What do you think?
Rate this book
Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church
“I’m deconstructing.” Yet another social-media post announces departure from the Christian faith. The cause could be sex, race, politics, social justice, science, hell—or all of the above. For many, Christianity is becoming implausible, even impossible to believe. While it might be tempting to leave the church in order to find answers, Before You Lose Your Faith argues that church should be the best place to deal with doubts. Featuring contributors such as Claude Atcho, Rachel Gilson, Jay Y. Kim, Brett McCracken, Karen Swallow Prior, Derek Rishmawy, and Jared C. Wilson, this book shows deconstructing need not end in unbelief. In fact, deconstructing can be the road toward reconstructing—building up a more mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2021
50 people are currently reading
774 people want to read
About the author
Ivan Mesa
5 books126 followersn Mesa (PhD candidate, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. He’s editor of Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church. He and his wife, Sarah, have four children, and they live in eastern Georgia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
October 2, 2023
09/17/2023: edited for tone
This one was a doozy. “Before You Lose Your Faith” is rooted in the idea that one must “deconstruct in a way that is authentic and honest”, communicating that deconstructing in any form that deviates from the one outlined by these authorities is inauthentic and dishonest, and that one’s life will be depressing and completely void of meaning unless they play by the rules determined by The Gospel Coalition’s (TGC) interpretation of the bible: “[Abandoning Christ by deconstructing] will rob you of the only hope steady enough to survive deep suffering, unmet expectations, shattered dreams, powerful enemies, and broken trust.”
For those who have not read the book, it is a series of essays on different topics written by various authors and bound together. On a literary level, I felt that this made the book choppy, disorganized, and even contradictory at times (e.g. there’s one chapter called “Deconstruct the Issues”, then another called “Don’t Deconstruct, Disenculterate Instead”). I think the biggest drawback of this essay style, though, is that it tries to address enormous topics like Hell, Gender/Sexuality, and Critical Race Theory in a mere ~10 pages each. Given that people in the midst of deconstructing are often doing their own deep-dives into these issues already, such limited segments are simply incapable of being satisfactorily convincing. This leaves me wondering who this book was really written for and why. Let’s take a deeper look.
Though the title of this book makes it seem as though it’s written for people in the process of deconstructing, it feels more like it’s meant to be a convenient resource for well-intentioned Christians to give their deconstructing loved-ones in order to “bring them back” without actually having to dive headfirst into all of those doubts and questions themselves, while simultaneously helping them feel like they’re making a positive difference. I say this because all throughout the book we see the authors utilizing negative stereotypes of people deconstructing to build up a “straw man” only to viciously attack it. Throughout the book, such people are described as fundamentalist liberals, slaves to political idolatry, and consumeristic individualists. Sarcastically, one author goes as far as to write, “If [someone deconstructing] can [embrace an allegedly humble uncertainty instead of harsh dogmatism] in the name of inclusive justice or love of neighbor, so much the better for [their] relative sense of righteousness. It might even be worth the persecution of [their] old church community if it reinforces [their] identification with a new community that has become more important.” It is extremely upsetting to me that this book would choose to push the harmful, belittling, and reductionistic notion that deconstruction is simply a method of boosting one’s ego and satisfying their supposed persecution complex. Other quotes that further demonstrate the disdain the authors have for deconstructing Christians include “you’ve been conditioned by the culture to see doubt as courageous”, “deconstruction is spurred on by wit rather than wisdom”, and “deconstruction appeals to us because it launches a new faith that better suits the story we want to tell about ourselves”. If this book really wants to reach those deconstructing, why does it talk about them with such blame and contempt rather than with empathy and understanding?
I also found the book to be unsuccessful in providing adequate solutions to the concerns presented by those deconstructing. The general flow of a chapter is that the author will address a point related to why one might find themselves deconstructing and then attempt to refute it. I felt they did the former well- for example, one author describes some of his experiences in the church as follows: “[Christians] were in love with republicans”, “My girlfriend wasn’t allowed to watch PG-13 movies even though she was 17”, “[Christians] gave those creepy talks on the dangers of sex and STD’s- part of a christian tendency to teach Christian Values out of fear”. Another author spends a good portion of her chapter condemning the church for how poorly it has treated the LGBTQ+ community and how it has failed our youth by indoctrinating them with purity culture. Though these authors seem to have a fairly clear idea of where people deconstructing are coming from, their solutions are consistently unsatisfactory, oversimplified, and void of any nuance. They make the case that this “evangelical subculture has become a barrier to the gospel” and present the solution that we just “need to follow God’s word”, yet they fail to understand that this subculture (in my opinion and the opinion of many deconstructing Christians) is not a fluke, but a direct result of HOW they are choosing to understand and follow God’s word. It was also disheartening to see one author fall victim to the No True Scotsman fallacy and state that the harm done by those in the church is not reflective of real Christianity: “...If that’s your experience of Christianity, I’m sorry. But that’s not true Christianity...Make sure you’ve given Real Christianity a try.” Gatekeeping Christianity as a means to avoid taking accountability is only going to push anyone deconstructing further away and affirm their choice to create that distance in the first place.
Another substantial flaw with this book is that it assumes its audience to have a standardized set of beliefs and opinions, when in reality each person deconstructing is in a place that is unique to only them. Many arguments made are based on presuppositions that people deconstructing may no longer hold. For example, the question “Will you be shaped by an all-powerful, all-merciful creator who loves justice and righteousness and mercy?” may not be applicable to one whose very doubts stem from their struggle to believe that God truly is all-merciful.
To conclude, as much as I was hoping “Before You Lose Your Faith” would be a truly helpful resource for people finding themselves being tossed in the waves of doubt or confusion, I can only see it as a rather feeble attempt on behalf of the TGC to regain control of the modern Christian landscape by using judgement and fear tactics disguised as a life raft. I attribute the lack of value in this book primarily to its shallow understanding of deconstruction and the inevitably underdeveloped ideas within each short chapter, but also to its generally unkind tone and failure to permit the reader to find solace anywhere other than within the strict confines of Christianity as defined by The Gospel Coalition.
This one was a doozy. “Before You Lose Your Faith” is rooted in the idea that one must “deconstruct in a way that is authentic and honest”, communicating that deconstructing in any form that deviates from the one outlined by these authorities is inauthentic and dishonest, and that one’s life will be depressing and completely void of meaning unless they play by the rules determined by The Gospel Coalition’s (TGC) interpretation of the bible: “[Abandoning Christ by deconstructing] will rob you of the only hope steady enough to survive deep suffering, unmet expectations, shattered dreams, powerful enemies, and broken trust.”
For those who have not read the book, it is a series of essays on different topics written by various authors and bound together. On a literary level, I felt that this made the book choppy, disorganized, and even contradictory at times (e.g. there’s one chapter called “Deconstruct the Issues”, then another called “Don’t Deconstruct, Disenculterate Instead”). I think the biggest drawback of this essay style, though, is that it tries to address enormous topics like Hell, Gender/Sexuality, and Critical Race Theory in a mere ~10 pages each. Given that people in the midst of deconstructing are often doing their own deep-dives into these issues already, such limited segments are simply incapable of being satisfactorily convincing. This leaves me wondering who this book was really written for and why. Let’s take a deeper look.
