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Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints
Saints are not born, they are made. And many, as Saints Behaving Badly reveals, were made of very rough materials indeed. The first book to lay bare the less than saintly behavior of thirty-two venerated holy men and women, it presents the scandalous, spicy, and sleazy detours they took on the road to sainthood.
In nineteenth- and twentieth-century writings about the lives of the saints, authors tended to go out of their way to sanitize their stories, often glossing over the more embarrassing cases with phrases such as, “he/she was once a great sinner.” In the early centuries of the Church and throughout the Middle Ages, however, writers took a more candid and spirited approach to portraying the saints. Exploring sources from a wide range of periods and places, Thomas Craughwell discovered a veritable rogues gallery of sinners-turned-saint. There’s St. Olga, who unleashed a bloodbath on her husband’s assassins; St. Mary of Egypt, who trolled the streets looking for new sexual conquests; and Thomas Becket, who despite his vast riches refused to give his cloak to a man freezing to death in the street.
Written with wit and respect (each profile ends with what inspired the saint to give up his or her wicked ways) and illustrated with amusing caricatures, Saints Behaving Badly will entertain, inform, and even inspire Catholic readers across America.
In nineteenth- and twentieth-century writings about the lives of the saints, authors tended to go out of their way to sanitize their stories, often glossing over the more embarrassing cases with phrases such as, “he/she was once a great sinner.” In the early centuries of the Church and throughout the Middle Ages, however, writers took a more candid and spirited approach to portraying the saints. Exploring sources from a wide range of periods and places, Thomas Craughwell discovered a veritable rogues gallery of sinners-turned-saint. There’s St. Olga, who unleashed a bloodbath on her husband’s assassins; St. Mary of Egypt, who trolled the streets looking for new sexual conquests; and Thomas Becket, who despite his vast riches refused to give his cloak to a man freezing to death in the street.
Written with wit and respect (each profile ends with what inspired the saint to give up his or her wicked ways) and illustrated with amusing caricatures, Saints Behaving Badly will entertain, inform, and even inspire Catholic readers across America.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
March 23, 2014
I blame Richard Burton for my interest in saint-o-logy. His performance in the screen version of Becket wakened me to the idea that hedonists could eventually be recognized as Saints. Suddenly, a whole new world of history opened up which is why this book joined my collection. Listing specific saints and providing a brief biography for each one, the author keeps the reader involved, even though I was a bit disgusted by some of these historical figures.
The focus of the book is to look at how these Saints acted before they became sainted. It's rather like corporate life today. Each Saint is provided with a moniker, such as:
St. Matthew - Extortionist
St. Christopher - Servant of the Devil
St. Alipius - Obsessed with Blood Sports
This makes for a good lunchbreak read and also gives me hope that St. Peter will punch my ticket when I am called.
Book Season = Year Round
The focus of the book is to look at how these Saints acted before they became sainted. It's rather like corporate life today. Each Saint is provided with a moniker, such as:
St. Matthew - Extortionist
St. Christopher - Servant of the Devil
St. Alipius - Obsessed with Blood Sports
This makes for a good lunchbreak read and also gives me hope that St. Peter will punch my ticket when I am called.
Book Season = Year Round
May 4, 2008
This book is more interesting than the "Lives of the Saints" I read as a boy in Catholic school, giving a picture of saints as real people, not just angels without wings. Reading Saints Behaving Badly, one can imagine that some of these folks would have been hard to live with, let alone love. I do wish, though, that more detail had be given on the conversions these saints experienced. Those must have been profound and moving experiences, but it's hard to get that feeling here.
January 5, 2012
Informative book that tells the life of a few saints before they were holy people. It made me think about the ethics behind redemption. Some of the saints were murderers and thieves; yes they converted, but by today's standards, someone like them would never be forgiven by society. So, by today's standards, should we still look at them as saints, or should we change the way we look at today's ex-felons? Also, if someone like them became saints, is there still hope for someone like us? Read this book to get a more detailed account of what some of these saints did.
recommended
May 6, 2008Krista the Krazy Kataloguer says, "Cathy, this is an entertaining book which some may take to be putting down the saints. However, when I read it I marveled that people so bad could make such a turn-around in their lives and become so good. I took it as a tribute to the power of goodness!"
