The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints
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- Create Date：2022-04-14 09:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jessica Hooten Wilson
- ISBN：1587435241
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Summary
How do we become better people？ Initiatives such as New Year's resolutions， vision boards， thirty-day plans， and self-help books often fail to compel us to live differently。 We settle for small goals--frugal spending， less yelling at the kids， more time at the gym--but we are called to something far greater。 We are created to be holy。
Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson explains that learning to hear the call of holiness requires cultivating a new imagination--one rooted in the act of reading。 Learning to read with eyes attuned to the saints who populate great works of literature moves us toward holiness， where God opens up a way of living that extends far beyond what we can conjure for ourselves。 Literature has the power to show us what a holy life looks like， and these depictions often scandalize even as they shape our imagination。 As such， careful reading becomes a sort of countercultural spiritual discipline。
The book includes devotionals， prayers， wisdom from the saints， and more to help individuals and groups cultivate a saintly imagination。 Foreword by Lauren F。 Winner。
Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson explains that learning to hear the call of holiness requires cultivating a new imagination--one rooted in the act of reading。 Learning to read with eyes attuned to the saints who populate great works of literature moves us toward holiness， where God opens up a way of living that extends far beyond what we can conjure for ourselves。 Literature has the power to show us what a holy life looks like， and these depictions often scandalize even as they shape our imagination。 As such， careful reading becomes a sort of countercultural spiritual discipline。
The book includes devotionals， prayers， wisdom from the saints， and more to help individuals and groups cultivate a saintly imagination。 Foreword by Lauren F。 Winner。
Reviews
Sarah
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I loved this book。 🥰 Having read many of the books Jessica Hooten Wilson talks about - I can relate。 Great literature can and does change us， and dare I say inspire us to become saints。 This book is a must read for anyone who loves to read！
Sophie
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An excellent introduction to reading great literature as an exercise in longing for the holy。
Jon Anderson
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Pursuing holiness through imaginative reading
Haley Baumeister
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This book tied so many themes from her writing and talks together — in such a beautiful compilation。 Jessica Hooten Wilson challenges us to the difficult and rewarding task of working the muscles of our imagination for the sake of being shaped into holiness。 She wants to be a saint， and so should we。 Our imaginations， and therefore our lives， are shaped by the stories we take in。 She shares several characters and authors whose novels SHOW us what the painful process of becoming holy can look lik This book tied so many themes from her writing and talks together — in such a beautiful compilation。 Jessica Hooten Wilson challenges us to the difficult and rewarding task of working the muscles of our imagination for the sake of being shaped into holiness。 She wants to be a saint， and so should we。 Our imaginations， and therefore our lives， are shaped by the stories we take in。 She shares several characters and authors whose novels SHOW us what the painful process of becoming holy can look like。 She contrasts this with the didactic nature of non-fiction that TELLS us。 That is a huge and helpful genre that definitely has its place， but so many of us are starving ourselves of soul-shaping literature with an out-of-whack balance in our book diet。I've been personally challenged to read MORE stories （not always reading to take in information or learn， but to dwell with characters）。 And more GOOD stories （more hefty， difficult， and classic ones）。Many of the novels she goes through here I had either read， started， or have heard of and was reminded that they are all worth delving into — as I work through various books on my ever-growing list）。Though every theme and chapter is excellent， spurring us on to know and learn from its characters， one will stick with me most memorably （perhaps because I listened a second time by myself while driving up to the city）: The Flannery O'Connor/Graham Greene chapter on suffering。 I've been going through Flannery's stories lately and I know Jessica Hooten Wilson loves her a lot。 The ways she drew out the necessary role of suffering in the life of anyone who will be refined into holiness was beautiful。 We are either burned with the suffering and refining grace of Christ， or will be burned with a fire of our own making。 It made me want to pray for it， which seems odd and difficult （as Flannery points out。） But over and over in life and in stories， we see there are never any saints among us who get to skip out on soul-shaping trials。 I'll be buying a copy of this book for myself， even if just to read that chapter again and again。 。。。more
Russel Henderson