Though the title of this book makes it seem as though it’s written for people in the process of deconstructing, it feels more like it’s meant to be a convenient resource for well-intentioned Christians to give their deconstructing loved-ones in order to “bring them back” without actually having to dive headfirst into all of those doubts and questions themselves, while simultaneously helping them feel like they’re making a positive difference. I say this because all throughout the book we see the authors utilizing negative stereotypes of people deconstructing to build up a “straw man” only to viciously attack it. Throughout the book, such people are described as fundamentalist liberals, slaves to political idolatry, and consumeristic individualists. Sarcastically, one author goes as far as to write, “If [someone deconstructing] can [embrace an allegedly humble uncertainty instead of harsh dogmatism] in the name of inclusive justice or love of neighbor, so much the better for [their] relative sense of righteousness. It might even be worth the persecution of [their] old church community if it reinforces [their] identification with a new community that has become more important.” It is extremely upsetting to me that this book would choose to push the harmful, belittling, and reductionistic notion that deconstruction is simply a method of boosting one’s ego and satisfying their supposed persecution complex. Other quotes that further demonstrate the disdain the authors have for deconstructing Christians include “you’ve been conditioned by the culture to see doubt as courageous”, “deconstruction is spurred on by wit rather than wisdom”, and “deconstruction appeals to us because it launches a new faith that better suits the story we want to tell about ourselves”. If this book really wants to reach those deconstructing, why does it talk about them with such blame and contempt rather than with empathy and understanding?
I also found the book to be unsuccessful in providing adequate solutions to the concerns presented by those deconstructing. The general flow of a chapter is that the author will address a point related to why one might find themselves deconstructing and then attempt to refute it. I felt they did the former well- for example, one author describes some of his experiences in the church as follows: “[Christians] were in love with republicans”, “My girlfriend wasn’t allowed to watch PG-13 movies even though she was 17”, “[Christians] gave those creepy talks on the dangers of sex and STD’s- part of a christian tendency to teach Christian Values out of fear”. Another author spends a good portion of her chapter condemning the church for how poorly it has treated the LGBTQ+ community and how it has failed our youth by indoctrinating them with purity culture. Though these authors seem to have a fairly clear idea of where people deconstructing are coming from, their solutions are consistently unsatisfactory, oversimplified, and void of any nuance. They make the case that this “evangelical subculture has become a barrier to the gospel” and present the solution that we just “need to follow God’s word”, yet they fail to understand that this subculture (in my opinion and the opinion of many deconstructing Christians) is not a fluke, but a direct result of HOW they are choosing to understand and follow God’s word. It was also disheartening to see one author fall victim to the No True Scotsman fallacy and state that the harm done by those in the church is not reflective of real Christianity: “...If that’s your experience of Christianity, I’m sorry. But that’s not true Christianity...Make sure you’ve given Real Christianity a try.” Gatekeeping Christianity as a means to avoid taking accountability is only going to push anyone deconstructing further away and affirm their choice to create that distance in the first place.
Another substantial flaw with this book is that it assumes its audience to have a standardized set of beliefs and opinions, when in reality each person deconstructing is in a place that is unique to only them. Many arguments made are based on presuppositions that people deconstructing may no longer hold. For example, the question “Will you be shaped by an all-powerful, all-merciful creator who loves justice and righteousness and mercy?” may not be applicable to one whose very doubts stem from their struggle to believe that God truly is all-merciful.
To conclude, as much as I was hoping “Before You Lose Your Faith” would be a truly helpful resource for people finding themselves being tossed in the waves of doubt or confusion, I can only see it as a rather feeble attempt on behalf of the TGC to regain control of the modern Christian landscape by using judgement and fear tactics disguised as a life raft. I attribute the lack of value in this book primarily to its shallow understanding of deconstruction and the inevitably underdeveloped ideas within each short chapter, but also to its generally unkind tone and failure to permit the reader to find solace anywhere other than within the strict confines of Christianity as defined by The Gospel Coalition.
April 16, 2021
Multi-contributor volumes are often brilliant in theory and mediocre in execution. This one, however, is helpful from start to finish. A timely resource for a disturbing trend.
April 16, 2021
I’m biased as the editor, but I’m really proud of the 15 contributors to this project—with truth and love they each engage a widespread trend: deconstructing Christianity. The church at its best can help us truly deal with doubts as we trust in the never-failing love of Christ.
June 10, 2021
This reads less as an attempt to provide resources for those contemplating and/or going through a faith deconstruction, and more as a collection of essays for individuals still firmly within Evangelical spheres who’d like some talking points to bring up when they grab coffee with their wayward friend or church member.
April 21, 2021
A helpful resource on a growing (but also long-standing) trend.
August 21, 2021
This book was an excellent idea. But I don't think it worked.
This book is aimed at young folk who are losing confidence in their faith or "Going through deconstruction" as it's put. It is a collaborative work created by The Gospel Coalition with 16 authors, writing a chapter each. Each author had 6-10 pages for their topic, which means it comes as a sequence of introductory thoughts.
The book aims to do three key things:
1. To show that some unattractive aspects of christian culture can be discarded without discarding the faith itself.
2. To establish that christianity has solid intellectual foundations and answers to many of the questions that trigger doubts.
3. To encourage those with doubts to question their doubts and see if they're really legitimate and hence (hopefully) to remain in the faith
Outline of the book
Part 1 - Deconstruct Deconstruction
This section attempts to undermine the concept of deconstruction; by encouraging asking questions of your doubts, separating unfortunate cultural aspects of your specific church from christianity itself AND showing that progressive christianity, which some people deconstruct to, is empty and useless.
This was probably the strongest section of the book, the advice given is good BUT due to its size I don't think it goes far enough - the concept of Post Modernism which underpins deconstruction narratives is not addressed directly; what's here is good it's just not enough.
Part 2 - Deconstruct the Issues
This section takes a number of issues that may trigger deconstruction and attempts to provide christian answers, the topics addressed are:
- Sex
- Race
- Politics
- The Internet
- Social Justice
- Science
- Anti-Intellectualism
- Hell
The fundamental aim in each chapter is to show that the true christian answer to this topic is a good answer and societal critiques are either aimed at distorted/bad versions of christianity OR are actually due to errors/bad things in society rather than christianity.
Most of the chapters in this section are just too short to do the job properly and some chapters take approaches that conservative reformed believers will object to, thoughts by chapter:
- Sex, this chapter seeks to address LGBT+ issues in 7 pages, arguing that the Bible "tells a better story", the argument is mostly ok but as well as being very short it appears, whilst calling for repentance from all homosexual activity to say that homosexual sexual desire itself is a good gift from God.
- Race, this chapter seeks to argue that christianity is not just the "white man's religion" most of this is good but there are parts that seem to stem from a "woke" way of thinking e.g. uses of "whiteness" as a pejorative.
- Politics, this chapter takes Tim Keller's approach, arguing that christians ought to agree with Republicans against abortion BUT with Democrats on helping the poor/social programmes, based on this it argues that it's ok to be a christian and vote Democrat or Republican (so don't abandon your faith due to a change in political allegiance)
- Internet, this chapter is a little different, it focusses on the way that heavy use of the Internet can shape your perceptions and approach to serious topics - pushing you towards wit and emotion and aware from deep thinking; this was one of the better chapters.
- Social Justice, this chapter is just an extended advert for Thaddeus Williams' book "Confronting Injustice without compromising on truth" - that's an excellent book, considering the limited page count available maybe this was the best way to address the topic - give a teaser of an answer and point to a more extended source.
- Science, this mostly philosophical chapter argues that Science is insufficient to account for morality and reality and further that science is not equipped to assess the existence of God.
- Anti-Intellectualism, this great little chapter is aimed at folk who've grown up in anti-intellectual fundamentalist circles/churches arguing that historic christianity is not like that and is equipped to take any questions.
- Hell, this chapter correctly argues that the existence of Hell is a good thing, it focusses on the idea of God creating the new creation by removing everything bad from earth and the evil ones who had no desire to repent are then kept outside the city by the protective fire of God - emphasising that God is protecting the new creation from them.
Part 3 - Reconstruct Faith
This section invites you to embrace true belonging in the church (an imperfect community that we can serve), to accept that doubts and problems may never go away in this life, to take a hard look at Jesus and come back. It was all good stuff though limited by how short it is.
My Concluding Thoughts
This book was a great idea, but I think it fails at the goal because:
A) For someone with serious doubts it's far too brief.
B) The multi-author approach leaves it feeling a little disjointed, rather than having a clear guide through your problems and questions you're left with a number of voices each commenting briefly on discrete aspects.