Thanks Krista! I can already guess who some of the saints were -- or should I say "are"! Despite the provocative title, I 'get' it and you're right, Good is stronger than evil and will always win out.
Thanks Krista! I can already guess who some of the saints were -- or should I say "are"! Despite the provocative title, I 'get' it and you're right, Good is stronger than evil and will always win out.
August 27, 2015
Saints are pretty awesome. The idea of a host of people too numerous to count who do nothing except worship God and pray for everyone who’s not in heaven definitely gives me comfort. When you’re too busy to pray, ask the saints to pray for you. When your prayer needs an extra boost, ask the saints to chip in, too. When you wander astray, ask for the help of the saints who had the same problems.
Read the rest at Austin Catholic New Media.
Read the rest at Austin Catholic New Media.
February 9, 2017
This book was ....awkward. For one I had the wrong idea going into it. I thought it was more historical based. Like the books about kings and queens detailing how horrible people could be in history. This was not that.
For one it's written by someone who clearly believes the stories about the saints rather then someone writing down just the facts from history. Which I found uncomfortable. It helped for a bit when I decided to treat this as a book of folklore. But that was also hard because raised Catholic I have trouble distancing myself from stuff like this.
I also thought it should have been more impartial. There was a lot of judgement and yet a lot of horrible things were passed over because hey, it was done for religion so that's good.
All in all, it had some good facts buried in the storytelling nature of it and I'm now reminded that my religion had schisms with popes and antipopes (antipopes, how hilarious is that?) which makes me want to go find some actual history books that will tell me about them.
In short, not the historical look at Catholic saints that I had hoped for. Which is a shame because I really like saints? There's so many of them and they were pretty much worshiped instead of gods when the religion was in its early stages and they had gruesome deaths. Someone write the horrible history book of saints, I want to know the gruesome bits without being preached at.
For one it's written by someone who clearly believes the stories about the saints rather then someone writing down just the facts from history. Which I found uncomfortable. It helped for a bit when I decided to treat this as a book of folklore. But that was also hard because raised Catholic I have trouble distancing myself from stuff like this.
I also thought it should have been more impartial. There was a lot of judgement and yet a lot of horrible things were passed over because hey, it was done for religion so that's good.
All in all, it had some good facts buried in the storytelling nature of it and I'm now reminded that my religion had schisms with popes and antipopes (antipopes, how hilarious is that?) which makes me want to go find some actual history books that will tell me about them.
In short, not the historical look at Catholic saints that I had hoped for. Which is a shame because I really like saints? There's so many of them and they were pretty much worshiped instead of gods when the religion was in its early stages and they had gruesome deaths. Someone write the horrible history book of saints, I want to know the gruesome bits without being preached at.
January 27, 2009
Interesting enough... but I would have preferred some more modern saints. Each saint gets a brief bio covering a couple small pages. Most of the saints are pre-1500s and as such have quite.. dramatized? lives. I think most of it is the stuff of legends, so I would have preferred saints who were post-1600 who we knew more facts about and could perhaps better relate to. A warning: this book is obviously written for a Catholic audience, so those unfamiliar with Catholic terminology could be confused. Also, I didn't approve of the way the author sometimes talked about other denominations. i.e. "winning back people from the Protestant Reformation."
It's a quick read and good for reading about one or two saints a day. I was introduced to some saints I'd never heard of (in fact, I had not heard of many of the saints in this book). St Peter Claver was very intriguing to me. I'd like to find more on him.
It's a quick read and good for reading about one or two saints a day. I was introduced to some saints I'd never heard of (in fact, I had not heard of many of the saints in this book). St Peter Claver was very intriguing to me. I'd like to find more on him.
December 12, 2013
Excellent "random" find at the library!
This tells the stories behind a score of saints "before they were saints".
It helps put a little more human flesh onto the "saintly" pictures we grew up with - we get to hear about the murderous deeds of some Ukrainian/Viking monarchs; the financial cheats and scandals prior to eventually being elevated to the episcopacy (or even papacy); the jealousies and rumor-mongering that would plague otherwise intelligent and devout people; and, above all, the graces and life-transformations that turn these horrible people into the heroes of our faith.