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A short， potent meditation on faith and the ability to use literature as a means to strengthen and enliven it。 I’ve long been more comfortable exploring faith through the prism of literature than I am through a lot of expressly Christian media， so I am a part of the target audience。 She ranges widely over works as different as Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy on the one hand and Eugene Vodolazkin on the other， and uses them to explore subjects such as environmentalism， racial injustice and inj A short， potent meditation on faith and the ability to use literature as a means to strengthen and enliven it。 I’ve long been more comfortable exploring faith through the prism of literature than I am through a lot of expressly Christian media， so I am a part of the target audience。 She ranges widely over works as different as Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy on the one hand and Eugene Vodolazkin on the other， and uses them to explore subjects such as environmentalism， racial injustice and injustice more broadly， and death。 She adds news angles to works with which I am familiar and introduces me to quite a few more books I will now need to read。 。。。more
Panda Incognito
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Jessica Hooten Wilson challenges common misconceptions about reading fiction， arguing that even though many Christians prioritize nonfiction reading and think of stories as frivolous， reading about literary characters can spur us on to greater holiness in our own lives。 In each chapter， she focuses on at least one novel and how it illustrates different elements of the Christian life， such as the role of community and the importance of creation care。 Most of the literary works she referenced were Jessica Hooten Wilson challenges common misconceptions about reading fiction， arguing that even though many Christians prioritize nonfiction reading and think of stories as frivolous， reading about literary characters can spur us on to greater holiness in our own lives。 In each chapter， she focuses on at least one novel and how it illustrates different elements of the Christian life， such as the role of community and the importance of creation care。 Most of the literary works she referenced were ones that I had never heard of or am only passingly familiar with， but she wrote about them in a compelling way and explained their contexts clearly。 I learned a lot without feeling like I was outside of the conversation because I hadn't already read the books。The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints will primarily appeal to devoted readers who enjoy literary fiction。 Personally， I wish that Wilson had provided some examples of less high-brow works that encourage holiness， because someone who reads this could walk away with the misconception that a book must be a Literary Experience to have spiritual value。 Based on the author's academic background， it makes sense for her to focus on great works of literature， but I can point to books that nobody would teach in a college class that have spiritually formed me or changed my life。 I wish that Wilson had included some examples of well-written， creative novels that wouldn't meet her standards for a "great work of literature，" but which have value and convey spiritual truth nonetheless。Overall， I would recommend this book to people who want to stretch and challenge their reading lives， already enjoy great works of literature， or are interested in this book for academic purposes。 If someone doesn't already read regularly or read classic works， then On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior is likely to be much more accessible。 Ultimately， The Scandal of Holiness is not targeted towards Christians who are trying to get into reading fiction， but to those who are already well-read and want to further expand their literary and spiritual horizons。 For those readers， Wilson provides thoughtful analyses of unlikely fictional saints， explores their complexities， and suggests ways to discuss and spiritually reflect on their stories。I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Steve Lasater
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The Scandal of Holiness by Jessica Hooten Wilson is literally BURSTING with wisdom about what we must do – what sort of persons we must BECOME – to progress in knowing God。 Rather than being a step-by-step guide to improving one’s holiness， it instead delves into several works of literature in which the protagonist either exemplifies or demonstrates holiness， thereby using story to capture our attention， and then our imagination， and thus inspiring us to pursue holiness in our own lives。 This us The Scandal of Holiness by Jessica Hooten Wilson is literally BURSTING with wisdom about what we must do – what sort of persons we must BECOME – to progress in knowing God。 Rather than being a step-by-step guide to improving one’s holiness， it instead delves into several works of literature in which the protagonist either exemplifies or demonstrates holiness， thereby using story to capture our attention， and then our imagination， and thus inspiring us to pursue holiness in our own lives。 This use of story to get a point across and to capture the imagination of the hearer or reader certainly has some memorable precedents: the parables told by Jesus of Nazareth comes to mind， and His approach has succeeded rather well。 But， for full disclosure， gentle reader， be warned: this book may cause you to feel dissatisfied with who you are and force you to make painful changes in your own life – ‘dissatisfied’ because you will read examples of ordinary people who by faith became anything but ordinary， and ‘painful changes’ because you will likely be challenged to take steps in your life that require at least effort， and may result in discomfort， or even pain。 （Saintliness ain’t easy， but it’s worth it。 More than anything else， in fact。） Read it now。 。。。more
Amy Living Well Read