C) I don't think some of the answers are the most helpful as I've hinted above.
This may be helpful for some people as a taster of the fact that christians do think about serious topics but if someone has serious questions it's just too light weight and apart from the social justice chapter it doesn't direct you on to more serious works.
This book is aimed at young folk who are losing confidence in their faith or "Going through deconstruction" as it's put. It is a collaborative work created by The Gospel Coalition with 16 authors, writing a chapter each. Each author had 6-10 pages for their topic, which means it comes as a sequence of introductory thoughts.
The book aims to do three key things:
1. To show that some unattractive aspects of christian culture can be discarded without discarding the faith itself.
2. To establish that christianity has solid intellectual foundations and answers to many of the questions that trigger doubts.
3. To encourage those with doubts to question their doubts and see if they're really legitimate and hence (hopefully) to remain in the faith
Outline of the book
Part 1 - Deconstruct Deconstruction
This section attempts to undermine the concept of deconstruction; by encouraging asking questions of your doubts, separating unfortunate cultural aspects of your specific church from christianity itself AND showing that progressive christianity, which some people deconstruct to, is empty and useless.
This was probably the strongest section of the book, the advice given is good BUT due to its size I don't think it goes far enough - the concept of Post Modernism which underpins deconstruction narratives is not addressed directly; what's here is good it's just not enough.
Part 2 - Deconstruct the Issues
This section takes a number of issues that may trigger deconstruction and attempts to provide christian answers, the topics addressed are:
- Sex
- Race
- Politics
- The Internet
- Social Justice
- Science
- Anti-Intellectualism
- Hell
The fundamental aim in each chapter is to show that the true christian answer to this topic is a good answer and societal critiques are either aimed at distorted/bad versions of christianity OR are actually due to errors/bad things in society rather than christianity.
Most of the chapters in this section are just too short to do the job properly and some chapters take approaches that conservative reformed believers will object to, thoughts by chapter:
- Sex, this chapter seeks to address LGBT+ issues in 7 pages, arguing that the Bible "tells a better story", the argument is mostly ok but as well as being very short it appears, whilst calling for repentance from all homosexual activity to say that homosexual sexual desire itself is a good gift from God.
- Race, this chapter seeks to argue that christianity is not just the "white man's religion" most of this is good but there are parts that seem to stem from a "woke" way of thinking e.g. uses of "whiteness" as a pejorative.
- Politics, this chapter takes Tim Keller's approach, arguing that christians ought to agree with Republicans against abortion BUT with Democrats on helping the poor/social programmes, based on this it argues that it's ok to be a christian and vote Democrat or Republican (so don't abandon your faith due to a change in political allegiance)
- Internet, this chapter is a little different, it focusses on the way that heavy use of the Internet can shape your perceptions and approach to serious topics - pushing you towards wit and emotion and aware from deep thinking; this was one of the better chapters.
- Social Justice, this chapter is just an extended advert for Thaddeus Williams' book "Confronting Injustice without compromising on truth" - that's an excellent book, considering the limited page count available maybe this was the best way to address the topic - give a teaser of an answer and point to a more extended source.
- Science, this mostly philosophical chapter argues that Science is insufficient to account for morality and reality and further that science is not equipped to assess the existence of God.
- Anti-Intellectualism, this great little chapter is aimed at folk who've grown up in anti-intellectual fundamentalist circles/churches arguing that historic christianity is not like that and is equipped to take any questions.
- Hell, this chapter correctly argues that the existence of Hell is a good thing, it focusses on the idea of God creating the new creation by removing everything bad from earth and the evil ones who had no desire to repent are then kept outside the city by the protective fire of God - emphasising that God is protecting the new creation from them.
Part 3 - Reconstruct Faith
This section invites you to embrace true belonging in the church (an imperfect community that we can serve), to accept that doubts and problems may never go away in this life, to take a hard look at Jesus and come back. It was all good stuff though limited by how short it is.
My Concluding Thoughts
This book was a great idea, but I think it fails at the goal because:
A) For someone with serious doubts it's far too brief.
B) The multi-author approach leaves it feeling a little disjointed, rather than having a clear guide through your problems and questions you're left with a number of voices each commenting briefly on discrete aspects.
C) I don't think some of the answers are the most helpful as I've hinted above.
This may be helpful for some people as a taster of the fact that christians do think about serious topics but if someone has serious questions it's just too light weight and apart from the social justice chapter it doesn't direct you on to more serious works.
November 5, 2021
This was not a book for someone who is deep into deconstructing or who has recently deconstructed their faith. Each author presents their own ideas about why people are deconstructing and why they should remain faithful, but they totally misrepresent the people they are talking about. Most of the authors completely invalidate the reasons people are deconstructing faith by claiming that their beliefs are not “true” Christianity. Rather than defending against issues with the Bible and Christianity, the authors simply make claims that “true” Christianity is good. And urge people to return to Jesus without giving good evidence to support the truth of the Bible.
Ultimately, it’s pretty typical rhetoric coming from the evangelical Christian movement, and will probably only strengthen the decision by those deconstructing that they don’t want to be part of this harmful belief system.
Ultimately, it’s pretty typical rhetoric coming from the evangelical Christian movement, and will probably only strengthen the decision by those deconstructing that they don’t want to be part of this harmful belief system.
August 21, 2021
I have to agree with a 1 star review I saw on this book - for the most part it’s not really written to help people who are deconstructing, so much as for people who want talking points to use with people who are deconstructing to try to convince them to stay in the fold. I found much of it unhelpful, some of it downright patronizing or insulting as I myself go through some “deconstruction” (don’t really like the term or the way it’s perceived but hey). For several of the authors it feels as if they assume how their deconstructing peers feel or have felt and are talking about a straw man of their own construction. If you want to actually constructively dialogue with people going through deconstruction, I’d suggest that it’s best to not continually denigrate their positions or motives the way that TGC does in most of the chapters in what feels like an attempt to tell Christians that those who do leave the faith can’t possibly do so for valid reasons.
That being said, I’m going to give it 2 stars, for some of the questions are indeed worth asking, and a few of the authors bring up interesting ideas/questions worth chewing on and manage to come off as understanding and empathetic rather than condescending.
In many ways this feels a lot like Rebecca McLaughlin’s “Confronting Christianity”. Neither book wrestles with the actual veracity of the tale that the Bible weaves, and is more focused on cultural and moral issues than with the questions of whether God exists at all or of the verity of the Bible’s account, which are simply positioned as obviously being true from the start. Not sure you need to read both, they’re both 2 stars in my book with similar themes and focuses. Even if McLaughlin isn’t specifically discussing modern “deconstruction” trends like this is it’s clearly aimed at a similar audience and a similar perceived problem.
That being said, I’m going to give it 2 stars, for some of the questions are indeed worth asking, and a few of the authors bring up interesting ideas/questions worth chewing on and manage to come off as understanding and empathetic rather than condescending.
In many ways this feels a lot like Rebecca McLaughlin’s “Confronting Christianity”. Neither book wrestles with the actual veracity of the tale that the Bible weaves, and is more focused on cultural and moral issues than with the questions of whether God exists at all or of the verity of the Bible’s account, which are simply positioned as obviously being true from the start. Not sure you need to read both, they’re both 2 stars in my book with similar themes and focuses. Even if McLaughlin isn’t specifically discussing modern “deconstruction” trends like this is it’s clearly aimed at a similar audience and a similar perceived problem.
December 23, 2022
You may have heard the word ‘deconstruction.’ It refers to people who question their faith in Christianity and ultimately walk away from it. They may become atheists or they may piece together a newfound faith that for all intents and purposes, has essentially rejected major Christian doctrines.
You may be surprised to know that this book is not a persuasion to stop deconstructing.
Christianity can handle hard questions.
True faith does not come from always accepting what other people tell you, never asking questions, and resisting all doubts.
True faith comes from asking questions, finding answers, and knowing what you believe.