Each chapter is a mini-biography of a saint, so they can be read as short stories, a single chapter at a time (even bouncing around, if you so wish), although a few are actually interconnected (e.g., a pope and his anti-pope; a queen and her grandson, etc.).
Highly recommended for anyone who feels like they cannot measure up and be a saint (in other words, everyone!).
This tells the stories behind a score of saints "before they were saints".
It helps put a little more human flesh onto the "saintly" pictures we grew up with - we get to hear about the murderous deeds of some Ukrainian/Viking monarchs; the financial cheats and scandals prior to eventually being elevated to the episcopacy (or even papacy); the jealousies and rumor-mongering that would plague otherwise intelligent and devout people; and, above all, the graces and life-transformations that turn these horrible people into the heroes of our faith.
Each chapter is a mini-biography of a saint, so they can be read as short stories, a single chapter at a time (even bouncing around, if you so wish), although a few are actually interconnected (e.g., a pope and his anti-pope; a queen and her grandson, etc.).
Highly recommended for anyone who feels like they cannot measure up and be a saint (in other words, everyone!).
January 8, 2016
I really was thinking this would be a 5 star book for me. But, I wanted more about their conversion experiences. Also, I can't get poor St. Fabiola out of my mind. She might have remarried in a civil law which wasn't recognized by the church. But it would have been nice if the author would have explained whether or not an annulment was an option or when that option can about. Not to mention that Her first husband was portrayed as a rotten adulterer. I think my real issue is that the author called her a bigamist. To me that implies a sister wives scenario (or the opposite in this case), living with two husbands at once. I don't think that is an accurate representation based on the very chapter that the the author wrote.
Overall, however, I did enjoy reading about these incredible people. It was inspiring & I learned much from the read.
Overall, however, I did enjoy reading about these incredible people. It was inspiring & I learned much from the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2016
What an entertaining little book. It is a super fast read and though I'll never be able to keep all those saints and their stories separate in my mind, it was a fun book. First off, I thought the book was going to be about all kinds of famous people we think of as kind that may have had a past. Well, this book is all about Catholic saints and Biblical figures who had "sordid" pasts. Not being a Catholic myself, I thought the subject matter was handled so tastefully. The point of the book wasn't to show how bad someone was and then mock a religion for granting sainthood to them. It was truly a book about people (most of whom went on to become saints) who turned over a new leaf in their lives. And it does leave one thinking that if these people can change, so can I. AND maybe we all have good in us from the start, we just have to find ourselves.
January 4, 2010
Before they were saints, they were great sinners, but most books and stories gloss over their transgressions and focus solely on their great deeds. This book covers some of the most depraved and sinful saints in the history of the church, from playboy St. Augustine to St. Francis of Assisi, a wastrel.
An absolutely fascinating read, one that I quite literally couldn't put down. The stories were quite short, and some weren't as fleshed out as I would have hoped, but the information in them was very compelling. Most books about saints do indeed gloss over what saints were like before their conversion, but it makes their enlightenment much more meaningful to know how they behaved beforehand.
An absolutely fascinating read, one that I quite literally couldn't put down. The stories were quite short, and some weren't as fleshed out as I would have hoped, but the information in them was very compelling. Most books about saints do indeed gloss over what saints were like before their conversion, but it makes their enlightenment much more meaningful to know how they behaved beforehand.
September 9, 2014
Craughwell's style makes for quite an entertaining read in these accounts of saint's lives before they were anything close to saintly. While it includes several renown saints, such as St. Patrick and St. Augustine (the rockstar bad boy among saints), perhaps the most insightful and funny chapters cover less famous members of the saintly pantheon. Ultimately, enthusiasts of religious history, particularly Catholic history, should give it a read to gain a little further understanding of the blurry line between saints and sinners.
August 30, 2015
Lots of fun. I wish there were more sources, but there's a fairly substantial bibliography in the back, so that's okay.
I like hearing the un-bowdlerized versions of these people. As with most very short, vignette-style biography compilations, though, it's a little sketchy on details. It's a little unfulfilling on its own. However, as something that jumpstarts continued reading - or, better, as a resource to jumpstart fiction-writing ideas! - it's amazing.