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Happy launch day to Jessica Hooten Wilson’s The Scandal of Holiness！ I’ve been so excited about this book since I first saw Brazos Press mention it。 If you look at my IG post on this book， you will see my happy face hugging this one when I received my copy from them。 🥰This book addresses the idea of cultivating our imaginations as a way to move us toward holiness， a concept that is what my life’s work revolves around。 I was sold on this book when I saw Dr。 Karen Swallow Prior’s recommendation fo Happy launch day to Jessica Hooten Wilson’s The Scandal of Holiness！ I’ve been so excited about this book since I first saw Brazos Press mention it。 If you look at my IG post on this book， you will see my happy face hugging this one when I received my copy from them。 🥰This book addresses the idea of cultivating our imaginations as a way to move us toward holiness， a concept that is what my life’s work revolves around。 I was sold on this book when I saw Dr。 Karen Swallow Prior’s recommendation for this book with her comment that “In these pages， Jessica Hooten Wilson serves as a good guide to good stories that can form our imaginations toward greater holiness and humanity。” Wow！ I love her comments in the introduction where she writes， “Once an innocuous pastime， reading literature in our current culture is a way of protesting…To not let a program select a movie for you to watch next， but to choose a novel instead， one that may not fit an algorithm’s prediction about your preferences？” （6）。 Later in the book Wilson says， “We must imagine a new narrative and participate in a better story。 Through novels， for instance， we vicariously experience an alternative way of seeing the world。 With clearer sight of what is now and what ought to be， we might become actors of change toward realizing that hopeful vision” （87）。 SO GOOD。 In this book， Dr。 Wilson introduces her readers to several new works of literature and highlights their significance to us as believers。 Almost every work she discusses in-depth was new to me， and I wanted to complete the book to be able to share about it with you all， but I think if I was doing it over again， I would do a show read of this one and read the work（s） that she highlights in each chapter either before or as I was reading that particular chapter。 At the end of each chapter Wilson includes devotional thoughts with questions and considerations about the literature discussed in that chapter， Scripture， wisdom from the Saints， and/or specific prayers regarding that chapter’s discussion， as well as further reading suggestions。 This book really is a treasure trove for anyone interested in growing their reading and spiritual life！ 。。。more
David
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I love the idea of this book， but in practice found it frequently over my head。 If you love thinking deeply about literature and faith， then this book is worth your time。 Take my criticism of the book with a heavy grain of salt。 It is likely that I simply didn't "get it，" or was out of my depth academically。The primary idea is that we can learn more about holiness by reading about Christians in literature。 These depictions of saints can improve our imaginations and give us new ideas and ways of I love the idea of this book， but in practice found it frequently over my head。 If you love thinking deeply about literature and faith， then this book is worth your time。 Take my criticism of the book with a heavy grain of salt。 It is likely that I simply didn't "get it，" or was out of my depth academically。The primary idea is that we can learn more about holiness by reading about Christians in literature。 These depictions of saints can improve our imaginations and give us new ideas and ways of thinking about the Christian life。 This description is what drew me to the book。 Each chapter focuses on an idea （Holy Foolishness， death， suffering， liberation， motherhood， etc） and one primary novel。 The novels are then summarized in great detail。 This was helpful since every story was unfamiliar to me personally， but they seemed to drag on。The book will certainly stretch your imagination of what holiness can look like。 The stories are chosen strategically and all follow rather unconventional saints。 I left each chapter behind thinking more deeply about not just the subject， but the books mentioned as well。 The chapters all have a quote， devotional thought， questions， and more suggested reading。 I typically skim past these， but these were profound and helpful。This is a book that demands to be read slowly。 It would even be enriched by reading the books mentioned in between each chapter。 I found myself reading this book much slower than I would read normally and still struggled to follow along。I would recommend this book for intermediate/serious readers。 I like to think of myself as well-read， but I had never heard of most of the novels mentioned in the book。If you are not well versed in more "serious" literary fiction， then I might recommend starting with Karen Swallow Prior's "On Reading Well" instead。I received a copy of this book from NetGalley。 。。。more
Adsum Ravenhill
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All quotes are from the Scandal of Holiness unless otherwise stated。Holiness: Beginning， Middle， and End“We push imagination to the side as fantastical and unnecessary: fiction offers an escape and has nothing to do with the practice of faith。 But the imagination has everything to do with our faith: how we imagine our God， his world， and ourselves affects how we live and how we die。 Our imaginations reflect the story in which we assume we are participating。 What story are we part of？ Who's telli All quotes are from the Scandal of Holiness unless otherwise stated。Holiness: Beginning， Middle， and End“We push imagination to the side as fantastical and unnecessary: fiction offers an escape and has nothing to do with the practice of faith。 But the imagination has everything to do with our faith: how we imagine our God， his world， and ourselves affects how we live and how we die。 Our imaginations reflect the story in which we assume we are participating。 What story are we part of？ Who's telling it？ Does it end happily ever after？”