What do you think?
Rate this book
Between Noon & Three: Romance, Law & the Outrage of Grace
Picture a college town in the mid-1970s. An English professor who has become an expert in extramarital dalliances is smitten by one of his graduate students. They meet for lunch around noon, and before three they make declarations of love. Is it possible that their subsequent affair could ultimately teach us something about true forgiveness and the radical meaning of grace? Only Robert Farrar Capon would have the audacity—and the authorial skill—to fashion such a tale. It has taken well over a decade for Between Noon and Three to appear in this, its original form. First published under two separate titles with significant parts excised and an entire section recast, the real Between Noon and Three is actually a trilogy of intertwined tales, each of which exhibits Capon's persistent insistence on the outrageous nature of grace. The original manuscript is here printed in full, including a new introduction by Capon on the work's unusual history.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
28 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
Robert Farrar Capon
42 books146 followersRobert Farrar Capon was a lifelong New Yorker and served for almost 30 years as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church. His first book, Bed and Board, was published in 1965 and by 1977 left full-time ministry to devote more time to writing books, though he continued to serve the church in various capacities such as assisting priest and Canon Theologian. He has written twenty books on theology, cooking and family life.
His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.
His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 15, 2018
Between Noon and Three is the most irreverent, sacrilegious religious writing I’ve ever read. Well, Capon would say it’s the second most. The first being the Gospel itself—the true story of God becoming human and being crucified at the hands of his creatures.
Part one of this three-part book is a parable intended to jar your religious sensibilities to re-cognize the scandal of grace. Boy is it a scandalous parable. It’s about two married people who get away with an affair; the man symbolizes humans, the woman symbolizes God. The other two-thirds consist of Capon fighting with your in-house ethicist (his term) about how radical grace is through illustrations, conversations, another parable, and some theologizing.
Capon comes dangerously close to falling into antinomianism, and he knows it. But he absolutely insists on walking the high-line of grace without any safety net. He goes all-in on the belief that we were dead in sin and we are raised in Christ—no conditions or qualifications. We need simply believe that unbelievable truth. My in-house ethicist constantly wanted to sneak in a “but...” or “if...” to his claims. But frankly, he succeeds in making the grace of God a real scandal again.
Capon’s writing bounces along like jazz—smooth, fun, to its own rhythm. He’s simply an incredible writer: witty but not trite, instructive but not pedantic, clever but not forced, meandering but not aimless, colloquial but not common. Seriously. It was so much fun. This book was the most amusing read I’ve had in at least the last year, probably two.
At times I disagree with him: He summarily dismisses more nuanced atonement theories, and his tropes against “religion” and “Christian ethics” were a bit tired. And I’d like to take a more fine-tuned approach to his dogmatics. But he did some heavy theological lifting in unintimidating, understandable fashion. (That’s also why I’d like to see it a bit more refined. The theology gets embedded in conversations, stories, and illustrations, at times a bit too fast and loose.)
I’m already figuring out which book of his I want to read next. Perhaps my excitement will wear off soon. But, gosh. Right now I’m really glad to have stumbled across Capon’s writing.
Part one of this three-part book is a parable intended to jar your religious sensibilities to re-cognize the scandal of grace. Boy is it a scandalous parable. It’s about two married people who get away with an affair; the man symbolizes humans, the woman symbolizes God. The other two-thirds consist of Capon fighting with your in-house ethicist (his term) about how radical grace is through illustrations, conversations, another parable, and some theologizing.
Capon comes dangerously close to falling into antinomianism, and he knows it. But he absolutely insists on walking the high-line of grace without any safety net. He goes all-in on the belief that we were dead in sin and we are raised in Christ—no conditions or qualifications. We need simply believe that unbelievable truth. My in-house ethicist constantly wanted to sneak in a “but...” or “if...” to his claims. But frankly, he succeeds in making the grace of God a real scandal again.
Capon’s writing bounces along like jazz—smooth, fun, to its own rhythm. He’s simply an incredible writer: witty but not trite, instructive but not pedantic, clever but not forced, meandering but not aimless, colloquial but not common. Seriously. It was so much fun. This book was the most amusing read I’ve had in at least the last year, probably two.