The heart of this book is to encourage anyone who is thinking about deconstructing, in the throes of deconstruction, or talking with loved ones who are, to ask your questions and honestly seek the answers.
“Deconstructing can be the road toward reconstructing—building a more mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life.”
It is also a charge to churches to be a safe place for people to deconstruct. A place they are comfortable with asking questions without fear of judgement or condemnation. Churches have far too often been the catalyst for people’s deconstruction and we need to remember Jesus’ message of grace. Teaching truth is not void of grace and kindness.
Scripture says that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Not harsh judgments, clucking tongues, anger, or fear. (Rom. 2:4)
Before You Lose Your Faith is similar to Tim Keller’s Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference in that both have a different contributor for each chapter. They include, Trevin Wax, Jared Wilson, Rachel Gilson, Thaddeus Williams, and more.
I think this is a great introductory book to read if you are having any doubts about your faith.
Part 1- Deconstructing Deconstruction
The first few chapters challenge those who put Christianity through the gauntlet of questions and doubt to do the same thing to whatever ‘new religion’ they may deconstruct to.
“Is it possible you’ve merely traded one set of unproven assumptions for another?”
They challenge whether ‘progressive Christianity’ really offers belonging and depth. This involves a discussion of wokeness, cancel culture, and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
They also interestingly pose that keeping the faith is more radical and countercultural than the trend of deconstruction. Doubt is equated with heroism in today’s culture.
Be radical, they say, and have faith in what you cannot see.
“It is not for us to stop believing because we lack understanding, or to postpone believing till we can get understanding, but to believe in order that we may understand; as Augustine said, ‘unless you believe, you will not understand.’ Faith first, sight afterwards, is God’s order, not vice versa; and the proof of the sincerity of our faith is our willingness to have it so.” - J.I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God
Lastly, they challenge us to disentangle culture from truth. Culture is always affecting us. This involves a discussion of evangelical subculture and what things have become synonymous with what it means to be Christian that are actually not biblical. Sticking with Christianity doesn’t necessarily mean you must accept the entire package full of cultural adaptations.
Part 2- Deconstruct the Issues
These next chapters hit on all the main topics that are commonly brought up in deconstruction: sex/gender, race, politics, social justice, science, and hell.
I won’t rehash them each here (I’ll include further reading on these at the end of this review), but the main theme throughout these chapters was to address the lies or myths about those issues and to show what the Bible and Jesus actually says about them.
One thing I really liked about this section was one writer who pointed out that discerning truth is not like a pendulum. If people experience a version of Christianity that leaves them hurt or with a bad taste in their mouth, they swing away from anything those people believe. But,
“Wisdom isn’t merely running in the opposite direction of those we dislike."
In a culture filled with tribalism, careful thinking and consideration of other views are rare. If we don’t like someone, then we avoid everything they stand for.
But pendulums keep swinging.
If we truly want answers we have to be willing to walk the road and honestly look for answers and not jump in the ditches when we run into someone we don’t like.
Another thing I really liked about this section was another writer’s distinction that we can deconstruct with hammers or with precise tools.
“Deconstructing with hammers is quick and easy. But it’s also reckless. The resulting mess leaves us with little from which to reconstruct anything of substance. Deconstructing with precise tools, meanwhile, is much more methodical. It’s rarely as quick and easy as the hammer. But we retain the materials needed to reconstruct something of substance in the end.”
This is very wise. I’ve seen a lot of people take the easy way and just destroy everything they ever believed out of their pain and anger, only to be left standing in a pile of rubble and no plans to rebuild. His point was that the internet encourages hammer deconstruction, but wisdom seeks out trustworthy mentors who won’t send you on an aimless path of wreckage merely for the sake of destruction but can give you tools to find the weaknesses in your beliefs and fix them.
Part 3- Reconstruct Faith
It is said, the church is not a museum of saints, it’s a hospital for sinners. That doesn’t excuse the harms done in Jesus’ name, but it reminds us that the only perfection that has existed on earth is Jesus. We continue to strive for holiness, but we’re going to mess up.
I love Scott Sauls’ illustration in his book, A Gentle Answer:
“In the same way that it would make zero sense to call Beethoven a substandard composer because a six-year-old plays a Beethoven piece sloppily and out of tune at a piano recital, it makes zero sense to call Jesus a substandard Savior because his followers imitate him poorly.”
It really boils down to what you think about Jesus. Jesus and his claims for himself, his death, and resurrection, are what Christianity hinges on. Unfortunately, we don’t always follow his example and commands and we hurt people. Maybe you’ve been hurt by a church or someone who identifies as a Christian and you don’t want anything to do with Christianity.
Before you you reject your faith because of other people stumbling along like six-year-olds playing Beethoven, look at the original Composer. Study Jesus.
“In the person of Jesus, those hungering for righteousness see his justice. Those thirsty for compassion see One who will not break a bent reed. Those battling doubt meet One who hears prayers to help our unbelief without judgment or shame. And those perplexed with confusion over the complexities of life, and the fear of being lied to yet again, come face to face with the only One who is faithful and true.”
I read one review of this book that critiqued that it seemed they ‘dismissed’ all the objections of Christianity by saying, in effect, ‘If that’s your experience or belief of Christianity then that wasn’t real Christianity.’ To that reviewer, it seemed like a cop-out.
I disagree with this assessment. I wish it weren’t true that Christianity is distorted in so many ways now and in history past. But that’s what happened/s. It is not wrong to point out the ways in which Christianity has been distorted from God’s design. If we are promoting biblical Christianity, then we need to expose where people have strayed from the Bible. Again, it doesn’t excuse sin, but a book that is trying to show truth must also expose untruths.
Conclusion
This book is not an exhaustive resource on all the questions and doubts you have with the church and anyone who is deconstructing will definitely to read more than this. (Check out my references below for further study.)
But it is a heartfelt and valuable book that poses important questions and considerations for those who are on the deconstruction spectrum.
I had my own experience of ‘deconstruction’ when I went to a Christian college expecting to agree with everyone and realized there were things I believed that I didn’t know why. So I asked questions and I read a lot of books and I studied the Bible and my faith is stronger for it.
I love books like this that encourage others to underwrite their beliefs. Too many people won’t put the work in and act as if they’ve walked a hard road. Walking away completely is easy. But you’re no better off.
Put in the work, walk the road of discovery, and I promise— God will meet you there.
God is not afraid of our questions. Christianity will withstand the weight of your doubt.
More Quotes:
“To be fair in your pursuit of truth, you should take those doubts and questions that you, with laser-focus, have trained on Christianity and point them at the story you’ve adopted for yourself. Until now, your faith in yourself and in deconstruction has escaped the level of intense scrutiny that you put your earlier Christian faith through. If you truly deconstruct in a way that is authentic and honest, then your newfound faith must undergo the same level of examination as your older faith.”
“We want all of God’s blessings— without submitting to his loving rule and reign. We want progress— without his presence. We want justice— without his justification. We want the horizontal implications of the gospel for society— without the vertical reconciliation of sinners with God. We want society to conform to our standard of moral purity— without God’s standard of personal holiness.”
“Yes, God is a mystery. But he can also be known. He is known in Jesus. He is known in the pages of Scripture. And when we seek him with all of our heart, we will find him.”
“Freedom isn’t the absence of constraints. Jesus didn’t say “total, limitless autonomy will set you free. He said the truth will set you free. Not your truth; the truth, in a true-for-everyone sense.”
“Politics is just like any other idol: it doesn’t deliver what it promises. That’s why many of the most politically conscious people you know are also the most anxious, the most fearful, the most volatile. The idol of politics promises a feeling of control over this intimidating world. In reality, though, it amplifies fear by keeping our eyes off the Sovereign ruler of history.”
