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The Grace of Troublesome Questions: Vocation, Restoration, and Race
A compelling story of how one man, in light of his Christian faith, questioned the exclusivist claims of church, nation, and race.
In The Grace of Troublesome Questions , Richard Hughes shares his life-long quest to make sense of three exclusivist narratives. First, the church of his youth claimed it was the one true church, outside of which there was no salvation. Second, he absorbed equally exclusivist assumptions that claimed the United States was God’s chosen people―a nation called to enlighten and redeem all humankind. And third, Hughes discovered embedded within himself and his nation the pervasive notion of White supremacy. While these three claims defined the world of his youth, Hughes came to see that none of them squared with the teachings of the Christian faith. Through personal stories and penetrating analysis, Hughes offers a behind-the-scenes tour of his scholarship, and the clear and compelling vocation that has fueled his life's work.
In The Grace of Troublesome Questions , Richard Hughes shares his life-long quest to make sense of three exclusivist narratives. First, the church of his youth claimed it was the one true church, outside of which there was no salvation. Second, he absorbed equally exclusivist assumptions that claimed the United States was God’s chosen people―a nation called to enlighten and redeem all humankind. And third, Hughes discovered embedded within himself and his nation the pervasive notion of White supremacy. While these three claims defined the world of his youth, Hughes came to see that none of them squared with the teachings of the Christian faith. Through personal stories and penetrating analysis, Hughes offers a behind-the-scenes tour of his scholarship, and the clear and compelling vocation that has fueled his life's work.
352 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 17, 2022
Get Out of my Head :-)
As a PK within the Disciples of Christ (which shares its Stone/Campbell roots with the author’s Churches of Christ), this was a very interesting book with respect to how each tradition evolved to where they are today. In many respects, it filled in a lot for me (and I thought I already knew a significant part of our history). More importantly, despite the optimism found early within the movement, our theology didn’t evolve within the true spirit of Christ … in fact, the author connects many of the flaws within out theology to many of the pernicious ills within (American/Western) society … calling us to task for our tacit (and sometimes explicit) support for slavery, segregation, et. al. He does so be exploring several social myths within [White] American society that I have generally seen as well, so I was favorably receptive to most of his arguments. If you are generally unsympathetic to BLM and/or typically “stay in your lane” in your treatment of those people on the margin, this book may be a tad uncomfortable (surprise, these are troublesome questions right … and he has some particularly harsh words for evangelicals specifically). Although I was i general agreement with many of his myths, I have come to realize that I actually have not gone far enough (so yeah … it was uncomfortable for me as well).
The book is divided into five (5) sections with the first section outlining the need to re-examine restorationist theology (and how it was originally formed) and the last section a general acknowledgement of the many people that help the author “see” his truth … and actually change his own understanding of the issues (much like my own father did as a contemporary … change of self is hard and admirable). Section two examines the restorationist movement as a whole with a surprising contract to evangelical theology that I was not aware of (given how the restoration movement and evangelicals appears to have evolved toward each other, this was not that surprising). Section three hits hard and is where the cracks in the current theology fails with respect to “The Kingdom of God” … It should not be overly controversial viewing that Jesus ministered to the margins … but our ability to turn a blind eye to those people with appear theological justification is. Section four is the call to action … and is the hardest part of the whole book. While there are no specific steps to follow, it becomes clear that we are called to do something (and the author turns to the examples of the Anabaptists/Reform churches for a road map). Just understanding the national myths and systemic biases of our society is a good start (and is helpful for fostering empathy and even love), but the hard part has always been taking the next step …
I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheGraceOfTroublesomeQuestions #NetGalley.
As a PK within the Disciples of Christ (which shares its Stone/Campbell roots with the author’s Churches of Christ), this was a very interesting book with respect to how each tradition evolved to where they are today. In many respects, it filled in a lot for me (and I thought I already knew a significant part of our history). More importantly, despite the optimism found early within the movement, our theology didn’t evolve within the true spirit of Christ … in fact, the author connects many of the flaws within out theology to many of the pernicious ills within (American/Western) society … calling us to task for our tacit (and sometimes explicit) support for slavery, segregation, et. al. He does so be exploring several social myths within [White] American society that I have generally seen as well, so I was favorably receptive to most of his arguments. If you are generally unsympathetic to BLM and/or typically “stay in your lane” in your treatment of those people on the margin, this book may be a tad uncomfortable (surprise, these are troublesome questions right … and he has some particularly harsh words for evangelicals specifically). Although I was i general agreement with many of his myths, I have come to realize that I actually have not gone far enough (so yeah … it was uncomfortable for me as well).