At times I disagree with him: He summarily dismisses more nuanced atonement theories, and his tropes against “religion” and “Christian ethics” were a bit tired. And I’d like to take a more fine-tuned approach to his dogmatics. But he did some heavy theological lifting in unintimidating, understandable fashion. (That’s also why I’d like to see it a bit more refined. The theology gets embedded in conversations, stories, and illustrations, at times a bit too fast and loose.)
I’m already figuring out which book of his I want to read next. Perhaps my excitement will wear off soon. But, gosh. Right now I’m really glad to have stumbled across Capon’s writing.
November 15, 2020
I’m not ready for this book. I thought I was because I read The Supper of the Lamb but I’m not. He played me like a fiddle: first he tells me he’s gonna make me morally outraged and he succeeds (honestly, it’s not that hard). Just when I was ready to give up, about halfway, he flips the script and speaks for you, the outraged reader, and answers all your questions just like Paul does in Romans, it’s maddening. But that’s just sleight of hand because then last third of the book is more outrageous than all the rest up to that point.
This book was irritating, fun, disgusting, and beautiful. Only Father Robert could pull that off.
I know I’m not ready for this book because it’s too scandalous to recommend but I enjoyed reading it so I’m agonizing over how many stars to give it. I’ve missed the boat guys.
One quote: “However much we hate the law, we are more afraid of grace... It threatens to blow apart the imagined framework by which we hold ourselves, however inconveniently, in one place. As long as the law is upon us, we feel safe...The law of retribution reigns supreme in our fantasies precisely to keep us off the main question of our lives: what would you do with freedom if you had it?”
This book was irritating, fun, disgusting, and beautiful. Only Father Robert could pull that off.
I know I’m not ready for this book because it’s too scandalous to recommend but I enjoyed reading it so I’m agonizing over how many stars to give it. I’ve missed the boat guys.
One quote: “However much we hate the law, we are more afraid of grace... It threatens to blow apart the imagined framework by which we hold ourselves, however inconveniently, in one place. As long as the law is upon us, we feel safe...The law of retribution reigns supreme in our fantasies precisely to keep us off the main question of our lives: what would you do with freedom if you had it?”
August 14, 2016
Once again, it's almost impossible to classify Capon's writing. Part parable, sermon, and coffee-chat, this book tackles the concept of grace with a perspective I've never quite considered. No one can write like Capon, and I'm tempted to just list a bunch of quotes. With his signature dry wit, Capon angered and annoyed me with his description of grace, and then casually pulled the rug out from under me, showing me how performance-oriented I still am. Added bonus: this is the best defense against antinomianism I've encountered - not because of the theological arguments (that was there) but because Capon's imagery and storytelling convey his points so much more organically. Capon uncannily anticipates and answers my logical pushbacks just before I've quite articulated them myself.
And because I can't resist:
"The church, by and large, has a poor record of encouraging freedom. She has spent so much time inculcating in us the fear of making mistakes that she has made us like ill-taught piano students: we play our songs, but we never really hear them because our main concern is not to make music but to avoid some flub that will get us in the dutch... [we] live, not in fear of mistakes, but in the knowledge that no mistake can hold a candle to the love that draws us home. ...Grace - the imperative to hear the music, not just listen for errors - makes all infirmities occasions for glory."
"Now then. Ask yourself a question. Do you seriously think that, in their joy at having been admitted with all their deformity, they will somehow begin to think more kindly of their ugliness? Do you imagine that the man with no nose will suddenly come to the conclusion that he has been given *permission* to have no nose? Do you think he will stop wanting a nose? Can you believe that at this moment of unmerited acceptance he will begin to take pleasure, not in our acceptance of him but in his own noselessness? That he will, as a logical consequence, begin to advocate cutting off everybody's nose? Of course you don't."
And because I can't resist:
"The church, by and large, has a poor record of encouraging freedom. She has spent so much time inculcating in us the fear of making mistakes that she has made us like ill-taught piano students: we play our songs, but we never really hear them because our main concern is not to make music but to avoid some flub that will get us in the dutch... [we] live, not in fear of mistakes, but in the knowledge that no mistake can hold a candle to the love that draws us home. ...Grace - the imperative to hear the music, not just listen for errors - makes all infirmities occasions for glory."
