Book Review
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Samson and the Pirate Monks - Calling Men to Authentic BrotherhoodMost compelling thought:Many men suffer from sex-addiction or sex abuse. You are not alone. Alone we can not make it, but together we can. Buy this book for: Everyone! Churches should buy this book per box of fifty, and hand copies out to their members. If this book should fall into the hands of a rare male who doesn't struggle with sex misuse, it won't hurt him to learn that the rest of us do. |
Nate Larkin
Nate Larkin is a former pastor who earned his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is now a freelance writer and speaking coach. He is one of the founders of The Samson Society.
A brief review of:
Samson and the Pirate Monks
With his formidable and exceptionally brave book, Nate Larking addresses the detrimental foe of sex addiction, the kind that makes one lie to spouse, friends, self and God.After the shocking details of his troubled life, Nate Larking informs the reader that a way out exists. The second part of his book deals with the founding and inner workings of the so-called Samson Society.
Nate Larkin writes within two traditions. First that odd phenomenon of Christian guy's literature (Wild At Heart, Blue like Jazz), that has emerged as a response to the various sexual revolutions of the former century, those movements that clearly defined women but left men as indistinct blurs. Secondly the corpus of men's confessionals that also counts Paul (I do what I don't want to), Augustine, Luther and John Newton (the author of Amazing Grace).
Among books of the first tradition, Samson and the Pirate Monks must be recognized as vastly superior. Larkin's exquisite literary style, sparkling humor and deep insights in the troubles of the weak gender combine into the most potent work of its kind I have ever read. Its true value, however, becomes clear when it is put next to books of the second tradition. Most confessionals focus first on the sin of the author and then on the grace of God, which is invariably reported sufficient to lead a man from darkness into light. Larkin goes a step further, or more precise: a couple of steps back.
In the course of its evolution, the church has managed to shed many of its original qualities. Two of these are the devotion to truth and the brotherhood of all men, which often appear to have been replaced by the devotion to keeping up appearances and competitive piety. And that, confesses Nate, did him in. Subsequently he asserts that he could have hardly been the only Christian male who got suckered in by the lures of this world. After a lifetime of suffering, relapsing and self-loathing, Nate decided to wave his pastoral immunity and came clean to a few trusted friends. The responses were shocking. Where Pamela Paul's Pornified (read our review) gloatingly reports that sex-addiction occurs just as much inside the church as out, even up to the clerical level, openness about it was almost not existent.
Nate and his friends founded the Samson society, named after the proverbial he-man, the strongest personality ever, who saw his solitary lifestyle and ministry end in ruin. The society that bears his name aims to do better. Grafted on the time-honored twelve-step-program of AA, the Pirate Monks submit their most intimate thoughts and motivations to each other, and counsel and support each other. According to the book and its many endorsements, the program is an unprecedented success.
Some commentators submit that the title of this book may be a bit lame, but I disagree. I was engrossed in this book on three airports and three flights from Vancouver to München, Frankfurt and Krakow, and I probably wouldn't have done that if the title had been "How to overcome my sex addiction."
Buy this book. Get it on-line. Read it.
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