Robert Farrar Capon is an Episcopal priest who is Vicar of Christ Church in Port Jefferson, New York. He is also Dean, Instructor in Greek, and Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the George Mercer, Jr. School of Theology in Garden City, New York. Among his many widely acclaimed books are Hunting the Divine Fox: Images and Mystery in Christian Faith, The Supper of the Lamb, Bed and Board, and An Offering of Uncles.
Father Capon enjoys cooking and serves up a good intellectual meal as well. We had the chance to interview him recently about his indirect approach to theology and his most recent work, Exit 36: A Fictional Chronicle. This unusual and totally engaging book is a theological novel. The story concerns a minister who delves into the amorous activities of a married priest who has just committed suicide by crashing his car into a highway abutment. In the context of this work of fiction, Capon unravels some of his own thoughts about suicide, death, judgment, heaven and hell, sin, reconciliation, and the meaning of Christ's passion for modern men and women.
Perhaps fiction will offer theologians an occasion to do their work in a way quite different from traditional metaphysics. Certainly Father Capon's imaginative manner of writing and talking about the Gospel is quite refreshing.