"Now then. Ask yourself a question. Do you seriously think that, in their joy at having been admitted with all their deformity, they will somehow begin to think more kindly of their ugliness? Do you imagine that the man with no nose will suddenly come to the conclusion that he has been given *permission* to have no nose? Do you think he will stop wanting a nose? Can you believe that at this moment of unmerited acceptance he will begin to take pleasure, not in our acceptance of him but in his own noselessness? That he will, as a logical consequence, begin to advocate cutting off everybody's nose? Of course you don't."
December 17, 2014
absolutely loved how challenging this book was for me. it made me uncomfortable at times, angry at others, and crying as well. Capon and his outrageous grace although presented in a most unusual fashion is a beautiful picture of the gospel of grace that we all share in.
January 30, 2025
“As long as the law is upon us we feel safe. Its bitching, score-evening presence assures us that something out there has our number. Whether it approves or disapproves of us is almost a matter of indifference; the main thing is that,having our number, it absolves us from the burden of learning our name. The law of retribution reigns supreme in our fantasies precisely to keep us off the main question of our lives: What would you do with freedom if you had it?”
November 24, 2014
If you think you believe in God's grace, I challenge you to read this book. Capon uses a couple of parables, sermons, fictional debates, and musings, to present grace in such an outrageous fashion that many of us will be tempted to throw grace out the window rather than believe the consequences. I think Capon ignores and dismisses some things that God cares about. But, there is something to his argument that we are so enthrall to our own moralizing and self-justification, and so blind to just how far-reaching and overarching God's love and grace in Christ are, that we need to be shocked into hearing the full impact of the Good News that: (a) our past, present, and future "goodness" is absolutely useless in gaining God's acceptance, (b) it's only the fact that the "me" that I usually think of as "me" - along with all my good works and sins - has died and is dead - crucified with Christ - which makes it possible that (c) Christ has already resurrected (alive right now), and will resurrect in spite of my one-day-dead body, a new me whose life is, even as we speak, hidden in Christ. One implication: radical freedom. If you read it, read it to the end. If you're like me, you'll be tempted to put it in the give-away pile multiple times before you finish.
March 19, 2018
This was a long read, almost five months, for a mere 295 pages! However, I appreciated the ponder time as I took breaks between each of the three sections. Capon forced a look at grace that is provocative to “good Christian sensibilities” (a successfully instigated affair) and exhaustive, deepening the depth and breadth of grace with each subsequent section. C.S. Lewis’s “Great Divorce” would be a great companion read to this book.
July 27, 2025
I mean, Pr. Bruzek doesn’t miss. He recommended that I read Robert Farrar Capon, and this book did not disappoint. It’s incredibly challenging, the absurdity of God’s Grace is on full, wonderful display. The first novel is moving, and Capon knows exactly what he’s doing. He predicts so many of the questions I wanted to throw at him, and fends them off beautifully. It feels smart but accessible, he sometimes gets a little wordy and occasionally flexes his Latin, but it’s an enjoyable read. I would encourage everyone to read this book to help reset the tendency towards the law and away from grace in all of us. Beautiful book, I will reread, I will engage with these ideas for the rest of my life.
December 30, 2012
Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Robert Farrar Capon, 1997) was an unusual book. On the positive side, Capon is a compelling writer, utilizing a unique style to present a topic of essential importance--grace. This book essentially consists of three shorter stories (initially published as 2 books in 1982 and 1983)--Parable, Coffee Hour, and The Youngest Day.
The first section, Parable, makes up about 40 percent of the book and sets the stage for the subsequent sections. Capon writes a tale of a successful sexual liaison between Paul and Laura as a parable of God's grace. The choice of an illicit affair was chosen in many ways to shock the reader so that they might better see the radical nature of God's grace. Along the way of his storytelling, he stops and engages directly with the reader, sharing theological insights and reflections. He anticipates challenges from his readership, which are more fully addressed in section two.