“Abandoning Christ won’t make your politics more tolerant and sophisticated. What it will do, in all likelihood, is surrender you to the whims of a secular outrage and cancel culture that is ruthless and unforgiving. It’ll leave you without a moral foundation. Worst of all, it’ll rob you of the only hope steady enough to survive deep suffering, unmet expectations, shattered dreams, powerful enemies, and broken trust. Only. Christ is big enough to assure you of ultimate hope, because only Christ is big enough to one day undo everything broken about this world.”
“We must learn that Christian community is built, not found.”
“Unfortunately, many of my friends who’ve left the faith haven’t found what they were looking for. In search of freedom, they’ve found only bondage to a lifeless system of individualism, consumerism, and a new, secular judgmentalism… We were made for this: belonging to Christ and one another. Every other system, every other promise, everything else in this world is crushing.”
“The good news of the gospel is that the Savior invites us into his city. The king loves to pardon. The Lamb desires to forgive. The Great Physician rejoices to heal.”
Further Reading:
- Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next by Rachel Gilson (Contributor)— Gender/Sexuality/Marriage
- Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Every Christian Should Ask about Social Justice by Thaddeus Williams (Contributor)— Race/Social Justice
- The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can’t Get Their Act Together by Jared Wilson— Doubt
- What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung—Sexuality
- What Does God Say About Our Bodies? by Sam Allberry— Gender/Sexuality
- How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman— Politics
- Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie Bacuham Jr.— Race/Social Justice
- Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College by Michael J. Kruger— Gender/Race/Authority and Inerrancy of Scripture
- Finding the Right Hills to Die on: The Case for Theological Triage by Gavin Ortlund— Areas of Disagreement in Christianity
-Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin— All the above
- Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What that Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung— Trusting the Bible
- The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller— Existence of God
You may be surprised to know that this book is not a persuasion to stop deconstructing.
Christianity can handle hard questions.
True faith does not come from always accepting what other people tell you, never asking questions, and resisting all doubts.
True faith comes from asking questions, finding answers, and knowing what you believe.
The heart of this book is to encourage anyone who is thinking about deconstructing, in the throes of deconstruction, or talking with loved ones who are, to ask your questions and honestly seek the answers.
“Deconstructing can be the road toward reconstructing—building a more mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life.”
It is also a charge to churches to be a safe place for people to deconstruct. A place they are comfortable with asking questions without fear of judgement or condemnation. Churches have far too often been the catalyst for people’s deconstruction and we need to remember Jesus’ message of grace. Teaching truth is not void of grace and kindness.
Scripture says that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Not harsh judgments, clucking tongues, anger, or fear. (Rom. 2:4)
Before You Lose Your Faith is similar to Tim Keller’s Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference in that both have a different contributor for each chapter. They include, Trevin Wax, Jared Wilson, Rachel Gilson, Thaddeus Williams, and more.
I think this is a great introductory book to read if you are having any doubts about your faith.
Part 1- Deconstructing Deconstruction
The first few chapters challenge those who put Christianity through the gauntlet of questions and doubt to do the same thing to whatever ‘new religion’ they may deconstruct to.
“Is it possible you’ve merely traded one set of unproven assumptions for another?”
They challenge whether ‘progressive Christianity’ really offers belonging and depth. This involves a discussion of wokeness, cancel culture, and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
They also interestingly pose that keeping the faith is more radical and countercultural than the trend of deconstruction. Doubt is equated with heroism in today’s culture.
Be radical, they say, and have faith in what you cannot see.
“It is not for us to stop believing because we lack understanding, or to postpone believing till we can get understanding, but to believe in order that we may understand; as Augustine said, ‘unless you believe, you will not understand.’ Faith first, sight afterwards, is God’s order, not vice versa; and the proof of the sincerity of our faith is our willingness to have it so.” - J.I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God
Lastly, they challenge us to disentangle culture from truth. Culture is always affecting us. This involves a discussion of evangelical subculture and what things have become synonymous with what it means to be Christian that are actually not biblical. Sticking with Christianity doesn’t necessarily mean you must accept the entire package full of cultural adaptations.
Part 2- Deconstruct the Issues
These next chapters hit on all the main topics that are commonly brought up in deconstruction: sex/gender, race, politics, social justice, science, and hell.
I won’t rehash them each here (I’ll include further reading on these at the end of this review), but the main theme throughout these chapters was to address the lies or myths about those issues and to show what the Bible and Jesus actually says about them.
One thing I really liked about this section was one writer who pointed out that discerning truth is not like a pendulum. If people experience a version of Christianity that leaves them hurt or with a bad taste in their mouth, they swing away from anything those people believe. But,
“Wisdom isn’t merely running in the opposite direction of those we dislike."
In a culture filled with tribalism, careful thinking and consideration of other views are rare. If we don’t like someone, then we avoid everything they stand for.
But pendulums keep swinging.
If we truly want answers we have to be willing to walk the road and honestly look for answers and not jump in the ditches when we run into someone we don’t like.
Another thing I really liked about this section was another writer’s distinction that we can deconstruct with hammers or with precise tools.
“Deconstructing with hammers is quick and easy. But it’s also reckless. The resulting mess leaves us with little from which to reconstruct anything of substance. Deconstructing with precise tools, meanwhile, is much more methodical. It’s rarely as quick and easy as the hammer. But we retain the materials needed to reconstruct something of substance in the end.”
This is very wise. I’ve seen a lot of people take the easy way and just destroy everything they ever believed out of their pain and anger, only to be left standing in a pile of rubble and no plans to rebuild. His point was that the internet encourages hammer deconstruction, but wisdom seeks out trustworthy mentors who won’t send you on an aimless path of wreckage merely for the sake of destruction but can give you tools to find the weaknesses in your beliefs and fix them.
Part 3- Reconstruct Faith
It is said, the church is not a museum of saints, it’s a hospital for sinners. That doesn’t excuse the harms done in Jesus’ name, but it reminds us that the only perfection that has existed on earth is Jesus. We continue to strive for holiness, but we’re going to mess up.
I love Scott Sauls’ illustration in his book, A Gentle Answer:
“In the same way that it would make zero sense to call Beethoven a substandard composer because a six-year-old plays a Beethoven piece sloppily and out of tune at a piano recital, it makes zero sense to call Jesus a substandard Savior because his followers imitate him poorly.”
It really boils down to what you think about Jesus. Jesus and his claims for himself, his death, and resurrection, are what Christianity hinges on. Unfortunately, we don’t always follow his example and commands and we hurt people. Maybe you’ve been hurt by a church or someone who identifies as a Christian and you don’t want anything to do with Christianity.
Before you you reject your faith because of other people stumbling along like six-year-olds playing Beethoven, look at the original Composer. Study Jesus.
“In the person of Jesus, those hungering for righteousness see his justice. Those thirsty for compassion see One who will not break a bent reed. Those battling doubt meet One who hears prayers to help our unbelief without judgment or shame. And those perplexed with confusion over the complexities of life, and the fear of being lied to yet again, come face to face with the only One who is faithful and true.”
I read one review of this book that critiqued that it seemed they ‘dismissed’ all the objections of Christianity by saying, in effect, ‘If that’s your experience or belief of Christianity then that wasn’t real Christianity.’ To that reviewer, it seemed like a cop-out.
I disagree with this assessment. I wish it weren’t true that Christianity is distorted in so many ways now and in history past. But that’s what happened/s. It is not wrong to point out the ways in which Christianity has been distorted from God’s design. If we are promoting biblical Christianity, then we need to expose where people have strayed from the Bible. Again, it doesn’t excuse sin, but a book that is trying to show truth must also expose untruths.
Conclusion
This book is not an exhaustive resource on all the questions and doubts you have with the church and anyone who is deconstructing will definitely to read more than this. (Check out my references below for further study.)
But it is a heartfelt and valuable book that poses important questions and considerations for those who are on the deconstruction spectrum.
I had my own experience of ‘deconstruction’ when I went to a Christian college expecting to agree with everyone and realized there were things I believed that I didn’t know why. So I asked questions and I read a lot of books and I studied the Bible and my faith is stronger for it.
I love books like this that encourage others to underwrite their beliefs. Too many people won’t put the work in and act as if they’ve walked a hard road. Walking away completely is easy. But you’re no better off.
Put in the work, walk the road of discovery, and I promise— God will meet you there.
God is not afraid of our questions. Christianity will withstand the weight of your doubt.
More Quotes:
“To be fair in your pursuit of truth, you should take those doubts and questions that you, with laser-focus, have trained on Christianity and point them at the story you’ve adopted for yourself. Until now, your faith in yourself and in deconstruction has escaped the level of intense scrutiny that you put your earlier Christian faith through. If you truly deconstruct in a way that is authentic and honest, then your newfound faith must undergo the same level of examination as your older faith.”
“We want all of God’s blessings— without submitting to his loving rule and reign. We want progress— without his presence. We want justice— without his justification. We want the horizontal implications of the gospel for society— without the vertical reconciliation of sinners with God. We want society to conform to our standard of moral purity— without God’s standard of personal holiness.”
“Yes, God is a mystery. But he can also be known. He is known in Jesus. He is known in the pages of Scripture. And when we seek him with all of our heart, we will find him.”
“Freedom isn’t the absence of constraints. Jesus didn’t say “total, limitless autonomy will set you free. He said the truth will set you free. Not your truth; the truth, in a true-for-everyone sense.”
“Politics is just like any other idol: it doesn’t deliver what it promises. That’s why many of the most politically conscious people you know are also the most anxious, the most fearful, the most volatile. The idol of politics promises a feeling of control over this intimidating world. In reality, though, it amplifies fear by keeping our eyes off the Sovereign ruler of history.”
“Abandoning Christ won’t make your politics more tolerant and sophisticated. What it will do, in all likelihood, is surrender you to the whims of a secular outrage and cancel culture that is ruthless and unforgiving. It’ll leave you without a moral foundation. Worst of all, it’ll rob you of the only hope steady enough to survive deep suffering, unmet expectations, shattered dreams, powerful enemies, and broken trust. Only. Christ is big enough to assure you of ultimate hope, because only Christ is big enough to one day undo everything broken about this world.”
“We must learn that Christian community is built, not found.”
“Unfortunately, many of my friends who’ve left the faith haven’t found what they were looking for. In search of freedom, they’ve found only bondage to a lifeless system of individualism, consumerism, and a new, secular judgmentalism… We were made for this: belonging to Christ and one another. Every other system, every other promise, everything else in this world is crushing.”
“The good news of the gospel is that the Savior invites us into his city. The king loves to pardon. The Lamb desires to forgive. The Great Physician rejoices to heal.”
Further Reading:
- Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next by Rachel Gilson (Contributor)— Gender/Sexuality/Marriage
- Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Every Christian Should Ask about Social Justice by Thaddeus Williams (Contributor)— Race/Social Justice
- The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can’t Get Their Act Together by Jared Wilson— Doubt
- What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung—Sexuality
- What Does God Say About Our Bodies? by Sam Allberry— Gender/Sexuality
- How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman— Politics
- Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie Bacuham Jr.— Race/Social Justice
- Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College by Michael J. Kruger— Gender/Race/Authority and Inerrancy of Scripture
- Finding the Right Hills to Die on: The Case for Theological Triage by Gavin Ortlund— Areas of Disagreement in Christianity
-Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin— All the above
- Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What that Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung— Trusting the Bible
- The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller— Existence of God
April 18, 2021
Each chapter of this short book is written by a different author, but unlike many such compilations, every chapter is worthwhile and contains valuable insights. Each chapter may also serve as an introduction to more in-depth reading, but it allows the book to be brief enough that someone who is beginning to question their faith may actually read it—although I suspect most readers will instead be Christians like myself who wonder what would make someone raised as a Christian begin to question what they have been taught, sometimes to the point of leaving the faith altogether.
The book affirms that it’s healthy and proper to ask the hard questions. A Christian worldview has great explanatory power, but if it no longer makes sense to you, then you should certainly dig deeper. You are not the first person to ask these questions. After working through these common challenges, your newly-reconstructed Christianity could end up as a significant improvement to a shallow blind faith. But if your trust in the truth of orthodox Christianity begins to waver, make sure you subject your newfound ideology to the same level of scrutiny that you used to deconstruct Christianity. If you are honest, you will likely find even greater deficiencies.
From the Rishmawy chapter:
“While many come by their doubts honestly, it’s not a coincidence that others become skeptical right around the time their extracurricular activities start conflicting with their prior moral convictions. Other students mysteriously let their faith slide when their career begins to take off... Several high-profile deconstructed Christians have mentioned changing their views on sexuality and gender to LGBT+ affirmation once they began to interact with LGBT+ folks. Some realized they lacked deep theological convictions about creation or the nature of male, female, and marriage, and merely held instinctive, mean-spirited prejudices. Others saw in folks a humanity they hadn’t acknowledged before, causing them to reevaluate their theological positions—on all sorts of issues—out of a desire to love them better...But Jesus also leads to us to ask, is it only a newfound respect and love for others that leads us to take action on these questions? Couldn’t there also be a layer of fear of disapproval, as you enter a new community whose good opinions begins to matter to you? Couldn’t there also be a desire to avoid “the tribulation and persecution” that “arises on account of the word?”
It’s certainly uncomfortable to stick out from the dominant culture. Most of us would just prefer to fit in. But Christians need to closely examine where the church has deviated from Biblical teaching in order to align with the culture (or a culture from generations past), and where the church needs to be countercultural instead of just flowing with the new cultural currents.
The book affirms that it’s healthy and proper to ask the hard questions. A Christian worldview has great explanatory power, but if it no longer makes sense to you, then you should certainly dig deeper. You are not the first person to ask these questions. After working through these common challenges, your newly-reconstructed Christianity could end up as a significant improvement to a shallow blind faith. But if your trust in the truth of orthodox Christianity begins to waver, make sure you subject your newfound ideology to the same level of scrutiny that you used to deconstruct Christianity. If you are honest, you will likely find even greater deficiencies.
From the Rishmawy chapter:
“While many come by their doubts honestly, it’s not a coincidence that others become skeptical right around the time their extracurricular activities start conflicting with their prior moral convictions. Other students mysteriously let their faith slide when their career begins to take off... Several high-profile deconstructed Christians have mentioned changing their views on sexuality and gender to LGBT+ affirmation once they began to interact with LGBT+ folks. Some realized they lacked deep theological convictions about creation or the nature of male, female, and marriage, and merely held instinctive, mean-spirited prejudices. Others saw in folks a humanity they hadn’t acknowledged before, causing them to reevaluate their theological positions—on all sorts of issues—out of a desire to love them better...But Jesus also leads to us to ask, is it only a newfound respect and love for others that leads us to take action on these questions? Couldn’t there also be a layer of fear of disapproval, as you enter a new community whose good opinions begins to matter to you? Couldn’t there also be a desire to avoid “the tribulation and persecution” that “arises on account of the word?”
It’s certainly uncomfortable to stick out from the dominant culture. Most of us would just prefer to fit in. But Christians need to closely examine where the church has deviated from Biblical teaching in order to align with the culture (or a culture from generations past), and where the church needs to be countercultural instead of just flowing with the new cultural currents.
June 26, 2021
Ah, deconstructionism, that old flame. Recent trends in political and social polarization have highlighted the fact the our modern evangelical culture has done a very poor job of welcoming skepticism into the church, although this short collection of essays is a hopeful reminder that Christianity and doubt are not mutually exclusive. Some essays were better than others, some need to learn how to write. But the message was nevertheless clear: to swing the pendulum in the other direction is to commit the same intellectual mistake.
May 9, 2021
This had very helpful chapters on topics that cause many people to question their faith. I found the chapters on sexuality, race, social justice and hell specifically insightful. Sometimes I wondered who this book was really for, a person deconstructing or their friend, but I would highly recommend the quality content to anyone.
