Finding Faith, Losing Faith: Stories of Conversion and Apostasy

by Scot McKnight

This book examines conversion stories as told by people who have actually undergone a conversion experience, including experiences of apostasy. The stories reveal that there is not just one "conversion story." Scot McKnight and Hauna Ondrey show that "conversion theory" helps explain why some people walk away from one religion, often to another, very different religion. The book confirms the usefulness--particularly for pastors, rabbis, and priests, and university and college teachers--of applying conversion theory to specific groups. However, the book's sensitive detailing of the stories themselves makes conversion more than a theoretical occurrence; it makes the immediacy, and often the difficulty, of conversion both real and moving.

Genres: Religion

260 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2008

About the author

Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author or editor of forty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL. Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly speaks at local churches, conferences, colleges, and seminaries in the USA and abroad. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986).

Reviews

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of conversion stories, with a focus on becoming Christian or moving between denominations. The author's evangelical bias shows even before he discusses it explicitly.

[Alex Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see it's more than two years since I started reading this book; it wouldn't be much less than that since I stopped reading it, so what I'm writing here is derived mainly from flicking through what I read way back then.

I've only read to the end of chapter 1, the one on "apostasy", and I don't intend reading any further, since that's the only one I'm really interested in, having gone through something like that myself.

There's some good stuff in the chapter, some mediocre stuff, some unintelligible (to me) or poorly expressed bits, and a couple of canards, such as "conversion involves at some level a conscious decision to accept a new set of beliefs" (p. 56), and "such ultimate answers ["finding ultimate meaning"] can only be postulated on the basis of belief in God" (p. 60). There is so much wrong with both of these that I hardly know where to start.

First of all, beliefs (views) are not "accepted", they simply arise in one's mind, and they do not come in preconceived or predefined (by whom?) sets, but one by one independently. Believing is passive (involuntary), which is not to say that one's voluntary actions, including cognitive ones, do not affect what one comes to believe. If there is decision at all in conversion, it is deciding to put one's confidence in what one has become confident of, in other words, to act on – bet on – one's new beliefs, letting them guide one's choices.

Second, the notion that "God" – and hence being convinced he's there – is a necessary prerequisite for "meaning" in life is preposterous. What characteristics does this "God" person have that make "meaning" in life possible and that only he can have? Which god? How many? Just one? What is a god anyway? Did God consign human beings to "meaningless" lives until some of them "discovered" him or he introduced himself to them, or until someone dreamed him up and convinced others, if not himself/herself as well, to believe he was real?

It amazes me how readily (in my experience) the notion of "meaning" in life is referred to with neither clarifying discussion nor questioning as to why it seems to be regarded as the most vital thing to have. My own reflection on this has led me to think that nearly all humans have an innate longing to serve a purpose, and that to satisfy that longing is to acquire "meaning" in life. But for there to be purpose there must be a problem to solve, and for there to be a problem to solve there must be someone with that problem. So perhaps that is why "God" strikes so many people as essential to there being meaning in life: he is the stand-in for the person with the problem that people get satisfaction from helping to solve. However, as I've already hinted, life's struggle isn't ultimately predicated on meaninglessness, but on dissatisfaction, displeasure, disaffection, suffering, hurt, unpleasant experience in sum, isn't it? It is dislike – not liking it – that underlies all the striving and straining that make up so much of most people's lives. Sure, finding "meaning" may go a fair way toward eliminating some of the misery, but not all the way; it isn't the panacea.

My rating applies only to the first 64 pages of the book. Three stars is a tad generous. I'd give it two and a half if I could.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A combination of evangelical-like testimony and social science review that needed a bit more of the latter. Yes, there are patterns as he examines people leaving evangelical faith for unbelief, Judaism for Messianic Judaism, and from Catholicism to evangelicalism and vice versa. But in the end too many stories were told and not enough analysis of those stories was provided. I am also annoyed because the final chapter and bibliography of my copy were misprinted and only half of the pages were there. Examine your copy carefully.

[David]

A well-done collection of case studies and analysis of on people who underwent religious conversions. It's divided into four parts: Christian to atheist, Jew to Messianic Jew, Roman Catholic to Evangelical, and Evangelical to Roman Catholic. I'm really surprised that the topic of religious conversion is so neglected. I wish there were many more books like this, detailing a wider range of religions, as I find the subject fascinating.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting stories and analysis of people who converted from one faith to another (or from Christianity to atheism) It recognized some common trends in conversions and I could really relate to the atheist section. Overall a really good and interesting book.