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Failing Faith: When What You Thought You Knew about God Doesn't Work in the Real World
Wade Bearden thought he had religion figured out. He grew up in church, read through the entire Bible by age ten, and even did puppet shows to positive Christian music. As a young adult, he became a pastor and taught theology classes at a local university. But after watching friends die, losing two jobs, and seeing his own father diagnosed with cancer, Wade found his faith failing. He realized that his ideas about God were far too comfortable. They were good excuses to be safe and affluent, but not anything that could stand up to disappointment and suffering. Somehow, along the way, he had traded an ancient, powerful Christianity for a Christianity made in the image of success and well-being.In 'Failing Faith,' Wade uses humor and stories of personal pain to detail his journey to recapture what was lost—his journey to find a richer, more meaningful faith that bears the weight of depression, loss, and even comfort.For anyone whose faith was crushed by the real world.For anyone trying to reconcile a loving God in the midst of sadness.For anyone looking for a faith that finds its roots in Jesus rather than the American dream.Failing Faith is a unique, emotional, and often funny take on what it means to be a follower of Jesus in a dark, materialistic world.
186 pages, Paperback
Published July 14, 2017
36 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 31, 2020
Wade effectively uses personal anecdote paired with Biblical, academic and pop cultural references to broach 2 questions plaguing American Christianity today: 1) does God’s blessing equate to the “American Dream”, and 2) when it doesn’t (as Scripture would imply), how do we reconcile a good God to the pain and suffering East of Eden?
July 6, 2018
A powerful and poignant reflection on suffering and faith.
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July 31, 2023“Sometimes, trusting God means questioning God. For a faith that teaches us to exalt the good, it’s normal to wonder about the bad. If we never question God when we see evil in the world, maybe our hearts are harder than we think.”
I’m seeking(as many are) to articulate a faith that accounts for, and perhaps even necessitates, the inevitable presence of doubt, that ascribes a divine purpose to unbelief. Bearden’s “Failing Faith” goes a long way toward putting those thoughts into words, and for that, I’m grateful, and will be quick to recommend it to others.
I’m seeking(as many are) to articulate a faith that accounts for, and perhaps even necessitates, the inevitable presence of doubt, that ascribes a divine purpose to unbelief. Bearden’s “Failing Faith” goes a long way toward putting those thoughts into words, and for that, I’m grateful, and will be quick to recommend it to others.
May 12, 2019
Powerful!!!
This book grappled with the question of pain, sickness and death in the context of a loving God Who can do anything. It is brutally honest. The author is able to ask difficult questions, while he shares his personal experience of pain and wrestle with the answers. In a strange way, this book built my faith without sugar coating the pain of life. Wow! It was a blessing!
This book grappled with the question of pain, sickness and death in the context of a loving God Who can do anything. It is brutally honest. The author is able to ask difficult questions, while he shares his personal experience of pain and wrestle with the answers. In a strange way, this book built my faith without sugar coating the pain of life. Wow! It was a blessing!
February 3, 2020
Helped me
I would recommend this book to any who are wrestling with their faith. Wade shared his heart, his journey and his struggles, as well as those of others, in this journey. Was well worth my time to read this book.
I would recommend this book to any who are wrestling with their faith. Wade shared his heart, his journey and his struggles, as well as those of others, in this journey. Was well worth my time to read this book.
May 25, 2020
Food for thought, fraud on every corner and every pulpit.
This rating is my expression of my position on the topic at hand. I see what Mr. Bearden is describing as fraudulent or failing faith. He also stresses that there are ways to see that God works but maybe not in ways that we perceive as relevant or necessary in our earthly lives. Man is short-sighted among his other failings. What need you to perceive is rather that God is at work always in our lives, and others - whether they or we want to admit it or not. We may not like what we see or understand as God's Handiwork, but it is still there whether our faith-blindness perceives it or not. Completed Prologue.
This rating is my expression of my position on the topic at hand. I see what Mr. Bearden is describing as fraudulent or failing faith. He also stresses that there are ways to see that God works but maybe not in ways that we perceive as relevant or necessary in our earthly lives. Man is short-sighted among his other failings. What need you to perceive is rather that God is at work always in our lives, and others - whether they or we want to admit it or not. We may not like what we see or understand as God's Handiwork, but it is still there whether our faith-blindness perceives it or not. Completed Prologue.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews