"Do I Stay Christian?" (Brian D. McLaren)

TITLE: Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned
AUTHOR: Brian D. McLaren
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: St Martin's Press, 2022, (272 pages).
 

Discouragement, disillusionment, and disappointment. These are increasingly common sentiments among evangelicals. As the author travels around major cities in America, he recalls familiar messages of people, especially clergy, who are not only questioning their own faith, they were contemplating leaving both ministry and belief altogether! The author invites us to ponder over the very question, which is also the title of the book: "Do I Stay Christian?" This may seem like a silly question, especially for those of us who have taken the label for granted. One needs to read the book further to discover the many nuances of Christian beliefs. In his typically frank manner, Brian McLaren probes deep into the heart of the cultural Christian, people who call themselves evangelicals but find it increasingly difficult to justify their association with the institutional Church or even the faith itself. From his own diverse backgrounds and varied experiences, he shares with us his own search for identity and probes with us the current state of faith and identity crises. He pushes the envelope further by saying that the question posed as the title of the book is not simply an intellectual exercise but involves matters of the heart, identity, and ultimate concern. Like a liberal arts professor, he prevents the different views as objectively as possible. He then argues from the two main positions before showing us the way forward that brings together the positives from both angles. Like a debater that argues back and forth between both positions of opposing and affirming the resolution, McLaren aims to show the best of both sides in the hope that we can find a reasonable path forward that does justice to both. Above all, whether one affirms or denies the faith, the gospel of love is to love both sides regardless. 

"I've Seen the End of You" (W. Lee Warren)

TITLE: I've Seen the End of You: A Neurosurgeon's Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know
AUTHOR: W. Lee Warren
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2020, (272 pages).

What do you do with a tumour that has a 100% fatality rate? How do we cope with situations where there is no more hope for survival? Hope is one of the most cherished and necessary virtues for life. With hope, we can still grind through life. Without hope, it is a completely different story. He writes his experiences with patients, family, and loved ones with regard to life, faith, doubt, pain, gratitude, and hope. In a book that reads like a personal memoir, author and neurosurgeon, Dr Lee Warren shows us what he had learned from the experiences of people nearing death and losing hopes for survival. Many things he thought he knew, only to be humbled to realize that there are still many things he did not know. He shares these experiences in this personal revelation of faith, doubt, despair, and hope. The key question throughout the book is the very question the author wrote to Philip Yancey: "How can I pray for my patients when I already know how God is going to answer?" This is with regard to the type of brain cancer called "Glioblastoma Multiforme" (GBM), where from his medical experience has 100% fatality rate. For Warren, it is also a question of faith. "What happens when our messy lives mess with what we think we believe?"

"Help My Unbelief" (Barnabas Piper)

TITLE: Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt Is Not the Enemy of Faith
AUTHOR: Barnabas Piper
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishers, 2015, (176 pages).

Doubt is not the enemy of faith. Unbelief is not necessarily bad. In fact, for author Barnabas Piper, it is necessary for authentic faith. As a son of the famous evangelical, John Piper, Barnabas is no stranger to the Church or all things evangelical. Go to Church. Join the Sunday School. Have faith. Be baptized. Pray. Obey your parents. Believe in the Bible. Be well behaved, especially when you are a pastor's kid! Growing up in such an environment, there is a strong tendency to dumb down doubts so as to raise up the level of faith. It may work for kids, but as kids grow into young adults, they will start to be more inquisitive, to probe, and to question the norms. Looking at the famous words of Mark 9:24, which the book's title had borrowed from, Piper moves beyond the "Lord I believe" toward the "Help my unbelief" phase of life. He eases readers toward the tension of faith and doubt; belief and unbelief; the ups and downs of the spiritual life. There are parts of the Bible that are very clear to us, and parts that are mysterious. The reason for the tension is because both sides shed light on truth. The Bible does not simply spout out answers to life, it raises questions too. Asking questions does not mean a lack of faith. It simply means wanting to know the truth at a more profound level. It is acknowledging the mystery without giving up our faith. Such an attitude brings us back to what faith and belief is about. Knowledge without experience is incomplete.

"How Can I Be Sure?" (John Stevens)

TITLE: How can I be sure? (Questions Christians Ask)
AUTHOR: John Stevens
PUBLISHER: Purcellville, VA: The Good Book Company, 2014, (96 pages).

It is okay to doubt, but it is not so okay to leave it unaddressed. As a way to spur the search for truth, it is good. As a way to indulge in ignorance, it is bad. Based on his experience with seekers, searchers, and believers who doubt from time to time, author and former University of Birmingham Professor, John Stevens, seeks to assure us that questions about faith are not necessarily bad. Drawing from his personal encounters with various believers, he helps us look at questions such as:

1. What is doubt?
2. Why is doubt dangerous?
3. What do I have to believe to be a Christian?
4. How can I overcome doubt as a Christian?
5. How can I develop a confident faith?

He begins with a gentle assurance that doubts are hidden struggles among many Christians, and that it is alright to ask questions. In fact, we can let these questions lead us and not to be too worried about the questions dumbing down our faith. On the contrary, these doubts are authentic desires to search for truth. For example, one may know the truth but still unable to experience it. Stevens provides us various examples of why doubt exists. For even the biblical heroes of old experience moments of doubt. At the same time, he cautions us from crossing the line toward trusting in ourselves more than God, especially when we move from faith to unbelief. Learning to see it as a way to spiritual growth is quite different than seeing it as a way to dumb down faith. He uses the engagement metaphor to show us that like the commitment to marry our fiance/fiancee, we do not let doubts tempt us to work things out with a third party. We let doubts help us work out our questions directly with the one we are engaged with.

Stevens also has some words of assurance for those who doubt their own salvation by listing down some of the basis of our faith. That saving faith is our trust in Jesus who had already done everything for our sake. He reminds us that believing about Jesus is different from believing IN Jesus. He also tackles the age-old dichotomy of faith versus experience. Gradually, readers will be led toward practices in which we can grow in increasing faith in God.

Written in a very accessible manner, Stevens has assured us once again that not all doubts are bad. He helpfully defines the difference between doubt and unbelief, saving faith and experiencing faith, and other essentials that a Christian will need. For those of us who are in a position of questioning our own faith, or know of people in that state, it is helpful to let this little book crystallize our own questions and be guided toward an assurance in God alone. Questions are often more useful than answers. Open doubts are better than closed faith. The latter tempts us toward unbelief. The former leads us toward deeper and more authentic faith. May readers be guided toward greater faith and authentic experiences.

Rating:4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of The Good Book Company and Cross-Focused Reviews in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.