August 12, 2022
This book was super helpful! I like the text chapter covered a different topic and that each author wasn't an expert on it because of knowledge but rather experience. I think my faith is stronger because this book has taught me how to question certain things and untangle what is Christ versus culture. I'm asking a lot more questions because of this book which is good.
January 5, 2025
Good, smart book. I liked it!
June 18, 2021
Very, very thankful for this book.
April 25, 2021
3.5 stars. The short contributions from a multitude of sources is a nice format. I thought this was really helpful and insightful for a person currently in the throes of deconstructing their Christian faith or for someone who is a friend to that person.
August 10, 2024
"Before You Lose Your Faith" is a book put out by The Gospel Coalition to address those who are questioning their faith. Unsurprisingly, with 15 chapters written by 15 different authors, the book can be a bit uneven, although I think Ivan Mesa (the editor) did an excellent job of keeping the tone and framework even and coherent.
Coming in at under 150 pages, "Before You Lose Your Faith" is not going to sufficiently address any particular issue, but will rather give the reader a taste of answers to the skeptic's concerns and doubts. What I thought the book did particularly well was zeroing in on the core issues that tend to lead to deconstruction. You won't find a lot of time spent, for example, on arguments for the existence of God, but rather chapters dealing with the challenges of sex, race, social justice, anti-intellectualism, and hell. You can tell by just that scatter-shot of issues (each dealt with in chapters under ten pages), that book's intent is truly to whet the appetite, not plumb deep into the issues.
"Before You Lose Your Faith" is a great book to give any young adult or anyone who might be struggling with their faith. It is also a good book for any rooted Christian as it helps provide not just arguments, but a godly, gentle, and wise tone (for the most part--there were a handful of times I cringed) in navigating hard conversations with those struggling with their faith.
For more reviews see thebeehive.live.
Coming in at under 150 pages, "Before You Lose Your Faith" is not going to sufficiently address any particular issue, but will rather give the reader a taste of answers to the skeptic's concerns and doubts. What I thought the book did particularly well was zeroing in on the core issues that tend to lead to deconstruction. You won't find a lot of time spent, for example, on arguments for the existence of God, but rather chapters dealing with the challenges of sex, race, social justice, anti-intellectualism, and hell. You can tell by just that scatter-shot of issues (each dealt with in chapters under ten pages), that book's intent is truly to whet the appetite, not plumb deep into the issues.
"Before You Lose Your Faith" is a great book to give any young adult or anyone who might be struggling with their faith. It is also a good book for any rooted Christian as it helps provide not just arguments, but a godly, gentle, and wise tone (for the most part--there were a handful of times I cringed) in navigating hard conversations with those struggling with their faith.
For more reviews see thebeehive.live.
July 15, 2023
This wonderful book, a compilation of letters from various pastors and theologians, is written as a response to the modern experience of "Deconstructing faith", where people wind back from the christian faith they've inherited/grown up in .
Broken into two sections, the first looks at the issues that have led to deconstruction, with passionate pleas for people to take another look at faith, whether through race, sex, politics, science, or the problem of hell. The argument is that Christianity is still good news.
In the second half there is a positive apologetic, looking at Jesus himself and the value of the church.
I found myself highlighting constantly, with many authors doing a wonderful job of speaking into complex areas with razor sharp clarity.
This book is helpful for those who are having doubts, but also anyone who wants to understand this cultural moment! Hence, 5 stars!
Broken into two sections, the first looks at the issues that have led to deconstruction, with passionate pleas for people to take another look at faith, whether through race, sex, politics, science, or the problem of hell. The argument is that Christianity is still good news.
In the second half there is a positive apologetic, looking at Jesus himself and the value of the church.
I found myself highlighting constantly, with many authors doing a wonderful job of speaking into complex areas with razor sharp clarity.
This book is helpful for those who are having doubts, but also anyone who wants to understand this cultural moment! Hence, 5 stars!
April 21, 2025
Gives a glimpse into some of the key issues driving people in our generation to “deconstruct” their faith—things like social justice, scientism, anti-intellectualism, and the doctrine of hell. A few chapters felt too short to really dig into the topic, leading to somewhat shallow observations or conclusions. Overall, a helpful starting point for understanding what’s behind this movement and where its thinking tends to go off track.
May 22, 2023
So I'm not "deconstructing," but was interested in just seeing what this had to say. Part 1 kind of turned me off by just the tone the authors were using towards those who are deconstructing, and then I think most of the chapters could have gone much deeper.
Idk how helpful the entire book would be to those deconstructing, but parts 2 and 3 were pretty solid in my eyes.
Idk how helpful the entire book would be to those deconstructing, but parts 2 and 3 were pretty solid in my eyes.
September 10, 2023
I don't think this book always achieves what it's trying to do. Some chapters are much better than others. That being said, I think some of those chapters could be useful for those within the church. In other words, instead of using it to stop the people who are leaving, it could be used to help the church stop the behavior that causes people to leave.
April 14, 2022
I’m not deconstructing, but I know many who are, and I have been walking through my fair share of questions, disappointments, and disillusions with American Christianity as we know it. If I was deconstructing, I don’t believe this book would be that helpful.
First, there were some great chapters with thought-provoking perspectives, and it was good to see some of the “hot-button” issues addressed (sexuality, race, politics, the Internet, social justice, science, anti-intellectualism, and hell). They are all super short chapters so you can’t expect a deep-dive into any of these issues, though many left you wanting more.
But, I was turned off by the tone of several of the contributors’ writing, some of which came across as very disparaging, almost insulting, and dismissive (e.g. “I know you’re struggling with xyz, but just believe, because the non-believing world is worse.”). Several of the authors made over-generalizations about people who are deconstructing that didn’t feel accurate or fair. Others used logical arguments that felt flawed. None of these attitudes help someone who is seriously struggling with certain aspects of the faith. The chapters that did help were written with humility, empathy, and critical reasoning.
I think this book would be better read in a group to have better opportunity to discuss together.
First, there were some great chapters with thought-provoking perspectives, and it was good to see some of the “hot-button” issues addressed (sexuality, race, politics, the Internet, social justice, science, anti-intellectualism, and hell). They are all super short chapters so you can’t expect a deep-dive into any of these issues, though many left you wanting more.
But, I was turned off by the tone of several of the contributors’ writing, some of which came across as very disparaging, almost insulting, and dismissive (e.g. “I know you’re struggling with xyz, but just believe, because the non-believing world is worse.”). Several of the authors made over-generalizations about people who are deconstructing that didn’t feel accurate or fair. Others used logical arguments that felt flawed. None of these attitudes help someone who is seriously struggling with certain aspects of the faith. The chapters that did help were written with humility, empathy, and critical reasoning.
I think this book would be better read in a group to have better opportunity to discuss together.
August 21, 2021
This book was brought to my attention as it was quoted from at a Sunday morning service at the church I attend. For me, the book was a good read. I felt that the topics covered were current and relevant which I appreciate. While reading this book, I was reminded that too often, most of us get stuck in our own thoughts and ideas and are not open to being challenged to seeing things from a different perspective. Something that has become so clear to me over the past few years is that I am not the judge, nor is anyone here on this Earth and yet it is so easy for each of us to keep trying to slip into that role. God does not call us to that, but he does call us to love Him above all else and our neighbors as ourselves, not just the easy to love neighbors, even those completely different from us. The book is a quick read with 15 contributing authors covering different topics. To be expected, some chapters were better than others. However, as I said earlier, I really enjoyed the book overall. I would have enjoyed going a bit deeper into several of these topics but understood that was not the direction or goal of this particular book.
