A Search for the Spiritual: Exploring Real Christianity

by James Emery White

This is the book to put into the hands of seekers. With disarming candor (and no "churchspeak"), White explores the basics of the Christian faith.

Genres: Christian Living, Christianity, Faith, Theology

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; president of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture. Dr. White is an adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president; and author of more than twenty books.

Reviews

[Dan Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a plain Jane presentation of Fundamentalist Christianity in its simplest form. It is brief and to the point. As far as it goes, it can be described as thorough, but it stops short of presenting fully unbiased and non-christian alternative possibilities in a realistic manner. It is billed as a book for the seeker, who is searching for a grounding base for his or her life (and considering religion as the most likely choice). This would be an excellent choice for someone who is already a Christian, and desiring a simple presentation of the tenets of the belief system for either review, or analysis. It would also be a good choice for one leaning toward Christianity, or perhaps having strayed away and desiring a path for reapproaching what had earlier been abandoned. But the farther away from a strict Fundamentalist Christian viewpoint the reader is as she picks up this book, the farther away she will be from satisfaction with this material when finished reading it. It does explore Christianity, but does so from a strongly Christian viewpoint, so any objectivity (that is assumed to exist) fades away rather quickly.

If you are a seeker attempting to look into Christianity from the outside, this book will be a disappointment. It assumes Christianity and then claims to substantiate Christianity. But if there is no initial assumption, there is very little substantiation to be found here.

The material falls into some familiar traps. One chapter specifically deals with how to explore Christianity as a seeker. But the five-step plan for this includes: Maintain an open mind (but begin with a prayer!), and check out the source documents. But here there is no mention of the apocrypha, or the selection process that designated which books made it into official church canon (or why). Only for those already convinced (or thoroughly desirous of being a Christian) will following this plan result in the feeling that the whole was objectively evaluated.

[Brian Reagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

His theology, as a southern baptist, permeates every page. While he presents some good information, and provoking thoughts, overall the book is tiresome.
I was very disappointed with this book, and only picked it up because of various texts of his that were better.

[Ciocido23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book if you are looking for direction regarding your spirituality.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good basic info and strategies for the new Christian believer