Call It Grace

Finding Meaning in a Fractured World

By: Serene Jones

Narrated by: Serene Jones

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"Theology is a place and a story. Theology is the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, of the world, and the possibility of God."

So begins Serene Jones' epic work of raw truth, fierce love, and spiritual teaching as muscular as the fractured soul of this century demands. From her abiding Oklahoma roots to her historic leadership of a legendary New York seminary, her story illuminates the deep fault lines of this age - and points beyond them.

With a voice that is at once frank and poetic, humble and prophetic, intimate and practical, Jones makes complex teachings around hatred, forgiveness, mercy, justice, death, sin, and grace understandable and immediately applicable for modern people. Excavating the wisdom of great theological voices - Soren Kierkegaard, Reinhold Niebuhr, John Calvin, James Baldwin, James Cone, Luce Irigaray, Saint Teresa of Avila - she brings them to life with an intimacy and vividness that illumines our lives and our culture now. At the same time, and with great beauty, Call It Grace reveals Serene Jones as a towering voice of a new, and urgently necessary, public theology for this century.

©2019 Serene Jones (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I once listed my dear, spectacular friend Serene Jones as my 'spiritual advisor,' and she is that and so much more. Our impassioned conversations across the last six years and through travel and adventures together and apart, have shaped [my] writing in a thousand ways and flow all the way through it." (Krista Tippett, author of Becoming Wise and On Being)

“A moving, personal reflection on the alchemy of race, gender, class and theology in rural America and beyond written by one of the leading progressive theologians in the United States, Serene Jones.” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow)

"Compelling as well as wise, the theology this book embodies arises from a life fully lived. Serene Jones is a wonderful storyteller, whose wisdom is earned - which makes what she has to say both powerful and inspiring." (Betty Sue Flowers, book editor and series consultant, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth)

Powerful!

This book was amazing! Dr. Jones is a masterful storyteller. She tells the story of hurt, individual and societal sin, pain, betrayal, and also forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation. She tells it so well that these aspects of God’s nature jumped off the pages for me. All of the high-minded theories of the great Christian thinkers and theologians (Barth, Kierkegaard, Calvin, etc.) came to life through Jones’ deeply personal telling of her own lived experiences, and it is incredibly moving. It held my attention and I couldn’t stop listening. Every Christian should read this!

wonderful book for all who struggle with God.

loved this book, life story mixed with love, family, tragedy and theology. must read today.

Wow!

Dr. Jones puts it all out there. It’s so inspiring to hear about her life, beliefs in God, and determination in numerous challenges. Life includes the good, the bad, and the ugly just like a Clint Eastwood movie and Dr. Jones addresses it all in her own way. As an Oklahoman, I appreciated her stories of home. And the story about 4/19 brought tears to my eyes. I remember it all too well. This book is really helping me process life events like 4/19 based on common beliefs (yes, I’m Presby). Thank you for a thoughtful and meaningful book.