The book is divided into five (5) sections with the first section outlining the need to re-examine restorationist theology (and how it was originally formed) and the last section a general acknowledgement of the many people that help the author “see” his truth … and actually change his own understanding of the issues (much like my own father did as a contemporary … change of self is hard and admirable). Section two examines the restorationist movement as a whole with a surprising contract to evangelical theology that I was not aware of (given how the restoration movement and evangelicals appears to have evolved toward each other, this was not that surprising). Section three hits hard and is where the cracks in the current theology fails with respect to “The Kingdom of God” … It should not be overly controversial viewing that Jesus ministered to the margins … but our ability to turn a blind eye to those people with appear theological justification is. Section four is the call to action … and is the hardest part of the whole book. While there are no specific steps to follow, it becomes clear that we are called to do something (and the author turns to the examples of the Anabaptists/Reform churches for a road map). Just understanding the national myths and systemic biases of our society is a good start (and is helpful for fostering empathy and even love), but the hard part has always been taking the next step …
I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheGraceOfTroublesomeQuestions #NetGalley.
September 30, 2023
Love him or hate him, Hughes is going to make you think.
Richard Hughes is a well known scholar associated with Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement and has written extensively on the history and nature of Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement.
In The Grace of Troublesome Questions: Vocation, Restoration, and Race (galley received through early review program), Hughes attempts to provide a reflective memoir through selected writings over the past few years. He particularly wanted to focus on his faith journey from, according to his own estimation, naive embraces of being part of the exclusively correct religious movement in the correct nation as part of a world made for white people, toward embracing the troublesome questions and being forced to grapple with the claims of other religious movements, challenges to the election and innocence of America, and correcting his blindness toward the pervasive nature of white supremacy.
Hughes presents a lot of compelling ideas with which members of churches of Christ do well to grapple. His association of America as a land of innocence, a place in which the ugliness of the past (European, aristocratic) ways could be set aside to uphold an ideal people and government, and the Restoration Movement’s understanding of the restoration of the ancient order of things, as if 1800 years of history in-between can just be swept aside, is significant. His understanding of how the restorationist impulse manifested itself in a rational spirit and primarily directed itself in terms of church polity and governance in the Restoration Movement, but how the same impulse manifested itself in a romantic spirit in terms of experience in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and in a desire to return to Jesus and the Gospels in the Anabaptist churches has much to commend it. His grappling with white supremacy is known to those who have read his works on myths Americans live by, but are profitable for those who have yet to encounter such works.
I felt Hughes has a better handle on considering a healthier way forward for churches of Christ rather than, say, Jack Reese: just as America was not founded in some kind of naive innocence, neither can churches of Christ pretend 1900 years of history did not exist; perhaps the problem with the “restoration of the ancient order of things” is that it has not gone far enough and settled too simply for the thin gruel of church polity and governance. This is not to say we should act as if anything goes in terms of church polity and governance, but the resistance to restoring the importance of the Gospels and the centrality of Jesus is quite telling. Churches of Christ were not originally Evangelical and if their future is Evangelical they might as well not exist at all. There is a place for the restorationist impulse.
I did find this work uneven and redundant because it is a compilation of previously published materials; perhaps it is not legally possible to have edited them, but I feel the work would have been much better served by smoothing out the unevenness and redundancies in edits. I also found the hagiography surrounding Hughes in the work rather off-putting; I’m not even sure such effulgent praise is profitable when a man dies, let alone while he still lives, and I would like to think we can find ways to honor Hughes’ contributions in ways fully consistent with boasting in Christ and not in people. Nevertheless, as churches of Christ undergo quite the identity crisis, this is a good contribution for reflection and consideration.
Richard Hughes is a well known scholar associated with Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement and has written extensively on the history and nature of Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement.
In The Grace of Troublesome Questions: Vocation, Restoration, and Race (galley received through early review program), Hughes attempts to provide a reflective memoir through selected writings over the past few years. He particularly wanted to focus on his faith journey from, according to his own estimation, naive embraces of being part of the exclusively correct religious movement in the correct nation as part of a world made for white people, toward embracing the troublesome questions and being forced to grapple with the claims of other religious movements, challenges to the election and innocence of America, and correcting his blindness toward the pervasive nature of white supremacy.