In Coffee Hour, he hypothesizes a conversation with his critics. He creates several characters who pose challenges to his line of thinking to which he subsequently responds. This conversational style is much more engaging than a standard refutation of criticisms. It drew me in as a reader. What I found particularly interesting was that the critiques raised by his friends during the coffee hour were many of the criticisms that I had. Although he engages in intellectualizing to his readers, his responses to me seem incomplete. He ignores some parts of scripture in service to his viewpoint. He uses intentionally shocking language (e.g., describing God as a snake oil salesman and Jesus as a glutton), I suspect to set the reader back on his heels. Unfortunately, his effect misses the point, setting the reader committed to biblical orthodoxy in a defensive position.
In the final section, The Youngest Day, he writes another short parable, this time about an ordered hit, perhaps to deepen the shock. He then moves into a discussion of heaven, hell, judgment, and death. The incompleteness in his theology that I first observed in the first two sections comes to frank inaccuracy here. He denies the propitiation of the Son, a clear teaching of scripture. He comes out as an inclusivist, again shocking the reader by discussing Hitler and the Jews and how God doesn't keep score. He essentially argues that one does not need to express saving faith, rather that only those who actively reject Christ (even after death) will face a life in Hell. In other words, all are reconciled to Christ unless they specifically reject that reconciliation.
Although this is an interesting book and a compelling read, ultimately Capon is off base with regard to his theology. He admits to only working on the sunny side of the street, but this is a limited theology that rejects the parts of scripture which don't fit the mold, which unfortunately in Capon's case, is entirely too much.
The first section, Parable, makes up about 40 percent of the book and sets the stage for the subsequent sections. Capon writes a tale of a successful sexual liaison between Paul and Laura as a parable of God's grace. The choice of an illicit affair was chosen in many ways to shock the reader so that they might better see the radical nature of God's grace. Along the way of his storytelling, he stops and engages directly with the reader, sharing theological insights and reflections. He anticipates challenges from his readership, which are more fully addressed in section two.
In Coffee Hour, he hypothesizes a conversation with his critics. He creates several characters who pose challenges to his line of thinking to which he subsequently responds. This conversational style is much more engaging than a standard refutation of criticisms. It drew me in as a reader. What I found particularly interesting was that the critiques raised by his friends during the coffee hour were many of the criticisms that I had. Although he engages in intellectualizing to his readers, his responses to me seem incomplete. He ignores some parts of scripture in service to his viewpoint. He uses intentionally shocking language (e.g., describing God as a snake oil salesman and Jesus as a glutton), I suspect to set the reader back on his heels. Unfortunately, his effect misses the point, setting the reader committed to biblical orthodoxy in a defensive position.
In the final section, The Youngest Day, he writes another short parable, this time about an ordered hit, perhaps to deepen the shock. He then moves into a discussion of heaven, hell, judgment, and death. The incompleteness in his theology that I first observed in the first two sections comes to frank inaccuracy here. He denies the propitiation of the Son, a clear teaching of scripture. He comes out as an inclusivist, again shocking the reader by discussing Hitler and the Jews and how God doesn't keep score. He essentially argues that one does not need to express saving faith, rather that only those who actively reject Christ (even after death) will face a life in Hell. In other words, all are reconciled to Christ unless they specifically reject that reconciliation.
Although this is an interesting book and a compelling read, ultimately Capon is off base with regard to his theology. He admits to only working on the sunny side of the street, but this is a limited theology that rejects the parts of scripture which don't fit the mold, which unfortunately in Capon's case, is entirely too much.
December 12, 2020
Don't write this book off by its summary. Capon explores the totality of grace between lover and beloved and uses the affair as a way to draw the reader out of their comfort zone with grace and the law: God's grace does not destroy or overwrite the law, but the law is also not our reconciliation: "The law," he says, "shows me only that I am unreconciled." We needed reconciliation before the law came down. And blessedly, reconciliation requires nothing of you, not even your faith because it already is. Faith just lets you accept it, enter it with joy. Hell is the rejection of grace, maybe the terror and fear of grace, but there grace still resides.
Capon takes the title from W. H. Auden's Horae Canonicae, which takes the canon hours of Good Friday, which remember the hours Christ hung on the cross. Between noon and three, Christ hangs, a couple falls in love, a mafioso is assassinated (Capon's second parable), and grace flows through all of it.