And, undetailed or not, it's a book about the scandalous lives of the saints before they were saints. What's better than that?
I like hearing the un-bowdlerized versions of these people. As with most very short, vignette-style biography compilations, though, it's a little sketchy on details. It's a little unfulfilling on its own. However, as something that jumpstarts continued reading - or, better, as a resource to jumpstart fiction-writing ideas! - it's amazing.
And, undetailed or not, it's a book about the scandalous lives of the saints before they were saints. What's better than that?
May 11, 2013
interesting! i learned about quite a few saints i had never heard of before and found it quite enlightening. i love the study of saints; human beings just like us (me) who through God's great grace, redeemed them. Some i truly didn't get although he's been revered for centuries is Thomas Becket. i do not see howhe was ever genuinely spiritual, but that's just my opinion and i apologise to anyone whose patron saint is Thomas Becket
August 22, 2007
Generally speaking, stories about Catholic saints are usually pretty fascinating, and often downright graphic...but the title of of this book is misleading if you're expecting a taste of the grotesque. This book sounds so much better than it actually is...Frankly, the stories are vague and even somewhat dull. Read Butler's classic work on the lives of the saints instead.
May 11, 2011
The title implies more naughtiness than is actually documented. Craughwell lays out brief bios of mostly medieval personalities who substantially reformed after conversion experiences. Notable are Saints Augustine, Francis, Patrick, and Christopher. All the stories read nicely and are consistently interesting.
November 29, 2012
This book provides a great glimpse into the power of conversion of "normal" people from varying backgrounds into a life dedicated to serving others. The author also provides interesting historical context to these people's lives. I found the book slow to pique my interests but it grew on me.
July 22, 2013
I enjoyed the different stories ...each chapter was a person's story. I just would have liked to have known what or where the change of heart came from what influenced the drastic change from being a rapist murderer to a charitable praying person...favorite chapters were on Olga and Olaf those were my top 2!
July 10, 2007
Well I thought this would be a great nitty gritty expose of saints lives. Part way through the intro, their was some religious mumbo jumbo about about following the path of god. Ugh. I read a few chpaters, and it just wasn't that juicy. So I returned it to the library.
July 23, 2007
Not exactly as juicy or exciting as the title suggests. It really was just ok. It was something I picked up from the New Books shelf at my local public library.
I wrote a note about it in my personal blog:
[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...]
I wrote a note about it in my personal blog:
[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...]
August 2, 2012
Come on now... the title alone is worth the price of admission! If you ever need a reminder that we are ALL (both the godly and the profane) infinitely, indelibly flawed, turn to this book. This is an ideal example of the beauty that can come from the ultimately imperfect existence of humanity.
December 31, 2013
Each chapter is a short story about a saint. Each saint has a conversion story. Some of the saints in the book are more widely known than others. The lesson for all of us is that despite our shortcomings, we too can become saints.
July 12, 2014
An entertaining and education series of vignettes about some of the "hard cases" who turned their lives around, and are today recognized by churches as saints. Longer review here: http://eyesandearsblog.blogspot.com/2...
December 15, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was full of interesting facts, history, all in the lives of saints that I knew little about. It was encouraging to read about amazing people who started out making all kinds of terrible choices in the middle of some really terrible times. Worth the read!
January 5, 2017
Though some of the Saint stories could be more in the myth realm, and a couple you wonder if their Sainthood should have been recognized, there is the repeated theme.Hope. We all can be saints if we let God work in US.
April 8, 2008
Excellent read. Humorous, anecdotal, nonacademic. Inspiring: If these people are holy, I can be, too!
Just finished it. Excellent reading.
Just finished it. Excellent reading.
December 9, 2008
This was enjoyable. Little snippets about mostly not-so-well known saints who were the worst of the worst before they found their way to peace. A quick read.
September 8, 2008
This was a book club book and I love it! Every chapter is a different saints' story. It'd be easy to pick up and just read one chapter then put it back down for a month.
September 3, 2008
One of those books that pictures Saints as they are: human beings. It gives us the understanding that everybody is called to be saints.
March 20, 2009
Very insightful and entertaining. I gave me a few ideas for other book that the Saint read or wrote that will deepen my faith.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews