OnlineBookClub.org
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
At first, I had a question in my mind if the book tells the teachings of the Catholic Church or if it was a personal belief of Mr. John Servant about the case of criminal confessions that became a big controversial issue. It interests me to search more on the Catholic ordinance that forbids a Pastor to reveal personal confession and priest-penitent privilege. Wikipedia conveys that; this priest-penitent privilege is not only for Catholics but also for all religious leaders in the U.S. This priest-penitent privilege has been debatable, described in the book (page 23-24). It is a simple story, yet complex with lots of conviction shared. I see that the book Always Before Me by Mr. John Servant portrays the similarity of the life of Father Paul as its main character with the life of Jesus in terms of being treated unjustly. Tragically, the killer did not heed the advice(Page 9-10). On the other hand, Father Paul has obliged to defend the killer.
Positively the book explains how life as a Christian is not an easy way of life. The Cross of Jesus shows how unjust Christian life could be. Jesus himself stated in the Bible of book Matthew 16 verse 24, Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (NIV). Gladly, I found no profanity words in addition to sexual content is minimal (scale - 1).
Negatively, in my personal opinion, the book can mislead people of Christianity by disobeying those in authority. I believe the Bible does not contradict itself. When Church policy can lead to the contradiction with the teaching of the Bible, we should always follow the Bible. The Bible states in Romans 13:1-2, Every person should obey the government in power. No government would have come about had it been allowed by God. The governments which exist have been put in place by God. Therefore, whoever resists the government opposes what God has established. Those who resist will bring punishment on themselves. (GOD’S WORD® TRANSLATION). The book also describes a corrupt authority from a pulpit that makes Christians think negatively against officials, which is not a Christian job. (Page 64, 73). My conviction based on the Bible scripture above, the Church should reconsider its rules that might cause this controversial issue. The book has a different point of view that I can understand.
Regardless of my personal belief, this book can inspire people to be better Catholic or Christian. Therefore, I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.
Lastly, I recommend this book for religious people to understand better the hard decision made because of a controversy between Government Law and so-called Church Law. I recommend this book for Christian politicians and government officials for them to be able to understand how to avoid corrupt authority.
******
Always Before Me
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
