277 - Church in Frenzy

Church in Frenzy
By William V. Rauscher
New York, St. Martin's, 1980. 146 pp. $9.95.

This work, purporting to present "honest reporting" meant to provide "intelligent individuals" with "the whole picture of the church today in a comprehensive way" (pp. 1-2), is just an annotated list of grievances, which the author handles in a way likely to embarrass more thoughtful conservatives. Almost uniformly, his sensationalist style presents neither cogent argument nor coherent detail. Obviously opposed to the ordination of women, liturgical revision, charismatic renewal, etc., ad nauseum, this Episcopal priest has written a caricature which the publishers hope will pass for a portrait.

The real point of the book apparently is to make the author feel better for having unloaded his views upon an unsuspecting world-an aim accomplished when the book was published. I read it because this brief note had to be written. If you, however, are under no such constraint, I would suggest you read almost anything else.

William S. Adams
Vancouver School of Theology
Vancouver, B.C.