Why I Still Believe
A Former Atheist's Reckoning with the Bad Reputation Christians Give a Good God
- 240 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Why I Still Believe
A Former Atheist's Reckoning with the Bad Reputation Christians Give a Good God
About This Book
For anyone who feels caught in the tension between the beauty of God's story and the ugliness of human hypocrisy, Why I Still Believe offers a stirring story of hope.
Why would anyone be a Christian when there is so much hypocrisy in the church? Mary Jo Sharp shares her journey as a skeptical believer who still holds to a beautiful faith despite wounding experiences in the Christian community.
At a time when de-conversion stories have become all too common, this is an earnest response - the compelling conversion of an unlikely believer whose questions ultimately led her to irresistible hope. Sharp addresses her own struggle with the reality that God's people repeatedly give God's story a bad name and takes a careful look at how the current church often inadvertently produces atheists despite its life-giving message.
For those who feel the ever-present tension between the beauty of salvation and the dark side of human nature, Why I Still Believe is a candid and approachable case for believing in God when you really want to walk away. With fresh and thoughtful insights, this spiritual narrative presents relevant answers to haunting questions like:
- Isn't there too much pain and suffering to believe?
- Is it okay to have doubt?
- What if Jesus' story is a copy of another story?
- Is there any evidence for Jesus' resurrection?
- Does atheism explain the human experience better than Christianity can?
- How can the truth of Christianity matter when the behaviors of Christians are reprehensible?
At once logical and loving, Sharp reframes the gospel as it truly is: the good news of redemption. With firmly grounded truths, Why I Still Believe is an affirming reminder that the hypocrisy of Christians can never negate the transforming grace and truth of Christ.
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Table of contents
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: A Cosmic Orphan
- 1. In the Beginning Was . . . Hypocrisy
- 2. Wearing the Wrong Clothing
- 3. God, Are You There?
- 4. Resurrection
- 5. Lessons from a Sociopath and an Ex-Muslim
- 6. Debating Good and Evil
- 7. Prince of Peace or Poser
- 8. A Concerning Void
- 9. The Problem of Beauty
- 10. Instructions on How to Be Human
- 11. No Tidy Endings
- 12. Crash Landing
- Further Resources