The book is set in three parts, first the parable, then a coffee hour dialogue between preacher and parishioners, then a treatise on sin and judgment and why and how God dares to forgive the pettiest to the most egregious. His treatise is the most moving part for me: we fall because since hanging on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we have tried to know ourselves by a knowledge external to ourselves and God. Once we can finally know the way God knows, the way Christ knew as he hung on his own tree, universal grace will make more sense, but probably in the eschaton.
If you have caused hurt, read the parable. If you have been hurt, read the treatise. If you can't quite get over a robust morality to accept the outrage of total and universal grace, read the coffee hour dialogue.
Capon's theology seems orthodox, if his methods less so. You can be disgusted by or wary of his parable (he expects you to be), but those with ears to hear will hear.
Capon takes the title from W. H. Auden's Horae Canonicae, which takes the canon hours of Good Friday, which remember the hours Christ hung on the cross. Between noon and three, Christ hangs, a couple falls in love, a mafioso is assassinated (Capon's second parable), and grace flows through all of it.
The book is set in three parts, first the parable, then a coffee hour dialogue between preacher and parishioners, then a treatise on sin and judgment and why and how God dares to forgive the pettiest to the most egregious. His treatise is the most moving part for me: we fall because since hanging on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we have tried to know ourselves by a knowledge external to ourselves and God. Once we can finally know the way God knows, the way Christ knew as he hung on his own tree, universal grace will make more sense, but probably in the eschaton.
If you have caused hurt, read the parable. If you have been hurt, read the treatise. If you can't quite get over a robust morality to accept the outrage of total and universal grace, read the coffee hour dialogue.
Capon's theology seems orthodox, if his methods less so. You can be disgusted by or wary of his parable (he expects you to be), but those with ears to hear will hear.
May 30, 2019
Seldom have I found a book so profound that, immediately upon reading it, I feel compelled to read it again from the beginning. Capon's Between Noon & Three is such a rare book. It is unconventional both as a work of fiction and as a work of theology. The first section tells the tale of a man and a woman who successfully carry on an extramarital affair. The man is "dead in his sins" and knows that he will not be able to appease Romance (or the law); though he loves his new lover, he knows that he will not be able to stay faithful to her. She knows this too and gives herself to him anyways, and through this he finds new life - the power of his faithlessness to Romance is broken in and through the gracious affair. Capon explains along the way that this is a parable for God's grace to us. In the second section, Capon defends himself against anticipated critiques, while also launching polemics on what he considers inadequate concepts of grace. This clears the way for the third section, in which Capon discusses the traditional four last things - death, judgment, heaven, and hell - under the rubric of a universal, eternally present, freely given grace. Capon insists that all things are already reconciled in Christ, and that the final judgment will just be the visible sign of this - the judgment is only grace. If hell exists at all, it is not because God refuses to give grace, but because people refuse to receive it. This is a thought-provoking and entertaining read!
June 5, 2021
I really wanted to love this book, but it never quite got me...or maybe I didn’t get it! There were some beautiful descriptions of the audacity/outrage/insanity of divine grace. I was not convinced, however, by the separation of grace from ethics and the christian life. Despite Capon’s protestations it seems that much of the NT is concerned with applying grace TO the rest of life.
January 18, 2010
Really enjoyed Capon's Supper of the Lamb... this one, not so much. First chapter was great, but each subsequent chapter got less and less interesting. In order.
August 1, 2018
My three star rating doesn't represent a 'meh, it was okay' but rather a 5-star: some parts were amazing, and a 1-star: some parts were so annoying I almost stopped reading it. Capon has some great theological insights about grace that are not delved into enough or are overlooked from the assumption that we all know what grace really means. He does a logical deep dive into what the grace of the gospel means to the nth degree. This was good and necessary, but my favorite part was in the last several chapters where he looks at what it means for God to be outside of time--how does that impact all of our theology. I've never read a book (and I've read lots of books) that looked at how that impacts the gospel. This was the amazing part.
