perhaps even wanting to (or listening to) them swear. Anger is a stage of grief, and when we push at the limits of language, sometimes that means poetry and sometimes it means profanity
Chapter 9 focuses on living in the space of uncertainty, not just for Lent but for the rest of her life. Bowler contrasts her previous perspective—always look- ing forward to improvement—with her present moment of “keeping vigil in the place of almost death” (147). She confesses her “sin of arrogance, of becom- ing impervious to life itself,” and says that she “failed to love what was present and decided to love what was possible instead” (158). Living in “ordinary time” means living with deep uncertainty. She also finds herself in a place of greater empathy and coaches those who want to encourage their friends and family members with an appendix that identifies eight statements to avoid and six best practices for comforting people going through difficult times.
Bowler’s memoir is a gift to struggling people in that it gives voice to expe- riences of confusion and pain. Ultimately, Bowler’s expertise in the prosperity gospel, coupled with her own ability to reflect critically on her life, calls into question the commonly-held belief that God owes us for our faith and that we
PNEUMA 40 (2018) 563–624
2
568
Book Reviews
are one magic formula away from controlling our destiny. Bowler asks read- ers to abandon these ideas: “Plans are made. Plans come apart … And nothing human or divine will map out this life …” (161).
Bowler’s writing style is accessible, witty, and always respectful of both those who embrace the prosperity gospel and those who do not. Her memoir is an excellent addition to university and seminary courses on theodicy and pas- toral care, and it will resonate with all levels of college and graduate students. Her narrative will also find a home in churches and Bible studies, as people of the Christian faith continue to struggle with the realities of suffering. Her work validates readers’ experiences that life can be simultaneously beautiful and dif- ficult, making it a good addition to personal libraries as well. Readers will find comfort in her invitation to question the lies that they loved, and many will seek to join her in a space where both doubt and faith in God coexist.
Katy Attanasi
Independent Scholar, Bowling Green, Kentucky [email protected]
Melanie Trexler
Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia [email protected]
PNEUMA 40 (2018) 563–624
3
