Welcome to “Doubt and discipleship”
Negotiating intellectual obstacles to faith
a.k.a “a blog through the bog”
Augustine on Ambition– part 3 of reflections on James K.A. Smith’s, “On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts’.
This is the third in a series of posts on James K.A. Smith’s, “On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts’. The first reflected on the idea of ‘refugee spirituality’ and the second covered the chapter on ‘Enlightenment: how to believe’. This post is on the chapter, ‘Ambition: how to aspire’,…
How to Believe: insights from the chapter on ‘Enlightenment’ in James K.A. Smith’s, “On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts”.
This is the second of a couple of posts reflecting on James K.A. Smith’s, “On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts’. The first explored the idea of a ‘refugee spirituality’, covered in the chapter which closed the ‘orientation’ section of the book. The rest of the book is entitled, ‘Detours…
Reflections (part 1) on James K.A. Smith’s, “On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts’. Blessed are the refugees?
Imagine a literary genie of the lamp who can commission your ideal next book to read: you can wish for three things: the author, target audience and topic. Until recently my choice might well have been something by James K. A. Smith, aimed at those journeying through doubt and trying to bring some historical perspective,…
What draws us to discipleship: propositions or people? Reflections on ‘Confronting Christianity: 12 hard questions for the world’s largest religion’
We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s fair to infer a book’s intended audience by the back page endorsements. ‘Confronting Christianity’ appears to be aimed at both a Christian apologetics audience (John Lennox and Peter Williams both endorse) and those with questions and an academic bent (the other two endorsements are university…
Can we trust the gospels? Reflections on evidence, suffering and short books
In seeking out things to read to work through doubt, one article by Andrew Haslam recommended two books. The second, Confronting Christianity, I aim to discuss in another blog. The first, ‘Can We Trust the Gospels?’, by Peter Williams, was sold as “short and incredibly persuasive” by “an amazing scholar” and “an outstanding place to…
Philip Yancey’s ‘Disappointment with God’: takeaways I’m still digesting
Having read this book some time ago, this isn’t a proper review, but more a reflection on what has stayed with me since reading, particularly one valuable insight and one provocative argument that I still find unsettling. The author, Philip Yancey, for many needs no introduction. But I like the way he describes himself on…
Travel tips from a tattooed Pastor’s Kid. Reflections on Barnabas Piper’s book – ‘Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt is Not the Enemy of Faith”
Books with ‘doubt’ in the title are primary targets for review by this blog, and here are some reflections based on a rapid read through of the recently revised and expanded edition of this short book, originally published in 2015. And beyond the title, the book also had me by the front cover: distant mountain…
Who are the best guides along the narrow road?
I know the fundamental answer is Jesus (I used to teach kids Sunday school!) But, Jesus himself offered advice on who to listen to if we want to follow him. This blog is primarily about learning from such guides – those who have gone before. But never before has there been such a gallery of…
‘Proper confidence’: Newbigin as a guide to the 21st century doubter
I am looking for wise guides to help me deal with doubt as a disciple. From my reading so far, no book has been more helpful than Leslie Newbigin’s ‘Proper confidence: faith, doubt and certainty in Christian discipleship’. In fact the name of this blog brazenly steals the two ‘d’s in his subtitle, reflecting the…
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Doubt and discipleship 