The Book Depository Faith after Doubt by Brian D. McLaren

Author: Northern Tiger

Rating: 5

Review: I am halfway through this book and can hardly put it down. Its offers helpful illumination around 4 stages of faith. As someone stuck in perplexity, stage 3, after being horrified at the abuse I received in church yet refusing to give up my faith in God, I am finding it incredibly helpful and enlightening. I also recognise the problem talked about of most churches being firmly in stage 1 or 2 and brushing off the critical thinkers, the whistleblowers on bad safeguarding practise, and those of us who are just bored with the church's inaction around the things that matter - which means we have nowhere to go. I am hoping to continue to find and build community with other questioning humans: and hopeful to make it through to the stage of harmony.

Author: Claire G.

Rating: 2

Review: I come from an evangelical/fundamentalist background and have had my fair share of deconstruction, doubt, and seeking on my faith journey. I was hoping this book would help me put words to what I've experienced and teach me how to live a life full of faith in orthodox Christianity while having doubts. I am about to begin diving into my doubts for the first time with a Spiritual Director, he suggested I find books which speak to my experience....enter "Faith After Doubt." McLaren ingeniously put words to the experience of doubting God, or having a turning point where you suddenly question your faith reality. He shares many stories from people who have reached out to him over the years - all of whom are struggling with questions and doubt. I lapped up the first half of this book in less than a day - relieved and delighted to find my experience was not as uncommon as I had previously thought. The author breaks down faith into four stages: Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony. The first stage of faith is rife with dualism, black and white thinking, and dogma. Many fundamentalist and cult-like faith communities remain in this stage all the time - teaching their congregants the basics of the faith in a black and white way. Stage two happens when the believer takes ahold of his/her faith and begins to study on his/her own. By learning the ropes of Bible study you begin to uncover how to dig for truth yourself. People in this stage are often passionate about history, apologetics, and theology. Their faith takes on a new dimension as they realize the history of the church (and its theology) is much broader and more expansive than the tradition in which they were raised. The third stage, Perplexity, is the darkest stage one can walk through and it requires lots of questioning and doubts. With the onslaught of information acquired in stage two one can easily begin to feel uncertain about what is true. Which institutions are trustworthy? What theology? What version of the Bible? How does a believer reconcile all of these things with the reality of loving and light-filled people of other faiths? How does the believer reconcile hell and judgement with a loving God? Humility and being able to say, "I don't know" are hallmarks of this stage of faith development. I was able to easily identifiy myself as a "Stage Three Christian." McLaren makes it clear that the catalyst for moving from one stage to another is always doubt. Without doubt, faith cannot grow and expand. I agree with this statement. It has been doubt that has made me question and move out of evangelicalism into a deeper and richer tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy. It has been doubt that has made my faith not only personal, but intellectual and spiritual as well. Doubt can be an amazing tool and companion on this journey of faith. It doesn't have to be a terrifying experience. However, McClaren shocked and disappointed me with the turn he began to take in stage four. I had sped through the first half of the book eagerly to find out his wisdom of how to depart from stage three into a harmonious and mature faith. I was utterly disappointed. To make things worse, if you disagree with his conclusion, McClaren indicates that you are reverting back to stage two - and possibly stage one - a place of dogma and fear. More on that later. McClaren disguises himself as an orthodox Christian with doubts. In reality, McClaren is as progressive, liberal and non-orthodox as they come. He has thrown out Biblical inerrancy (which I have also done), but replaced it with picking and choosing from whatever passages suit his new theology. He has no trust in a God who shepherded and preserved His church for two thousand year - alluding to the fourth century when all the Christian bishops "sold their soul to Constantine" (this shows his understanding of church history is elementary at best). In his utter despair about the Bible, the institutionalized church, christian nationalism (a uniquely American problem), Trump, and a host of other issues that besiege the conservative church in America - McClaren's solution is to start over. To form a brave new world (eh hem, church), which is full of mature "stage four" believers who have fully embraced liberal ideology and worldview (power structures, privilege, pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ rights, etc...) and build a church solely off of "faith operating through love". What kind of faith, the reader might ask? Faith in what? Well, not in the Trinitarian God of the Bible, not in the masculine God of the Bible (McClaren no longer uses masculine pronouns for God). In this stage four utopia, this brave new church, McClaren also suggests multi-faith communities. In short, McClaren's stage four of Harmony is a full stop, radical embrace of liberal ideology and universalism. I don't even recognize Christianity in it (except for his convenient quoting of the Bible verse Galatians 5:6 "faith operating through love" - but he doesn't define faith or love). Part of what began my own deconstruction was the horror of the 2016, 2020 elections with Donald Trump. I could not believe how the conservative American church practically worshipped Donald Trump as the Savior of America. I have left the Republican party and been an independent voter for the last 7 years. But I am equally affronted with Christians who swing the other way, who blend politics and faith in the most unseemly of ways. Christianity has always been a global phenomenon, and it will have a global king. Party politics and the church are simply beneath our mission, seeing that we are merely aliens that are passing through. My utter disgust and despair over Christian nationalism on the right was matched by my despair over Mclaren's progressive, liberal version of Christianity on the left. This book may be helpful if you are leaving the faith altogether, but if you are committed to remaining an orthodox Christian - keeping to the faith of the apostles and church fathers - you will find this book deeply upsetting and disturbing. I want to close with a note about the author. I respect his honesty, I respect him using his platform to teach on and talk about doubt. I even respect his decision to move away from orthodox christianity. I have teetered on the edge of doing so myself. What I wholeheartedly reject is the idea that his new version of faith is something better, something more fulfilling, something more profound than the wonder, mystery, and beauty of the Church which Christ Himself established and has preserved through war, politics, famine, heresies, schisms and the like for two thousand years. It is the apex of ego and pride to believe stage four nonsense could actually establish something better. This book is uniquely written for American Christians who blend their faith and politics like their cream and their coffee. The solution to your struggles with the faith (be it hell or sexual morality) will not be found in either liberal or conservative ideologies. Keep wrestling with God as Israel did, wrestle with Him and His holiness, and see how you are transformed over time.