You’re probably familiar with the idea of Schrodinger’s Cat， that a cat in a box on the brink of certain death is both dead and alive until the box is opened and the contents observed。 If not， maybe you’ve heard of the tree which fell down in a forest， did it make a sound if no one was there to hear it fall？ These are imaginary ideas that illustrate poignant points of interest， if I may though if we were to switch the narratives around， they might seem a tad more familiar。You are the cat。 You’re in a box on the brink of certain death， you don’t know anything that’s going on outside the box， nor do you know whether you will be observed and saved before time is up。 On the other hand， perhaps you’re the tree and you’ve fallen down in a forest， unaware of whether or not anyone heard you and you can only lie down and wait and see， imagining the possible outcomes which could come to pass。That is life。 We don’t actually know what’s going to happen， but we are constantly imagining it。 I love planning， I even have a word for it， Teleography， the combination of Telos and the suffix -graphy， essentially， the art of setting aims or ultimate objectives。 As you can probably imagine though， a couple of weeks ago when I fell ill， my work fell to the wayside， my meticulous multi-coloured spreadsheet was no longer being followed and I began to imagine the repercussions the time wasted would have on the near future。 What would I do to catch up at the weekend？ Who could help？Huh？Surely， having just been smacked in the face by illness， I wouldn’t have been so naive as to think I could start planning the next part of the narrative， right？Well， that’s not how we work。 Humans are geared towards using their imagination。 Part of the reason we can catch balls for instance is by our brains calculating where the ball will go， not just where it is。 Sure， wind could sweep the ball up， and some of us are better than others at the whole sportsball thing， but it seems we are hardwired to see where things are going， not just where they are。 If you think you’re beyond using your imagination， remember that Schrodinger used his to help him to try and understand quantum mechanics。Imagining HolinessIt seems clear to me that while Wilson clearly has a love for literature， her burden is that Christians of all stripes and denominations would strive for holiness。 Wilson。 is well-read in fiction and non-fiction， in both recent and ancient texts。 Where holiness is presented， there you’ll likely find Wilson’s footsteps， she’s been there and assessed it all。 Sanctification， Sacraments， Saints and their Icons， from protestant traditions through every shade of the orthodox and catholic churches， this book draws from Wilson’s extensive survey of it all through the critique of fictional literature。Wilson illustrates why when she says:“Whenever I read stories about saints such as Hildegard of Bingen or Teresa of Ávila， I wonder whether it was easier to be holy if you didn't have toddlers screaming at you。 Then I remember: my children are my community。 They are the family with whom I am pursuing holiness， as are my neighbors， my friends， my church， as well as the strangers with whom I daily interact。”Though she is speaking here of biography， it’s plain that when Wilson reads， her mind’s eye is on holiness， when she takes that sight and then casts it upon herself and her own situation， she carries that over and continues the journey in her own life。 She’s inspired by those whose lives she’s read， both fictional and non-fictional， and she then puts what she’s learned into action。 If you’ve listened to our podcast， you’ll know that I fell in love with Austen’s Pride and Prejudice， but that’s not the book that sparked my love affair with Austen， that honour goes to Mansfield Park。 Within the confines of Mansfield， a manor house belonging to a wealthy family， Ms。 Price， the protagonist， is forced to wrestle with her loves， her morals， her faith， how to love neighbours with whom she staunchly disagrees and how to repent when she falls into sin。 I grew through her and through other characters in the narrative too。 If you’ve read fiction you’ve probably had similar experiences。 If you’re a reader， especially a reader of fiction， this book is probably for you。 I would recommend buying this book， along with one or two of the books mentioned in its pages and reading them together， slowly。 I don’t know whether this was Wilson’s intention， which I’ll get to， but certainly for me personally， I felt better equipped to read fiction， and to help people read fiction， having read this book。CriticismI have some criticism of this book， though nothing which would lead me to withhold recommending， I do think this is wonderfully written and well-argued。 My critique comes down to these two points:I’m not sure who the intended target audience was。There are points where Wilson’s theology could have been made more clearTo that first point， I think I began this book assuming， I think wrongfully， that this was a book intended for anyone from a relatively new reader right up to more experienced ones。 What became clear fairly quickly was that unless you already were already fairly well-read lots of the examples and analogies would simply go over your head。 I will be honest and say that there were times I found myself in that camp， even with as broad a reading history as I have。 I don’t say that to try and puff myself up， but to say that the audience of this book won’t be as broad as it otherwise could have been。That’s not necessarily a bad thing， in fact I found that when Wilson said the following:“When I attend … events， I look for those on the outer ring。 Where are the bright-eyed undergraduates and overeager graduate students？ Who looks as though they know no one at this event and need a friend to sit with them？ I've been able to love people who care about poetry and the arts but who will never be known in the eyes of the world。”