Going to Heaven

Lainie’s recent writings on the ongoing debates in the Episcopal Church reminded me of an excellent book I read a few years ago–a biography of Bishop Gene Robinson.  My review…

Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson
Elizabeth Adams
Soft Skull Press, 2006

On November 2, 2003, Gene Robinson garnered national media attention as he became the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church.  Elizabeth Adams offers readers a look inside the man who—though far from ordinary—would be an unlikely candidate for celebrity were it not for the matter of his sexuality and the heated debate currently raging in Christian churches worldwide.   As the subtitle suggests, this is not merely a hagiography of a holy man revered by the author, herself a devoted Episcopalian, but a careful reporting of the history and events leading up to this momentous occasion in the Episcopal Church USA.

Readers unfamiliar with the rich traditions of the Episcopal Church in America will find themselves either enlightened or weighed down with the detailed descriptions of canon law, procedural minutiae, and numerous clergy and parishioners.  Adams writes from an insider’s perspective, apprising us of everything from Gene’s personal feelings to the security and media arrangements on the day of the consecration.  At times tedious with this detail, it nevertheless gives bountiful insight into how this mainline denomination dealt with and continues to address homosexuality in the church.  The author also provides interesting historical background of the progress of women’s ordination within the denomination.

This book is obviously sympathetic to the position of the full inclusion of gays in all areas of church life and ministry and may offend those of a rigid conservative position (especially Southern Baptists, who are periodically singled at as examples throughout the text).  However, those willing to engage the debate will find a measured representation of the conservative reaction within the Episcopal church at personal, diocesan, national and international levels.  Evangelical readers may be surprised, in fact, to read of the agonizing concern and painstaking efforts made in this process to preserve both orthodoxy and unity within the Church.  The Episcopal Church may have a reputation as “liberal,” but as Adams demonstrates here, the denomination is filled with a diverse array of beliefs and believers.  Bishop Robinson’s consecration was not the result of a secret homosexual agenda steamrolling through the church, but a complex series of slow and painful changes seen simultaneously as victories and defeats depending upon one’s perspective.  The degree to which each decision was regarded prayerfully as well as the reported “Spirit-filled” moments by those interviewed is evocative of Evangelical language.  For those dealing with this issue and others within their own denominations, the words of Bishop Paul Moore may provide them with a new way of thinking about the way forward: “…this is the way progress comes, not smoothly through the system, but by disruption, reflection, and compromise.  History moves in jerks, like an old steam engine pulling out of a station.  Occasionally, I thought to myself, people fall down” (p. 43).

This is, of course, primarily a biography.  The life of Gene Robinson is related through friendly interviews, insightful anecdotes, and personal observations.  Bishop Robinson shines through as one admired, loved and respected by those who know him.  Those who read this book will be drawn in by his warmth and wisdom, whether or not they agree with his theology and lifestyle.  Bishop Robinson cites John Fortunato’s Embracing the Exile: Healing Journeys for Gay Christians, as the book that changed his life.  Perhaps Going to Heaven will have a similar impact on some of its readers as well.