The part I hated was the literary device he uses to dig up all of the counter-points. He writes as though he's have a friendly discussion, turned friendly argument, with us. To do this he essentially has to write in all of our exceptions to what he's saying, which to me was little more than the straw-man Christian who wants to keep the status quo, who's afraid to think a new thought. Don't get me wrong, his straw man exists--I've met people who would say all the things his counter-point person would say, but that person wouldn't be reading his book. Instead I'm reading his book and zero of his counter-points applied to me. That in itself is also okay except he's writing as though he's conversing with me, trying to convince me to get past one simplistic objection after another. It felt patronizing and a waste of my time since I had none of the objections that he was arguing against. I only continued to read because I was interested in his actual core thoughts which represented about 50% of the book and were sprinkled throughout the straw man conversation where he's trying to calm me down, I'm walking away without finishing my tea, etc. Annoying.
Bottom line: I would recommend the book--his thoughts are that good and his logic is impeccable.
The part I hated was the literary device he uses to dig up all of the counter-points. He writes as though he's have a friendly discussion, turned friendly argument, with us. To do this he essentially has to write in all of our exceptions to what he's saying, which to me was little more than the straw-man Christian who wants to keep the status quo, who's afraid to think a new thought. Don't get me wrong, his straw man exists--I've met people who would say all the things his counter-point person would say, but that person wouldn't be reading his book. Instead I'm reading his book and zero of his counter-points applied to me. That in itself is also okay except he's writing as though he's conversing with me, trying to convince me to get past one simplistic objection after another. It felt patronizing and a waste of my time since I had none of the objections that he was arguing against. I only continued to read because I was interested in his actual core thoughts which represented about 50% of the book and were sprinkled throughout the straw man conversation where he's trying to calm me down, I'm walking away without finishing my tea, etc. Annoying.
Bottom line: I would recommend the book--his thoughts are that good and his logic is impeccable.
October 13, 2017
This book was originally published as a disjointed duology. It works much better as one book with three parts.
The first part is the author's portrayal in parable form of a "successful" affair between two married people. He also has spaces where his thoughts on the parable are given in the middle of the parable.
The author then moves to a "coffee hour" where objections he has heard before are brought up and addressed.
The third section of the book is a description of "a man who got everything that was coming to him" - and it turned out to be a gangster who disappointed his boss once.
I think the author really shines in the last chapter of the book (and it is that way, sometimes). For example, he differentiates between Christianity and ethics, disclaiming the need for a merging of the two. [I lent the book out, so will get this and many other quotes when I have gotten the book back.]
The first part is the author's portrayal in parable form of a "successful" affair between two married people. He also has spaces where his thoughts on the parable are given in the middle of the parable.
The author then moves to a "coffee hour" where objections he has heard before are brought up and addressed.
The third section of the book is a description of "a man who got everything that was coming to him" - and it turned out to be a gangster who disappointed his boss once.
I think the author really shines in the last chapter of the book (and it is that way, sometimes). For example, he differentiates between Christianity and ethics, disclaiming the need for a merging of the two. [I lent the book out, so will get this and many other quotes when I have gotten the book back.]
December 9, 2020
I want to recommend this book to everyone...but I am not sure that everyone is ready to read it. So much of what is said in this book is filled with the fullness of the freedom that God has for us. A response from my prayer journal after reading the first few pages of this book: “I am ignorant and unlearned in the ways of Grace. I have scoffed and explained away the folly of it for years. I want to learn to love and be loved. I want to relax into the life You have, by Grace, given me. You have burned the ledger of my good and bad, my right and wrong. You have dispatched the score-keeper and torn down the score-board. Let my soul rest in your kindness and your easy yoke.”
If that sounds like a journey you want to go on. Then take the red pill and read on...otherwise don’t worry about it, it will all be clear to us one day or another.
If that sounds like a journey you want to go on. Then take the red pill and read on...otherwise don’t worry about it, it will all be clear to us one day or another.
April 16, 2024
I would have sworn on a stack of bibles that I had a firm understanding of grace & all its power; until I read this book. Capon uses the parable of an affair to challenge the reader to see all the ways that their understanding of grace is somehow tethered to the law, and therefore not grace at all.
It’s a challenging read & can get a little academic in the back third of the book, but it’s well worth the time.
It’s a challenging read & can get a little academic in the back third of the book, but it’s well worth the time.
June 18, 2019
Grace must be drunk neat: no water, no ice, and certainly no ginger ale.
