faithforever's Full Review: Sheri Reynolds - The Rapture of Canaan
A cult is defined as a small religious group regarded as strange or as imposing excessive control over its members. Before reading The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds, the first thought that would pop into my head when I heard the word “Cult” was Charles Manson or the Salem Witch Trials or maybe something to do with satanic rituals or devil worshipers. Cult was a word that pertained to evil and craziness, obsessiveness and dictatorship, a group of narrow-minded, manipulative and controlling individuals who might go to extremes most of us wouldn’t consider going to in order to prove their ideas or beliefs are the right ones. For me, cult was a word that was confined to the darkest demonic dilemmas, the delusional, demented, and destructive; the depressed, discouraged and despondent. A cult was something to avoid and preferably, ignore the existence of.
The Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds contemporary novel is set in a small Christian Community where the co-coordinator/leader, Grandpa Herman, labeled the small community the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind. This novel has given me reason to believe that my previous perception of the word “cult” was presumptuous. A cult isn’t necessarily evil or demonic. And, in all truth, a cult could easily have originated from an aspiration intended for good. The defining characteristics, I believe, that draw the invisible lines between the words cult and community, are the restrictions, boundaries, limits, controls and expectations imposed on those in the group or community.
There are reasonable and unreasonable demands. There are reasonable and unreasonable limits. There are reasonable and unreasonable restrictions. There are reasonable and unreasonable controls. There are reasonable and unreasonable boundaries. Individuals who aren’t given the simple right to be individual will naturally rebel, even if that rebellion is merely in their heart. Home is where the heart is and if the heart is soured, then the home will be too. At the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind, that invisible line has been crossed and things are beginning to show signs of souring.
Reynolds most prominent character comes in the form of a teenage girl named Ninah, who is probably as curious, creative and content a girl as any parent could hope to have. Living in a community where everybody obeys the rules set down by Grandpa Herman or else pays the penalties he decides upon, isn’t always easy, especially for Ninah. Avoiding sin is a way of life for the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind. Still, there are temptations at every corner threatening Ninah’s determination not to sin. She isn’t just afraid of God, who can send her to her fiery torment. Ninah is afraid of Grandpa Herman and the other church members, who can send her to her earthly torment. In spite of her fears, prayers and determination to avoid sinning, though, Ninah is often tempted and when she falls into sin there are devastating and mysterious results that even Grandpa Herman couldn’t have prophesied.
Some of the other characters that combine to capture the grace of The Rapture of Canaan are the gentle and caring James, Ninah’s prayer partner and beloved friend; Nanna (Lelia) Grandpa Herman’s wife and Ninah’s confidant and most loving example of what real love is all about; Ninah’s Daddy, who goes to immeasurable limits for his daughter; Ben Harback, who enters the community of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind, with the a yearning to be close to God and exits the community with the assurance that Grandpa Herman is NOT God, in spite of and because of his authoritarianism and moralistic tyranny; Ajita Patel, Ninah’s Indian friend, who understands her fears and faith more than most; and Corinthian, another teenage girl who Ninah is forbidden to speak to.
The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind is a community constructed of believers who follow Christ. They are Christians and sometimes, martyrs. They believe. But they are being guided by Grandpa Herman, who’s self-righteous and authoritarian position allows him to be more cruel than Christian at times. Instead of leading, Grandpa Herman commands and demands, with the firm belief that his ideas, morals and clarity of biblical principles, are absolute and beyond reproach. At the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind, Grandpa Herman’s word is law and that in itself puts binders and blinders on a community that is intended to be devoted to Jesus.
There are pieces of Reynolds novel that will shout at you. There are pieces that will grab your hand and pull you into the layers of a teenager’s confusion, concepts and chaotic circumstances. There are pieces that will comfort you and pieces that will make you yearn for understanding. There are pieces of these pages that will remind you just how blessed you are and other pieces that will cause you to cringe. There are pieces of this novel that will speak to your heart and other pieces that will remind you to thank God. The Rapture of Canaan isn’t just another good book. The Rapture of Canaan is a tantalizing treat to be digested by readers who won’t want to stop reading even after page 317 has been completed. That ending will leave you fuller than you might have expected it to.
If you’re looking for a book that is worthy of your time, a book that will linger in the back of your mind and a book that you wouldn’t mind reading just one more time… try The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds.
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