JIm FUlner reviewed Geekpriest by Roderick Vönhogen
Review
4 stars
Geekpriest is about the adventures of a unexpected priest from a rural town in the Netherlands. He tells the story of how he grew up a Catholic, and even most people in his Catholic school thought the church teachings where dumb, he wanted to become a comic book artist, but was drawn to the priesthood, against his parents' wishes.
He wrote a hand coded website about the rumors surrounding " Star Wars The Phantom Menace" even though his bishop didn't think it was something a good priest should be doing. Along the way he was able to make references to the Catholic faith seen in the Star Wars universe, and unbeknownst to himself later when attending a Star Wars release received reports from multiple people that he had led them (back) to the Church.
He shared his exercise podcasting, starting a podcasting network, blogs, all while struggling with …
Geekpriest is about the adventures of a unexpected priest from a rural town in the Netherlands. He tells the story of how he grew up a Catholic, and even most people in his Catholic school thought the church teachings where dumb, he wanted to become a comic book artist, but was drawn to the priesthood, against his parents' wishes.
He wrote a hand coded website about the rumors surrounding " Star Wars The Phantom Menace" even though his bishop didn't think it was something a good priest should be doing. Along the way he was able to make references to the Catholic faith seen in the Star Wars universe, and unbeknownst to himself later when attending a Star Wars release received reports from multiple people that he had led them (back) to the Church.
He shared his exercise podcasting, starting a podcasting network, blogs, all while struggling with the needs of his parish. I was most touched by this part. While in the 21st century most all of us now see our priests are fallen human than same as us, it's still a mystery that to too many looks like a super easy job they only work a few days a week. I was flabbergasted at his experience having to fight with the members of his parish council for the right to use the approved liturgical texts. I know Holland is known for some of the most disbelieving believers, home of the infamous "atheist priest" of the Dutch Reformed Church who "believers in a God that does not exist" but to see such inside the Catholic Church is still mind shattering to me. And he shares his struggles with mental health, and his recovery journey, related to him not meeting up to his own standards of what he should be as a "super priest."
After seeing the poverty in Uganda, he changed his lifestyle, stopped eating junk food, became a marathon runner and gave more to the global poor.
If you are a Catholic, a protestant, an unbeliever, a Star Wars fan, a runner, someone concerned about mental health or a podcaster, I recommend this book