August 18, 2019
10/5 teologi
3/5 första delen
3/5 första delen
May 27, 2021
I was more ready for this book than just about any I've ever read. It was challenging in the best way possible; praise the LORD.
September 17, 2021
As with everything Capon, I felt scandalized, which is the point.
July 22, 2024
Had issues with some things in here, but man this has some of the most beautiful descriptions of the gospel of grace I’ve read. If you preach, this is worth the effort.
September 2, 2024
What an incredible book on grace. Could not recommend it enough.
August 24, 2025
incredible, reminded me of Buechner at times. the last third of the book seemed much poorer in its articulation & lacking in wisdom, but the other two thirds made up for it.
September 23, 2013
What a breath of fresh air this book is. This was the second time I read this book by Robert Farrar Capon (who sadly died two weeks ago), but it was as much a breeze as last time. Even more so, as I found I was even more receptive to it's message than three years ago when I read it first. And I look forward to reading it again in the future.
This is one of those books that makes theology and bible-study fun, and that combines essays and exegesis with a dry wit, different styles, and funny asides to the reader. If you don't read it for its content, read it for the writing, which is excellent. No gathered dust here, no dry contemplations of theoretical import, no legalist exhortations, but straight up grace, no twists, no olives. Yes, this is a book about grace. A subject Capon is Always writing on, that seems inexhaustible. But his focus is needed, as we take grace for granted too often. Oh, yes, we're saved by grace, we state. But ... then there's always a 'but'. And that's what concerns Capon. We don't get the affront grace gives the religious, we are not shocked and awed anyore, we think grace is tame, something on the side, only to rely on when we fail in living our christian lives. We have normalised grace, it's no longer vulgar to us. But it was to the pharisees. And so, to confront us with the shocking reality of grace, Capon starts with a parable of a succesful affair. No moralising here! And then, when his readers put their bristles up (because they forgot that the parables of Jesus were as disturbing to his listeners in his time), Capon starts a lively discussion about the arguments against grace. He uses every method in his repertoire, even adds a sermon in the seventeenth century style of John Donne, to disarm every argument people can come up with. In the end, what remains is a truth so shocking and disturbing that one understands how religious institutions try to neutralise it. "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Everybody who dies is included in Jesus' death. And thus in his resurrection. As we wil all die, we will all rise again in Him. That's it. The only way to miss out on Gods loving embrace is to foolhardishly refuse to enter the party the Father's already killed the fatted calf for.
Yes, it's all about grace. this is good news. Why would you accept news that's less good?
One of my favorite books.
This is one of those books that makes theology and bible-study fun, and that combines essays and exegesis with a dry wit, different styles, and funny asides to the reader. If you don't read it for its content, read it for the writing, which is excellent. No gathered dust here, no dry contemplations of theoretical import, no legalist exhortations, but straight up grace, no twists, no olives. Yes, this is a book about grace. A subject Capon is Always writing on, that seems inexhaustible. But his focus is needed, as we take grace for granted too often. Oh, yes, we're saved by grace, we state. But ... then there's always a 'but'. And that's what concerns Capon. We don't get the affront grace gives the religious, we are not shocked and awed anyore, we think grace is tame, something on the side, only to rely on when we fail in living our christian lives. We have normalised grace, it's no longer vulgar to us. But it was to the pharisees. And so, to confront us with the shocking reality of grace, Capon starts with a parable of a succesful affair. No moralising here! And then, when his readers put their bristles up (because they forgot that the parables of Jesus were as disturbing to his listeners in his time), Capon starts a lively discussion about the arguments against grace. He uses every method in his repertoire, even adds a sermon in the seventeenth century style of John Donne, to disarm every argument people can come up with. In the end, what remains is a truth so shocking and disturbing that one understands how religious institutions try to neutralise it. "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Everybody who dies is included in Jesus' death. And thus in his resurrection. As we wil all die, we will all rise again in Him. That's it. The only way to miss out on Gods loving embrace is to foolhardishly refuse to enter the party the Father's already killed the fatted calf for.
Yes, it's all about grace. this is good news. Why would you accept news that's less good?
One of my favorite books.
