How to Believe: Teachers and Seekers Show the Way to a Modern, Life-Changing Faith

by Jon Spayde

After seeing Christianity become increasingly defined in the media as a narrow and punitive political movement, Spayde began to Are religions now just combatants in the culture wars? Should he leave the organized church? How are ordinary people using faith positively to search for the truth and improve their lives?

Spayde takes a journey across America that introduces him to an array of believers, eminent and obscure, who relate their personal stories of active and living faith–how they balance Jesus’s love and judgment, the church’s dictates, and their own free will–to live and love completely while on Earth.

Here are veteran religious leaders such as John Shelby Spong, a retired Episcopal bishop who advocates a radical reform of Christian teaching that would eliminate talk of miracles and stress social justice, and Kosuke Koyana, an important Protestant voice in Asia whose firsthand knowledge of World War II horrors made him see Christ’s teachings as neither liberal nor conservative but simply “care for the widow and the orphan.” Spayde meets those committed to unorthodox beliefs, such as Joyce Rupp, a Catholic sister dedicated to the concept of the feminine as divine, as well as those who have for the sake of their faith drastically altered their lives, including Cynthia Williams who left a high-powered job in finance to work for a struggling inner-city church in Minneapolis, and Thien-an Dang, a Vietnamese refugee who became a top Radio Shack executive only to quit and work for a Texas ministry deeply connected to Vietnam. We’re also introduced to Mary Forsythe, a self-described “train wreck for Jesus,” who found the roots of her work as an evangelical preacher while serving time in prison, and hospice chaplain Anna Bradshaw, who was transformed by the “aliveness” of people near death and personally touched Spayde’s life while tending to his dying mother.

Spayde’s odyssey brought him to a new understanding of why action is more important than the intellect in faith, how true solace is found in forging a personal relationship with God, and why worrying about one’s own “worthiness” is always beside the point.

This is a crucial book that reveals the different paths that can lead to the same inspiring place, a book that teaches “how to believe” in ways that honor individuality, allow for personal journeys, and spiritually enrich not just our own lives but the lives of those around us.

Advance praise for How to Believe

“Jon Spayde has assembled a wonderfully vivid portrait gallery of Christian faith in our times. It’s a wild ride, this mystery tour across the deep divides of contemporary religion into the lives of believers and seekers. These are not ‘arguments’ against atheism or in favor of belief, but compelling voices of struggle and astonishment gathered by a writer of integrity on his own ardent search.”
–Patricia Hampl, author of The Florist’s Daughter

“Jon Spayde is a convivial and wise spiritual scout, who guides us in the direction of a robust Christianity that is deeply grounded in love. Along the way we meet remarkable figures from diverse religious traditions who inspire with their intelligence, insight and faith. This is the perfect book for all of us who yearn for a greater connection with the divine but still feel a little nervous walking through the church doors.”
–Jay Walljasper, senior editor, Ode magazine and former editorial director of Utne Reader

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is difficult for me to evaluate a book like this. I find it incredibly interesting how different people come to faith, what beliefs constitute their worldview, and how it influences their everyday life. But at the same time, I would be very careful who I recommended this book to. I would say that for most Christians, this book serves more to challenge one’s faith rather than strengthen it. While it is tremendously important to stretch one’s faith with new ideas and examine other points of view, this is only possible when one has a strong foundation in one’s own belief system and specific doctrine. Without that kind of base, a reader might be tempted to see this book as a smorgasbord of religions and be tempted to either choose one from the book or to simply create a new one to fit his or her specific needs. To me, this is not what God had in mind for us. The Christian story is flexible to fit many cultures and contexts, but there is always a timeless Truth underlying it. I would say that the basic theme of this book, while good intentioned, fails to capture the essence of that Truth.

[Michael Kelberer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - takes you on a thoughtful journey through the process of coming to believe in an age of science and reason. Highly recommended.