That I’d found Wilson’s audience。 I might be wrong， I’m simply not sure， but if I’ve understood correctly， Wilson loves those who love literature and wants to take them on a journey that will help them not to simply walk with fictional figures of holiness， but to walk through them and into a greater understanding of personal holiness。Wilson says in her introduction:“If we are spending half our day consuming the world's narratives about who we are， what we want， and how to love， then we are being formed by an idolatrous imagination。 If we are to counteract the diseased imaginations that we inherit and that daily influence us， we must be revolutionary in how we spend our time。”That is an enviable goal that we should all look to fulfil， however， I think it’s a call that will need to be tackled by a few more writers at different levels， or again by Wilson at a simpler level， to achieve （A bit like Rebecca McLaughlin with Confronting Christianity & 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask （and Answer） about Christianity。）To the second point。 I must stress here that I am a big advocate for reading outside of your own tradition and of theological retrieval。 There are absolutely ways that we can grow through learning from the traditions of other denominations and understandings of Christianity （I used created a protestant version of the rosary a couple of years ago for instance。） Occasionally it’s unclear whether a theological distinctive of a particular tradition， i。e Orthodox Icons， was being used to illustrate Wilson’s point， to encourage ecumenism （promoting church unity）， or was held by Wilson herself。 Ordinarily， this wouldn’t have been too much of an issue and we as the reader would likely have been able to assess this through context。 However。 As this book makes heavy use of fictional examples， sometimes speaking of them as if they actually happened （which I believe they did in a very real way for Wilson，） it blurs the lines too far in my opinion。 This book would have benefitted from taking a clearer stance on certain theological views， even if those views were vastly different than where I would land theologically。 （I would welcome criticism of this opinion from others who end up reading the book。）Sidenote: In the spirit of fairness， I would offer this quotation:“When we consider what it means to learn from saints' stories， we draw from our specific church background。 The Orthodox are surrounded by the saints in the icons; Catholics celebrate saints' days and share their stories as regularly as Bible stories with their children; Protestants often overlook these historical figures because of their association with pre-Reformed tradition but will occasionally read Foxe's Book of Martyrs or focus on the sacrifice of beloved missionaries， such as Jim and Elisabeth Elliot。 I have sought to overcome these divisions by assembling holy figures from a diverse array of writers from each tradition。 I am not conflating the differences between these divergent faiths， but I am hoping to focus on our commonality for the present pages。”I have， I believe， taken this into account， but I want to be as fair as I can be and I certainly don’t want to misrepresent Wilson’s own views。Conclusion - Should you read this book？If you are an avid reader， I believe you would benefit hugely from this book。 If you’re an intermediate reader who would like to be challenged， I would also commend this book to you， but with the caveat that you may not understand every reference Wilson makes and that’s more than okay。I would say again that if you are going to read this book， don’t just read this book， I know I’ll personally be going back to read Laurus with Wilson’s thoughts in mind， I suggest you do so with， at least， one of the books she mentions。Finally， I would commend to you these words:“I hope that you fall in love with these stories， that you close these pages desiring more beauty and goodness， and that these stories， most significantly of all， will increase your love for the one writing your story， the Author of us all。”Wilson loves God， lives and breathes the quest for holiness and wants you to as well， I stand with her here。 Whether or not you read this book， there are many fictional works you can and will grow through， whether Christian or not， keep these words in mind:“Finally brothers and sisters， whatever is true， whatever is honorable， whatever is just， whatever is pure， whatever is lovely， whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things。”Philippians 4:8 CSBGrace and Peace，Adsum Try Ravenhill 。。。more
C。N。
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Another excellent book by Jessica Hooten Wilson。 Mimesis in following models of holiness transforms who we are and subsequently how we live。 Wilson shows us through literature the saints who see the world as God does， permeated with His presence。 She introduces the reader to multiple perspectives to see the world more clearly， not sentimentally， but truly with God's grace present through difficult reality。 She reminds us of the purgative existence through contemplation and the active life。 She g Another excellent book by Jessica Hooten Wilson。 Mimesis in following models of holiness transforms who we are and subsequently how we live。 Wilson shows us through literature the saints who see the world as God does， permeated with His presence。 She introduces the reader to multiple perspectives to see the world more clearly， not sentimentally， but truly with God's grace present through difficult reality。 She reminds us of the purgative existence through contemplation and the active life。 She gives us tools to understand the way of life is difficult but transformative and not comfortable。 This is an important book of shaping the imagination and the whole person。 。。。more
Gina Dalfonzo
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