May 4, 2021
Can't say enough good things about how this book has addressed real questions and concerns that 2020-21 have brought to the surface of my life. This book -- a series of essays by different authors -- cuts to the heart of some of the main issues and difficulties of our day without smoothing them over or cherry picking scripture to give easy answers. At the same time it's unambiguous in its stance -- Jesus exists and to know Him is to know life and love, so be careful in the process. I would highly recommend this book especially to those raised in conservative circles that dismiss difficult issues without engaging over them. This book is a great starting point for thinking about these issues with "wisdom not wit," in a careful, not click bait, sort of way. If you know someone who has "reconverted" or if you're struggling with doubts yourself, this book is a gracious and yup to date guide to the pressing issues of the church.
April 24, 2025
this was good!! this book broke down the road to deconstruction, the path through it & where to go next as you reconstruct/draw closer to God. it answered a lot of doubts that i had struggled with & opened my mind a lot. this is a good read for people who are having a hard time with jesus, know someone who is going through it or are just curious & want to explore your own faith. in a culture full of messy theology this book talked about a lot of hard topics that are normally “taboo”. an easy read without being too simple, i liked it a lot!!
August 16, 2021
This is a very solid book! I think this is the kind of book all pastors need to read or at least have to give out to members who are struggling. The chapter by Brett McCracken is worth the price of the book alone! Highly recommended
October 4, 2023
I’m giving the 2 stars for the good and helpful things that were in this book, but I really cannot give more than that. In my opinion, the authors had a dismal understanding of what the deconstruction process is, which was clear through their frequent substitution of the word "deconstruct" for all manner of other phrases that just mean "break down", regardless of the context they are using it in. Example: "Hell deconstructs God’s good world."
It was just obvious throughout the book that this was an assignment to address a buzz topic, and that the authors had little to no personal investment in or experience with the issue. They gave painfully simplistic solutions that didn’t acknowledge the deconstruction process.
Examples:
"Does [a social group or club] nourish your soul and make you the person you want to become, the person God created you to be?" Why would this be a valid argument to make to someone who’s question whether God is even there in the first place?
"Your deepest longings for justice can only be satisfied within a deep and rich Christian faith. Don’t give up on your pursuit of justice. Rather, take it further." This is basically discounting any value that might be found in any justice-based activity outside a Christian context. Someone who holds this view is someone I could never fully respect.
"Don’t let your deconstruction drive you from Jesus, for his might alone can deconstruct the power of Hell in your life." Painfully simplistic and assumes the reader fully believes in Hell and the Devil rather than addressing the reader’s potential questions about the logic of Hell and the reason and ability for Satan’s investment in our spiritual lives.
I know the tag line promotes this book as being about people’s deconstruction of "the church" rather than God, but it barely achieved either beyond extremely obvious notions like ‘the church you grew up in does not represent all of Christianity’. This book places so many assumptions upon the reader, steering clear of such topics as, "how am I supposed to believe that a Spirit comes and lives in my heart when I accepted Him, when I haven’t felt the presence of this Spirit in years?" or literally any question of the like. The book ignores the premise which was supplied by the internet. The authors could’ve been asked to watch even one video of someone’s recent deconstruction story and their reasons, but the content of this book convinced me that none of them had done so. This is not a book I would give to anyone who is questioning their faith, as it’s simplicity takes away any chance of it being a respectable piece of work, and I’d fear this might just push the person over the edge.
It was just obvious throughout the book that this was an assignment to address a buzz topic, and that the authors had little to no personal investment in or experience with the issue. They gave painfully simplistic solutions that didn’t acknowledge the deconstruction process.
Examples:
"Does [a social group or club] nourish your soul and make you the person you want to become, the person God created you to be?" Why would this be a valid argument to make to someone who’s question whether God is even there in the first place?
"Your deepest longings for justice can only be satisfied within a deep and rich Christian faith. Don’t give up on your pursuit of justice. Rather, take it further." This is basically discounting any value that might be found in any justice-based activity outside a Christian context. Someone who holds this view is someone I could never fully respect.
"Don’t let your deconstruction drive you from Jesus, for his might alone can deconstruct the power of Hell in your life." Painfully simplistic and assumes the reader fully believes in Hell and the Devil rather than addressing the reader’s potential questions about the logic of Hell and the reason and ability for Satan’s investment in our spiritual lives.
I know the tag line promotes this book as being about people’s deconstruction of "the church" rather than God, but it barely achieved either beyond extremely obvious notions like ‘the church you grew up in does not represent all of Christianity’. This book places so many assumptions upon the reader, steering clear of such topics as, "how am I supposed to believe that a Spirit comes and lives in my heart when I accepted Him, when I haven’t felt the presence of this Spirit in years?" or literally any question of the like. The book ignores the premise which was supplied by the internet. The authors could’ve been asked to watch even one video of someone’s recent deconstruction story and their reasons, but the content of this book convinced me that none of them had done so. This is not a book I would give to anyone who is questioning their faith, as it’s simplicity takes away any chance of it being a respectable piece of work, and I’d fear this might just push the person over the edge.
February 28, 2023
Ugh. I didn't expect much from the gospel coalition, but they put it out there for free, so I gave it a shot. First off, it was extremely disjointed as every chapter had a different author, and the organization felt very inorganic and random. Most of the chapters come off as very condescending and sometimes manipulative. Instead of drawing me back to conservative evangelicalism, this book just reminded me of why I want to distance myself as much as possible from those ideals. The authors' constant belittling of people whose faith is different than theirs got old very quickly. The chapters on race and social justice were particularly disappointing. The authors recognize that Christianity has had a problematic(to say the least imo) relationship with African Americans. But instead of calling the church to sort itself out, he instead pointed to Frederick Douglas(a freed slave), and argued that we should separate "misused Christianity" from "true Christianity." Without even beginning to go into how the different cultures cultivated very different versions of Christianity, I find that incredibly irresponsible. Most chapters feature kind of a similar sentiment of "the church isn't prefect, deal with it."
Now the good: Karen swallow prior wrote a fantastic chapter on anti-intellectualism and how it has engrained itself so deeply in the church particularly. She asserts that we must ask the hard questions, and more importantly cultivate an environment where people can ask hard questions. The only reason this book gets 2 stars. I wish the other authors would have read and remembered this chapter as they were writing theirs.
Now the good: Karen swallow prior wrote a fantastic chapter on anti-intellectualism and how it has engrained itself so deeply in the church particularly. She asserts that we must ask the hard questions, and more importantly cultivate an environment where people can ask hard questions. The only reason this book gets 2 stars. I wish the other authors would have read and remembered this chapter as they were writing theirs.
November 15, 2021
Read it for a Sunday school class looking at what deconstruction is, why it happens, and how you can better come alongside and minister to those who are deconstructing. This book may be short at only 139 pages long, but it gives you quite a lot to think about and contemplate. My one piece of advice to the authors would be you need to be more careful with how you use punctuation, particularly quotation marks. The first chapter came across as a tad snarky to me, even though I don't think the author was trying to sound sarcastic or snarky. I don't think he knew that quotation marks can be used to express that tone in writing. I also wish there was more cohesion in the work. Each chapter is written by a different author. There are very few transitions, and the chapters don't build off of each other in a cohesive or helpful way. It just sort of bounces from idea to idea. I also wish authors had pointed readers towards other resources and books for more in depth discussions for each of the questions they sought to answer.
February 19, 2022
This series of essays seek to be some air breaks for those who are finding that their faith is cratering. Deconstruction of faith, while a somewhat common reality through all religious history at different levels, has found new heft in socio-religious parlance today. It carries badges of honor or shame depending on which community you talk to. For my part I’ve always distinguished deconstruction from destruction, the former being a healthy mechanism for building faith back stronger, the later being apostasy. This book agrees with me, and navigates various issues cited as primary causes for casting off faith today, sexuality, science, race, anti-intellectualism, and so on. It is well written and a helpful resource to anyone in ministry and anyone who is looking to reconsider their faltering faith. I’d view it as a springboard though, and not the final stop to all the apologetical and pastoral baggage that usually accompanies this reality. 141 pages of deconstructing doubt before destroying faith.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews