Behind closed doors by Ngaire Thomas book review.
Behind closed doors is a Christian book published in the year 2005 by a renowned author Ngaire Thomas. The book addresses readers’ curiosity of how it feels to believe that you are a part of the few who are chosen to follow and maintain the righteous path of Christianity. The author, born into a Christian family in the 1940s, decided to abandon the religion later in the 1970s. She uses her own experiences of faith against a religious group known as Exclusive Brethren’s; the movement views the spiritual path as the only way of life. The writer uses a non-judgmental style in a compelling book where she covers her own experiences while still acknowledging the Exclusive Brethren’s right to follow the religious path they find meaningful (Thomas Ngaire, 2005).
At the beginning of the book, Ngaire is a lonely child, and she is different from all the other kids because of her mode of dressing and strict rules at home. The school was the only place with freedom for her; she loved it there since it was the only time she was able to be her real self. The outside world was separated from her. Things like radios and non-brethren books were forbidden, life was restricted to the way of the bible such that whenever she had friends around her mother would preach to them about the end of times discussed in the book of Revelation (Thomas Ngaire, 2005).
An undercurrent Salem-like surveillance surfaces in chapter 10, Thomas is forced to admit getting involved in the act of fornication with the cousin. She had no idea of what fornication meant at that moment; however, after an assembly hearing at the Auckland, Ngaire was found guilty of the offense and was forced to confess in front of 600 solemn faces. The crazy madness swept via the church, where priests played the role of police officers, investigating the lives of members and forced confessions of imaginary sins. Repercussions to these acts would be house arrest, ex-communication with loved ones, or withdrawal from the church, which happened to her family (Thomas, Ngaire 2005).
The next chapters account for the family’s life after the family was withdrawn from the church and how hard it was to adjust to the newfound freedom. The two elder brothers end up in prison, they find prison enjoyable such that they opted to stay rather than get out on a reduced sentence. Ngaire’s’ brother Denis dies of cancer while she joins university.
The author’s non-biased style is impressive; she also addresses a valuable and practical topic that many people in society do not have access to today. Nevertheless, the book shows several weaknesses; it raises more questions than the ones answered; for instance, why does a serious crime gets limited to a few passing sentences. There is also a printing error on the inside cover, and some sections would look better as appendices.
I chose the above book for review, taking into account these factors: relevance because the book talks about an international institution (church). These current issues are a democracy, and generalizability towards factors affecting the society today.
Work Cited.
Thomas, Ngaire. Behind Closed Doors : The Startling Story of an Exclusive Brethren Life. Auckland, N.Z., Random House N.Z, 2005.