Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus: How Questioning Your Religion Can Lead You to a Healthy and Holy God
Ebook
What If Deconstructing Your Faith Isn’t a Phase but a Holy Process?
There’s probably a really good reason you picked up this book. Are you desperate to be in relationship with family or friends who are questioning their faith? Are you experiencing your own deconstruction of faith?
Here is your invitation to rethink everything you thought you knew.
In this process, you’ll . . .
- learn why it’s important to deconstruct (and how we are wired to do it);
- define deconstruction and deconversion—what they really mean;
- consider WWJD (What Would Jesus Deconstruct?); and
- apply the FUSE method to deconstruct for yourself.
Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus will help you to enter the mindset of a deconstructionist. A worldview with a high capacity for paradoxes. A mental space that outweighs your self-interest in being right. A tendency to see Christian beliefs as inseparable from Christian ethics.
In doing so, you will find the original deconstructionist, Jesus, right beside you.
I think many of us have been waiting for resources that help us consider the place of deconstruction—but not resources that patronize the process or try to correct those asking big questions. Those anticipating such tools will want to add this book to their library. Not only was I pleasantly surprised to read something useful; I was drawn into its contents as a participant, I was encouraged as a follower of Jesus, and I was affirmed as somebody who refuses to be satisfied with simplistic answers. Ulmer has assured me that I have a part to play and a responsibility to steward this skepticism with faithfulness on behalf of fellow skeptics everywhere.
“Writing this book put me in some dangerous, irreverent territory.” The opening line of this book sums up the last several years of Preston Ulmer’s life—and the lives of those he interviewed for these pages. This book looks deconstruction fearlessly in the face; and I tell you, at times, I could sense Jesus beside me, reading along, really listening to the stories. Then, he opened his arms wide and beckoned to each person, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
As a pastor, I couldn’t be more thankful for Preston Ulmer’s voice in this critical and essential discussion. In his new book, we come face-to-face with the reality that many people in our culture are asking challenging questions, and simple or “churchy” answers will not suffice. Through Preston’s research and honest insight, we find hopeful inspiration to discover Jesus, not religion. Whether you have questions about faith or know someone who does, this book will bring you on a journey of learning grace and finding truth.
Brilliant! I couldn’t put this book down. Preston is not only an incredible thought leader, but he masterfully causes you to rethink everything you know about deconstructing your faith. This is a must-read for every person who desires to gain clarity and understanding while helping themselves and/or others through a process of biblical deconstruction amid our constantly changing world and its challenges. Preston is spot-on; all you have to do is follow the model set by the original deconstructionist, Jesus.
The body of Christ has been operated on by many inexperienced surgeons. And sadly, there have been many forgotten scalpels, sponges, and clamps left inside, creating a body that is less than whole. Preston is the delightfully uncomfortable surgeon who can help repair the body of Christ. Whether we admit it or not, we all “deconstruct”—and many of us do so in unhealthy ways. Thus, Preston offers us advice: “Deconstruction should be a means to an end; namely, the reconstruction of one’s faith.”
Preston Ulmer makes a bold and compelling case that the call to continually deconstruct and reconstruct our faith lies at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus. Just as importantly, Preston offers readers wise guidance on how to deconstruct their faith without thereby losing it altogether. I believe that Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus is as timely a book as it is important, and I enthusiastically recommend all thoughtful followers of Jesus read it and apply it to their lives.
In Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus, Preston Ulmer methodically guides the reader through a process of reasoning, wrestling, and discovery. With sincerity and skill, he creates a conversation everyone should have. Regardless of where you are in your faith journey, I encourage you to read and digest this work.
Preston is the best kind of conversation partner. Even when you don’t agree with him, you can’t wait to meet and talk again. His compelling love for Jesus invigorates your own, and you walk away seeing others, yourself, and God more like Jesus does. Written with compassion and veteran skill, this book allows us to step into the shoes of our friends and loved ones, to hear their pain and their hope. In the mirror of their doubts and questions, we see our own, and together we look to Jesus.
This book has two tremendous benefits: It provides a very helpful four-step method for undertaking the needed deconstruction of unhelpful teachings, doctrines, and versions of Christianity; and it winsomely invites readers to draw nearer to Jesus rather than run away.
When we understand the incarnate mission of Jesus Christ, we will not distance ourselves from the curious, but we will position ourselves relationally centered among the skeptic, the critic, and the curious. Not only is this a book that I will refer to often; it’s a book that I will give to those who are looking for Jesus—and those who want to help others see him!
- Title: Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus: How Questioning Your Religion Can Lead You to a Healthy and Holy God
- Author: Preston Ulmer
- Publisher: NavPress
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781641586061, 9781641586047, 1641586044, 1641586060
- Resource ID: LLS:9781641586061
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-22T16:55:19Z