Hughes presents a lot of compelling ideas with which members of churches of Christ do well to grapple. His association of America as a land of innocence, a place in which the ugliness of the past (European, aristocratic) ways could be set aside to uphold an ideal people and government, and the Restoration Movement’s understanding of the restoration of the ancient order of things, as if 1800 years of history in-between can just be swept aside, is significant. His understanding of how the restorationist impulse manifested itself in a rational spirit and primarily directed itself in terms of church polity and governance in the Restoration Movement, but how the same impulse manifested itself in a romantic spirit in terms of experience in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and in a desire to return to Jesus and the Gospels in the Anabaptist churches has much to commend it. His grappling with white supremacy is known to those who have read his works on myths Americans live by, but are profitable for those who have yet to encounter such works.
I felt Hughes has a better handle on considering a healthier way forward for churches of Christ rather than, say, Jack Reese: just as America was not founded in some kind of naive innocence, neither can churches of Christ pretend 1900 years of history did not exist; perhaps the problem with the “restoration of the ancient order of things” is that it has not gone far enough and settled too simply for the thin gruel of church polity and governance. This is not to say we should act as if anything goes in terms of church polity and governance, but the resistance to restoring the importance of the Gospels and the centrality of Jesus is quite telling. Churches of Christ were not originally Evangelical and if their future is Evangelical they might as well not exist at all. There is a place for the restorationist impulse.
I did find this work uneven and redundant because it is a compilation of previously published materials; perhaps it is not legally possible to have edited them, but I feel the work would have been much better served by smoothing out the unevenness and redundancies in edits. I also found the hagiography surrounding Hughes in the work rather off-putting; I’m not even sure such effulgent praise is profitable when a man dies, let alone while he still lives, and I would like to think we can find ways to honor Hughes’ contributions in ways fully consistent with boasting in Christ and not in people. Nevertheless, as churches of Christ undergo quite the identity crisis, this is a good contribution for reflection and consideration.
February 1, 2024
I love the title. I’m not sure what it means, but the concept of asking “troublesome questions” was enough to sell me on the book. Richard Hughes is a church historian and professor emeritus at multiple universities. His most famous book is “Myths America Lives By,” a book I have not read, but this book relies heavily on that book. Hughes is about 80 and this book is largely his musings in his old age, revisiting earlier works and placing it into modern (2022) context. An important component in understanding Hughes is that “myth” isn’t “not-true” but rather is the foundation upon which something is built. So, when we say “Myths America Lives By” he is referring to foundational beliefs that determine so much of what America is and has become. For example, Hughes argues that “White Supremacy” is a foundational myth of this county that continues to be manifest today through continued discrimination and the deaths of blacks (mostly men) at the hands of officials. Another example is the “myth” of American Exceptionalism, and how that myth drives our foreign policy and practice of doing things like condemning others for engaging in torture while we adopt an “ends justify the means” approach to torturing our enemies. There are plenty of “troublesome questions” in this book. I found the book thought provoking. I think he could have used an editor to tighten the story, but when you are a legend and you are 80 I guess you can ramble a bit. Also, there were several essays—interesting essays—included that I had no idea why they were included, mostly in tracking the historical commonalities in Latter Day Saints (“Mormon”) and the Stone-Campbell movement (Disciples of Christ, Christian Church, church of Christ). Ok, it was interesting. But why was this a troublesome question??? Anyway, overall a thought provoking book, but probably for a narrow audience.
February 17, 2023
This is an odd book. Part memoir, part interpretive history, part theological study of the Biblical text. Continually repetitive, but focused on the troubling question Churches of Christ need to ponder, how did we go wrong? Unwilling to deal with racism meant we were not prepared to be fully restored to 'the ancient gospel' but settled for institutional stability. He brings up a lot of very troubling questions, but ones we all need to hear. I have loved Doctor Hughes' books for many years, and while this may not be the best of them, it was still a good thing for him to write
April 30, 2024
As someone in the CoC I’m grateful for Hughes’ honest reflection on the history and present expressions in which the faith formation plays out. This is worth the read for any rooted in the restoration movement.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews