An Offering of Uncles: The Priesthood of Adam and the Shape of the World

by Robert Farrar Capon

Book by Capon, Robert Farrar

Genres: Theology

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Robert 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.

Reviews

[Jason Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

His defense of taking walks is great, I am enjoying it.

Great and a little fruity. Less fruity that other stuff that he has written. Mostly really good.

Reread Dec. 2011 - Still fruity, but I think I appreciate it more this time through. His writing is better than solid. I would give the actual writing 5 stars, even though the content gets three because of a few weird "Seriously?" section. But hey, it was the 70's, right?

Reread - I think this is my favorite book now. He was right and I was young.

[Shea Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book pretty far out of my wheel house. Capon was a priest in the Episcopal Church and is most known for his writing on food and cooking. I came into contact with this book and his name through Chocolate Knox and Jason Farley on the podcast Knox Unplugged (one of the episodes) While I enjoyed the book I think Jason Farley talking about the book is better.

With that said into my actual review. This book is what I'd call "poetic theology." Capon is not trying to make an exegetical argument for the purpose of man. Rather he is weaving a picture and seeking to describe the mystery that is God making man in history and entering that history as the Christ. Some downsides to this is that there are many things to disagree with in the book but it's hard to flatly disagree because he isn't laying out a clear argument in many cases. But at the same time he does seek to embrace some of the mystery and necessary faith that comes into the Christian life. Reformed guys can error by thinking we can graph God out perfectly and get every matter of doctrine exactly right, I was encouraged to embrace a bit of the beauty of not understanding God and His works.
This is an interesting book that I will read again and wrestle more with his ideas (some good, some not so good, some who knows). But truly the joy of this book is his turns of phrase and metaphors and use of words. He reads like a cousin of Chesterton, makes you laugh and chuckle often.
I'll leave you with a few I enjoyed.

"But on that basis, a human being is only the last raisin in an ocean of race pudding"

"But the diet fanatics who will rob me of my pie, my strudel, my turnovers, and my sauce are un-historical and mad. I will have no truck with them. An apple vested with pastry is not less, but more, an apple. It is an apple displayed and regnant."

"No chart can tell you how fat my uncles should be. You must spend some time with them before you attempt so delicate an estimate. You must see them swim and dance and carry children on their backs; you must look at them for months of Sunday-night suppers, behold them at plates of braunschweiger and steins of beer, before you dare to decide anything as intimate to their history as their weight.

"He will not save failures with the proviso that at some stage in the future they must quit being failures and snap to. He will, himself the great failure, save them in failure, by failure."

I read this book in a collection called "The Romance of the Word"

[Steven Blann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative and concise. Capon illustrates well, establishes a vocabulary (in partial display in the title and subtitle) and makes his case that Christ’s Passion is the central and driving force behind all of history and every mundane thing we say or do. A bit abstract at points; it can be hard to determine what exactly it means to oblate things and people, as sometimes it seems to be a deliberate act (decorating a room), while at other points it seems to mean simply receiving a thing (enjoying time spent with a particular person), but his project still basically succeeds.

Will certainly warrant a second read at some point.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Capon writes like a modern day G.K. Chesterton. I thoroughly enjoyed the books playfulness, though the topic of the priesthood of all mankind is of upmost importance. I highly recommend it, but keep in mind Fr. Capon wrote the book in 1967. A feminist mind will find things about which to be offended. His descriptions were very much how I experienced my childhood. Given his cultural context and understanding, and the broad application of priesthood that Fr. Capon is trying to illuminate, would lead me to believe he would state some things differently if he were writing today.

[Josh Cranston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but not nearly as much as the other books of his I've read. I liked how he took a really interesting idea - history, city building, oblation of uncles - and shows the importance of every person as an Adam or Eve involved in offering everything to God. A really pleasant read and I would recommend it. Just be sure to read his other stuff too (especially if this is all you've read of his).

[Lindsay Mizell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly Capon: an equal mix of weird and wonderful. A playful poet- he says in 10 sentences what could be said in one. And I’ll read it again and again for his reminder of the human work of oblation.

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Very uncle. Sometimes too uncle. Sometimes entertaining uncle. The episcopalian grounding of the writer priest diminished many potentials of the book. There are much better books for orthodox or catholic readers.

[Beth]

Not sure whether this book is profound or just odd.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good philosophical book.

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, a soulful feast in the playful spirit of Chesterton. Highly recommend.

[Karson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one a while ago. Really enjoyed it. This guy's got a different point of view for sure. I remember an extended section about the joy of walking. Walking rather than riding and spanning distances and getting a better understanding of the land. I'd like to review it to re-remember other details. But it was fun.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting study of the mundane's relation to the sacred. Quite a few quotable passages, but none that I'd give away here. It's a relatively short, but dense read. What could be 2-3 hours diversion kept me busy for over a week.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love Capon's writing in general, this book is not his best. It meanders, is a bit too heady, and has a dose of subtle sexism that is unusual for him (though undoubtedly comes from his times). His other works are much better.

[Victoria Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like Robert Farrar Capon. I like how he's a paradox-monger like Chesterton; I like what he has to say about the over-spiritualization of the modern world; I like his sense of humour.

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic, meaningful and encourages reflexion.