How to Be a Sinner

Psychopathology and sinfulness have much in common. Bouteneff brings fresh air to the exploration of the ways of being embodied in both, finding a healthy place for the imperfect human within Church Tradition. A welcome, clear, beautifully written and timely work.

Sin is not guilt nor a mental condition. It is a deep wound in our very being. Peter Bouteneff offers some very straightforward and extremely helpful explanations that will take the reader into a place of self-awareness and honesty—making possible the beginning of repentance.

Written accessibly and sincerely, Peter Bouteneff’s little book offers the (post-) modern-day reader many helpful insights on—and practical nudges towards—embracing the Church’s oft-misunderstood language of “sin” and “repentance.”

Crisp, practical, and searching, this excellent book combines a solid theological perspective fully informed by the depths of the Christian spiritual tradition with a vigorous and contemporary insight into a culture that has largely forgotten what sin means. Treading the right line between guilt-inducing rhetoric and bland modern self-absolution, it offers an understanding of human sinfulness that is both demanding and hopeful, and helps us rediscover the tools of proper self-knowledge before God.

This is an invaluable book. Beuteneff writes in understandable prose, but always thought-provoking. This is a book I have recommended to many people. It is very encouraging and I use the prayers at the end I find helpful.