February 8, 2017
"Grace is the celebration of life, relentlessly hounding all the non-celebrants in the world. It is a floating, cosmic bash shouting its way through the streets of the universe, flinging the sweetness of its cassations to every window, pounding at every door in a hilarity beyond all liking and happening, until the prodigals come out at last and dance, and the elder brothers finally take their fingers out of their ears.”
The first Capon book I ever read, which is Supper of the Lamb, convinced me to start learning how to cook. Today I’m proud to say that I still cook regularly (mostly due to my wife’s ravenous love for Asian food). It’s a fun and useful hobby to keep around, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have done it without Capon. The book changed the direction of my life in a sense.
Between Noon and Three is another one of Capon’s masterpieces. If the first book taught me how cook, this book taught me how to recognize the scandalous grace of God for a sinner that deserves condemnation. That Christ on the cross is the most humiliating thing for both Him and me, in that I come to recognize my utter hopelessness and inability to save myself, leaving me with no ounce of dignity left within myself.
The book is divided into three parts: parable (the novella itself), coffee hour (responses to criticism), and the youngest day (a reflection on the last days). Although I disagree in part with his explanations of grace and works (he is a raging protestant when it comes to faith vs. law), he nevertheless challenged my small view of grace, which changed me deeply in the process.
The first Capon book I ever read, which is Supper of the Lamb, convinced me to start learning how to cook. Today I’m proud to say that I still cook regularly (mostly due to my wife’s ravenous love for Asian food). It’s a fun and useful hobby to keep around, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have done it without Capon. The book changed the direction of my life in a sense.
Between Noon and Three is another one of Capon’s masterpieces. If the first book taught me how cook, this book taught me how to recognize the scandalous grace of God for a sinner that deserves condemnation. That Christ on the cross is the most humiliating thing for both Him and me, in that I come to recognize my utter hopelessness and inability to save myself, leaving me with no ounce of dignity left within myself.
The book is divided into three parts: parable (the novella itself), coffee hour (responses to criticism), and the youngest day (a reflection on the last days). Although I disagree in part with his explanations of grace and works (he is a raging protestant when it comes to faith vs. law), he nevertheless challenged my small view of grace, which changed me deeply in the process.
July 11, 2016
Oh I love this book! It is scandalous and fabulous and full of ephiphanies as any great teaching of Grace must be! Many are likely to be offended by the devices that R.F. Capon uses, but stick with him, he'll eventually argue your side of things and then go on to explain his position. This is not a straight novel, or a book of pure theology, or a niftily penned opinion piece, it is all of the above and full of delightful little asides and quirks, as one comes to expect from Mr Capon. If you are longing to get a deeper grasp on the enormity of grace, this book comes highly recommended, but put aside your need to judge before you begin, and let it play out. Love it!
December 12, 2010
The book will make you think. I found it advantageous to read it quickly, in order to stay caught up with his train of thought. Deep seated notions of God's grace will definitely be challenged or stretched by Capon's philosophizing, woven through his fictitious story settings.
I'm not on board with everything he postulates, specifically on judgement, but his presentation of the outrageous grace of God left a deep impression. I could use frequent reflection - and reminders - on Capon's insight of the joyous outrage of God's grace.
I'm not on board with everything he postulates, specifically on judgement, but his presentation of the outrageous grace of God left a deep impression. I could use frequent reflection - and reminders - on Capon's insight of the joyous outrage of God's grace.
January 1, 2011
A fantastic challenging read that will transform the way I think about Grace. Capon mixes storytelling with theologising quite effectively, driving his points home with insight and humor.
I'm not sure I'm on board with his conclusions on eschatology in the last bit of the book, but the first two-thirds are quite enough to warrant five stars for this fantastic volume.
I'm not sure I'm on board with his conclusions on eschatology in the last bit of the book, but the first two-thirds are quite enough to warrant five stars for this fantastic volume.
September 8, 2021
Robert Farrar Capon has some of the most beautiful words about grace in some of the most uncomfortable situations. And in doing so he uncovers our own underlying moralistic attitudes, our attempts at resolving our own cognitive dissonance through self-justification, and feeble attempts at substituting anything for grace. Unconventional, scandalous, and absolutely beautiful writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews