In Search of a Confident Faith: Overcoming Barriers to Trusting in God

by J.P. Moreland, Klaus Issler

Many obstacles can get in the way of having a healthy Christian faith. Some of those obstacles are intellectual, but there are emotional, relational and experiential ones as well. Even theological problems can get in the way when the very nature of faith itself is misunderstood. J. P. Moreland and Klaus Issler team up in this book to clear away the barriers to faith by helping you gain a clear grasp of what faith is, identifying the various obstacles to it and providing guidance for growing in your trust in God through Jesus Christ.

Genres: Christian, Christianity, Faith, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Philosophy, Theology

230 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2008

About the author

J.P. Moreland is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has four earned degrees: a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Missouri, a Th.M. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, an M. A. in philosophy from the University of California-Riverside, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

He has co-planted three churches, spoken and debated on over 175 college campuses around the country, and served with Campus Crusade for Christ for 10 years. For eight years, he served as a bioethicist for PersonaCare Nursing Homes, Inc. headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

His ideas have been covered by both popular religious and non-religious outlets, including the New Scientist and PBS’s “Closer to Truth,” Christianity Today and WORLD magazine. He has authored or co-authored 30 books, and published over 70 articles in journals, which include Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, American Philosophical Quarterly, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Metaphilosophy, Philosophia Christi, and Faith and Philosophy.

Reviews

[Andrew Yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, not a single chapter wasted. I wish I had read this before entering college. I especially appreciated the sound advice for dealing with doubt and challenges to faith. I was definitely encouraged to pray expectantly, and seek God more consistently, even in the small things in life.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book toward deepening one's trust in God. I didn't expect Moreland and Issler to be so broad in scope -- it was excellent. As a starting point, they discussed what faith is and is not -- a chapter worth the price of the book. They then covered not just intellectual but also emotional barriers to faith -- the latter of which often goes neglected. In the second half of the book, they discuss applications of greater faith and how increasing our "God-confidence" affects our daily lives through things like decision making, evangelism, and prayer.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors begin the book with a good theoretical chapter where they define and systemize the term faith, as it has many meanings. They allure then that they are going to use he term God-confidence instead of faith further. So far so good. I will remember that part. But from there it goes into being an all too normal kind of christian book on faith. They do not explore the concept much further, rather it’s about how to find confident faith. This they do by showing examples from the Bible and from their lives as well as other stories. All this is found in any other Christian book, so it does not really add to the confidence as much as I hoped. For some, maybe, that are not so well wandered in the terminology and have not yet heard many stories, then this book may as well give great input. It may well be a great starting point. The first chapter seemed however not applied further, and that is a shame.

[Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Moreland’s insight and sensitivity to doubt and what he calls “lack of belief”. He landed the book by telling stories of God’s Greta power and radical intervention in an attempt to strengthen the faith of his doubting readers.

[Tammy Sears Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book to help one understand the life of faith in God. The authors define faith, a word that might not mean something to everyone, as God-confidence. That’s a great way to understand what it means or have faith in God!

[Philippe Lazaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

“The right approach to life is one that hungers to know as many truths as one can and to avoid as many falsehoods as possible.”

–J.P. Moreland

At the time I bought this book, I was really hoping to find some resolve to intellectual issues I had with my faith at the time. I wanted to do it justice, so I held off on reading it until I could with more focus.

Unfortunately, that meant that by the time I had that opportunity, the information it presented to me simply came across as either obvious or not exactly resonating with me. I can definitely see how this book would be helpful for many people, but it wasn't for me at the time.

[Tiffanie22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this book in our church library and decided to read it, hoping to bolster my faith. Overall, I was disappointed in this book. It is from a very charismatic view point, in my opinion. I come from a conservative, non-charismatic background. While the many stories relayed in the book were to provide encouragement, I found myself reading the stories with "a grain of salt". This book was not for me.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read anything and everything by JP Moreland . I think he's better than his mentor, Dallas Willard . Many would be well served by internalizing the contents of this book .

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuation of Moreland's thoughts on the life of the mind for the Christian.

[Anastazia Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this was a reading done for school it was exactly what I needed at this point in my life. Mind transforming and encourages you to have increased confidence in God.