This is my review of “Good and Faithful Heretic,” a collection of poetry by Sarah Joy Green-Hart. Full disclosure: I know the author through social media; but I paid full price for the book on Amazon.
A Timely Message
This is the book we need right now. Green-Hart’s message of forgiveness and tolerance is heartfelt and uplifting. The author’s sadness is palpable as her poems describe the heartbreak of separation, loss, and isolation.
Poetic Inspiration
Green-Hart has very carefully omitted references to the background of real life circumstances that inspired these poems; and from a purely literary standpoint, allowing the pieces to speak for themselves is an admirable choice.
That said, as a reader who happens to know the author from social media, my own personal understanding of the broader context of life circumstances that inspired this work has greatly enhanced my personal appreciation for the meaning behind the words.
These poems were inspired by a difficult, heart-rending experience of expulsion and ostracism from a close-knit faith community over what may appear to outsiders as fairly minor differences of doctrinal interpretation, which a prominent figure saw as a challenge to his personal authority. In referring to this experience in her poems, Green-Hart has mentioned the pain, but has not dwelt on the details of the drama. In the long term, such details are unimportant; which I think is why the author has so purposely declined to delve into those specifics in the text.
The important thing is the thoughts and feelings brought about by those events, which are beautifully expressed in these poems; and the supporting passages from scripture, which provide a lens to see through, a mirror to reflect on, and a frame to provide context.
A Deeply Religious Spirituality
It is interesting to see so many Bible quotes in a book of poetry. I have been reading a lot of poetry lately, and Green-Hart’s approach is unusual. But being unusual can make a work of art stand out, and this poetry collection is certainly outstanding.
Reading through these poems, one is immediately aware that Green-Hart is deeply, profoundly religious; but not in a preachy, dogmatic, or combative sense. This is the belief of personal spirituality: a religion based on caring, helping, striving to do what is right, and seeking compassion and reconciliation when conflicts arise or transgressions occur. Green-Hart is a Christian in the way the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist: that is, she finds the best elements of faith and bases practical wisdom life advice on them. If Green-Hart were a preacher, I would go listen to her sermon; and reading these poems is pretty close.
A Place for Heresy in Society
Although the poems in “Good and Faithful Heretic” do not narrate a storyline with a traditional plot, they tell a story nonetheless. This is a story questioning the meaning of “heresy.” If a heresy is merely a doctrinal position that disagrees with an official doctrinal position, then isn’t it unethical to persecute heretics personally for their beliefs? Conversely, if heresy is a challenge to the absolute power of a centralized authority, then is it not a fundamental necessity in a free and open democratic society? Ostracizing dissenters for disagreeing with an official view is a pretty harsh way of enforcing doctrinal purity within a community. Shouldn’t people be allowed to possess differing views?
The right to dissent is fundamental to freedom itself; and communities or organizations that stifle dissent in pursuit of puritanical monolithic beliefs are inherently totalitarian. “Believe what I tell you to believe or else suffer exile” is a form of authoritarianism, and a dangerous principle for nominally free people to accept. Ultimately, our tolerance for dissent is what makes us truly great as a society. Just because someone embraces a “heresy” does not affect that person’s faith, their strength of belief, or their personal morality. A person may be a “heretic” and yet remain in their heart a defender of the faith, a good person who lives their life according to principles of decency and kindness. Punishing dissenters by removing them from the community is a sign of ego and insecurity: it is a power play, designed to consolidate absolute power in the hands of a central authority who is, after all, only human.
All this and more is contained within the contemplative poems of “Good and Faithful Heretic.” I highly recommend this poetry collection to readers regardless of faith. May it stimulate thoughtful discourse on the best way for a compassionate, tolerant society to receive dissent with love and understanding.
Thank you, Jesse. This is lovely. 🙂
It was my pleasure, Sarah! Thank you for your thoughtful poems ?