Author: James L. Kelley
Subject: General Interest/Religion
Cloth ISBN 0-8135-2427-X
Pages: 208 pp.

James L.Kelley, a skeptic about religion, writes with insight and humor of his journey through St. Mark's, an Episcopal church that welcomes doubters without pressuring them to compromise their intellectual integrity. When Kelley first visited the church well into his forties, he was searching for a respite from urban malaise and found himself filled with disquieting questions: How could he reconcile his convictions with the central purpose of the church-to worship a God he didn't believe in? Could he say the prayers and sing the hymns while remaining an honest skeptic?

After fifteen years of full participation in a church that is open not only to skeptics but also to gay men and lesbians, blacks and Jews, where members are invited to critique Sunday sermons, and where hymns are rewritten to reflect feminist concerns, Kelley found that his agnosticism remained but his skepticism about church participation had disappeared. Modern urban life can be a sterile, isolating experience. Yet in St. Mark's Kelley discovered a place of vibrant community, honest inquiry, and support over the hard places in life.

James L. Kelley became an openly skeptical member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., in 1982. He worked as a lawyer for thirty years and turned to full-time writing in 1993. His first book, Psychiatric Malpractice: Stories of Patients, Psychiatrists, and the Law was published by Rutgers University Press in 1996.

KEY POINTS:

o Compelling autobiographical account of open agnosticism in a mainline Christian church.

o Important reading for educated, urban skeptics raised in the Christian faith who no longer attend church and do not accept traditional religious doctrine.

o Explores the extent to which other churches today are open to skeptics.

"Skeptic in the House of God presents the Christian world with a new vision of what it can mean to be the body of Christ. James Kelley relates his rare ecclesiastical experience in which love and acceptance take precedence over doctrine and dogma. It is a compelling story that made me weep that there are so few Christian churches that are, in fact, signs of the Kingdom of God where all are invited to 'come as you are.'"-The Right Reverend John Shelby Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, author of Liberating the Gospels

"This is a delightful and compelling account-both a personal story and a finely-crafted account of the life of a remarkable congregation. This book movingly demonstrates that congregational life is about a great deal more than the business of instilling orthodox beliefs."-Nancy Ammerman, author of Congregation and Community