Book Review: Theology of Home by Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, Photography by Kim Baile

It might seem odd that a Reformed Baptist would turn to a Roman Catholic for theology…and if it’s not odd to you, just don’t worry your pretty little head about it. The Reformed Baptists have only had a resurgence in the US over about 3 generations now. Many of the 1st generation of Reformed Baptists are still with us today, while their sons fill our pulpits, and their grandchildren begin to make professions of faith. We have spent the last 40 years just getting a grasp on our theology and building our seminaries. We’ve depended a lot on Presbyterians for those early theological developments. We’ve gotten better at tracing our roots back and seeing places we do agree with the Roman Catholics (think Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, and even some more modern guys on the Trinity and Impassibility). But we’re still Reformed Baptist, tracing our roots back to Calvin, Luther, Owen, and others. With this rediscovery and resurgence, there are some areas we’re still not well represented. I think women and homemaking is one of those areas. I’ve yet to find any solid Reformed Baptists who have tackled these issues or looked at the home from a solid Reformed Baptist, biblical, confessional, two-kingdom perspective.

And if I’m gonna read witches on Homemaking, why not Roman Catholics?

For the first time, I understood the appeal of Roman Catholicism. (If that doesn’t point to the power of home, I don’t know what does.) It feels so visible. Instead of small churches of maybe 50-100 members scattered here and there, you have Notre Dame. You have women who can discuss their theology intelligently and thoroughly. You have faith given sight, you have saving works, and you have rituals and traditions. All these things are, humanly speaking, beautiful. I have read of believers, one is mentioned in the book, who grew up Baptist and became Roman Catholic. I’ve always wondered how that happened. I’m reading Tolkien’s letters, I’ve connected with some Roman Catholics on Tumblr, read this book, and I get it. I see how this happens. There is a real appeal to the flesh of man to want to be part of something so visually rich and so well established, beautiful, and warm. I get it.

Reading this book was a never-ending theological battle in the warmest, most beautiful, literally-brought-tears-to-my-eyes setting. It was like fighting an intellectual battle in Mom’s kitchen while she’s baking scones and the coffee is brewing. The coziness made it irksome to keep my theological shield up.

Theology of Home covered the Essentials, Elements, and Beyond the Walls of home. It rooted in theology Comfort, Balance, Nourishment, and more. It honored the home, painting it as a place of great worth and beauty.

I enjoyed this book on a level I haven’t experienced in a long time in the homemaking world.

And yet it was all Roman Catholic. It was quoting of saints, veneration of the Pope and Mary. There were parts of it that were pagan feeling — like oddly pagan. At one point the authors suggest marking a Latin phrase on your doorpost to invite the Holy Spirit in. That creeped me out because it was so akin to reading the Hearth Witch book. I saw how the Roman Catholics had folded so much paganism into the church in those few short paragraphs.

At another point, they mentioned that if you want to have a beautiful home you must first start with the church. You must be part of the church. Here! Here was a book on the home that said you must first be in church. I’ve been looking for this book for so long, my heart sang. Then my husband reminded me that what they mean by ‘church’ and what we mean by ‘church’ are two different things. And that is the challenging part about reading this book. We’re often using the same words but mean very different things. You have to stay permanently on-guard and you have to do all the translating, constantly.

What did I get out of this book? A general sense of the warmth and beauty of home and family. I got a sense of not being alone, of there being other women in the world who hold home in high regard and seek to make home a place of delight and healing and rest. I felt like I’d come home. While I don’t agree theologically with what is presented here, the way it was presented came across as so much richer and deeper than the Protestant-Evangelical women I’ve read. It also came across as way less shrill and whiny. It came across as less compromising. Protestant-Evangelical women tend to feel like they’re halfway feminists, and if they’re not, they’re some weird fundamentalist/one kingdom conglomeration. These Roman Catholic women love their theology, love their church, love their families. They’re not coming across as half-baked theologians, shrill screamers, or compromising with the world for fear of offending someone. I truly felt like I’d walked into a beautiful room filled with warm sunlight, been offered a steaming mug of coffee, and been welcomed to rest. That general feeling is what I think homemaking books should have.

You will notice that I can’t give you anything specific. That is because I didn’t walk away with anything specific, just a general feeling, and that’s because our theology is so different. Because this book is theological, I didn’t get much specifically from it. It would be akin to reading a book on the spirituality of the home from the ‘theology’ of a practicing witch. Probably not going to get a lot from a book like that either.

Would I recommend this book? For the pictures alone, I want to say yes. They are wonderful. It was a delight to pour over them. This book is just, plain and simply, beautiful. I loved the fact that while the homes are big, well decorated, and lavish, they look like real homes. They look less Pinterest-y and more like actual homes. Actual homes of actually established matrons and families.

On the other hand, if you’re not well versed in history and theology, or don’t have a husband or trusted friend who is, I would suggest avoiding this book. This book is the Theology of Home. It is entirely about the home from a Roman Catholic system of beliefs. If you aren’t aware of why we disagree with them and on what points, you could seriously confuse yourself or even follow them down into some heretical beliefs. This book was a wake-up call to me for us women to take our theology seriously. They do. Women in Roman Catholic churches take their theology seriously. They can explain it. They can discuss it. It made me feel ashamed because I don’t know if I could write the Theology of Home as a Reformed Baptist as clearly and beautifully as these women have as Catholics. (Part of this is because as a Reformed Baptist, my theology of Home is largely based in the doctrines of Christian Liberty once you get beyond the command to be in our homes.)

Last but not least, I’m always on a hunt for good homemaking books, books that point me home. My ideal book would explain and then trash the Feminist ideologies, would set my womanhood in rich theological roots, (stop breaking God’s law and start obeying it, negative replaced with positive), would point me to church first, and then husband and home, would set the ideal home before me, covering the theological and philosophical bases of home and what home should be. It would inspire me and convict me and train me. It would be filled with beauty, lights, plants, and food. Thus far, I’ve found snippets of it here and there. A bit over here, a bit over there, some under this page, more over in that book. I’ve yet to find my ideal homemaker book. But, even if I disagree with them theologically, I may have found a partial place in Roman Catholic homemakers. Finding this book opened the door to others. My reading list is growing. I just want to stay on guard and keep my theology before my eyes. I’m sure this will spark some good conversations at breakfast.

This book is in many ways more subtle than the witchcraft books. I don’t believe in the witches' little gods, nor will I be setting up an altar, or casting spells. But reading them, I was encouraged to pray more specifically about my work when I’m cooking, cleaning, and decorating. I was encouraged to think about the spirit of my home, not just the brick and mortar. Reading the Roman Catholics, I’ve been encouraged that home is a beautiful and warm place and it’s worth the work. I’m reminded that my home isn’t disconnected from my theology, even if we’re coming at that from a different perspective.

I loved this book, but even now I can see the dangers. It encourages living by sight instead of faith, of making everything somehow sacred, meaning everything has theological import. Lighting isn’t just lighting, it’s a picture of how the saints and the church are a light unto the world. There is a mix up of Natural Revelation and Spiritual Revelation. It encourages Mass in the home, veneration of the saints, and worship of Mary. So, if you read this book, be careful. It is beautiful, subtle, and in many places untrue in what it is teaching, it just does it from a very warm and comforting couch over a glass of wine instead of screaming, yelling, and casting hexes.