Not Sure: A Pastor's Journey from Faith to Doubt

Thank you, John Suk, for giving us this book. Although it was planted in "our" mutual tribal soil, I think it has potential to reap an honest harvest in many Christian traditions. There is much to like and absorb in this book. It is a candid, bold, articulation of what many pastors whom I know feel deeply, but have never had the patience, time, courage (or perhaps ability) to write/say. John's always provocative, yet respectful ability is put to mighty good use in this book. His reading and analysis are both deep and broad--products not only of graduate work that he describes, but also of a curious, always growing mind AND spirit.Not Sure is clearly the best book I've read in this new year and it may well stay near the top as the reading list grows. Suk's thorough, profound analysis and dissection of "enchanted" to "literate" faith running on both personal and societal tracks are clarifying, convincing and compelling. I found myself frequently nodding in surprising, albeit often reluctant, agreement with page after page, story after story in the book.There may be trouble ahead: As I must take seriously the challenges that Suk delineates, I may be in for some painful things for personal and congregational pilgrimages. What if my congregation doesn't like or understand questions I put to them about confessionality and its advantages, but also its possible idolatry? Might the temporary (though very real) pain be worth it? In my own position, it would certainly be a lot easier to coast into retirement and not rock the boat, but merely to try dodging waves rather than courageously surf them. That would be the safer, but not better, path to follow.So, John Suk, be there for me! I may need it. Why? Because the journey John traces "from faith to doubt" accurately depicts, in my experience in similar communities, a large "building of faith" erected on a presumed and passionately defended systematic truth foundation. Trouble is, that apparently firm foundation turns out to be pretty wobbly when tested against the seismic movements of confrontations with other traditions of the Christian faith, a resurgent and belligerent atheism, other faiths entirely, and social and intellectual developments that have shaped and continue to shape the world we all inhabit.Yet in Suk's deft handling of the subject, what is first billed in the book's subtitle as "a pastor's journey from faith to doubt" becomes, as the book unfolds, much more a journey from a faith based on human constructs ABOUT Jesus to a far more robust, leaner faith based on Jesus as revealed in all mysterious complexity in the Bible. That is a marvelous accomplishment. (By the way, it strikes me that the title is an Eerdmans' editor's choice to promote sales, though it does not accurately reflect the last third of this book or Suk's heart at all.)What strikes me odd, though, is this: John does indeed build that more robust faith, yet in so doing, he does seem to accept biblical narratives as largely historical; I do too. The fact is, though, too many post-Enlightenment many scholars, teachers and not a few pastors reject or covertly wink at such narratives or preach them with their fingers crossed behind their backs. Yet time and again throughout the book, Suk accepts and quotes sayings of Jesus, cites his miracles, refers to basic historic lineaments of the Exodus event--and more as accurate historical if not in every detail, certainly in basic content.Knowing John's ever-gutsy honesty and integrity, I cannot help believing that he simply DOES believe all of those things as part of the biblical revelation that God has somehow given us through all its messy, millennia-long process of speaking, writing, copying, re-writing, editing, transmitting and selecting. Yes, that is odd, peculiar, perhaps not totally consistent with Suk's doubts about confessions and church history, but what he is finally describing here is not DOUBT; it is faith. And that is why I love this book.While I am not yet thoroughly convinced by Suk's argument about the fallacy of a "personal relationship with Jesus," I do take it very seriously as a warning against perversion of the faith into a personal, individualized and ultimately idolatrous construct. (Suk boldly calls it a "paganization" of faith along American, individualistic lines. Maybe so.) Of course, it is foolish and blasphemous to say, for example, that "Jesus told me to use a five iron on the ninth hole hole and I birdied it because I listened to Jesus." But Jesus IS a person--albeit not WITH us except through that mysterious presence of the Spirit (Holy Spirit, Spirit of Christ--whatever!). We pray to and through the person of Jesus Christ. We meditate on God's will for our lives and world through the revelation of Jesus in the Bible. Is that not personal and relational in an unavoidable way? Perhaps that is not what Suk is referring to, but that was to me the slightly foggy part of an otherwise exceedingly clear book.Finally, when Suk respectfully, yet devastatingly gives the lie to Joel Osteen's, Kenneth Copeland's and others' prosperity "gospel" (p. 163 ff.), I almost leapt out of my chair to cheer. But then I read Suk's concluding mea culpa, namely, that "most North American Christians think of faith at least in partly pragmatic terms , much as I have for most of my life." So, it occurred to me that cheering was not the fitting response; rather, falling to my knees in repentance was. And that takes faith. Thanks again, John Suk, for shedding some light on developing that faith in these days that are probably one of the darkest darkrooms nurturing the growth of false faiths that the world has ever seen.

Losing your faith is a crisis for anyone, but this is doubly true for pastors and religious leaders. John Suk lost his faith, and in the long, difficult journey that followed, discovered on a primal level what deeply faithful people have been saying for centuries: the opposite of faith is not doubt; the opposite of faith is certainty.I was tempted to skip the "journey" and jump to the last chapter. I'm glad I didn't. Much of the book is about his discovery of what faith is NOT: not a "personal relationship" with Christ; not adherence to a given set of doctrinal statements; not a ticket to health and wealth. Faith, rather, is primal trust in a God who does not abandon God's children; faith is a willingness to take the next step on the journey, even when we can't see where we're going, or the One who is guiding us.The author's loss of faith closely resembles my own; the record of his journey "from faith to doubt" has been a profound gift to me. He gives a clear, lucid voice to many issues I've been wrestling with, and I am deeply grateful. I too have been "not sure" for years now; this book has taught me that I don't have to be.Bottom line: if the title of the book grabs you and won't let go, it's probably a good sign that you need to read it. You'll be glad you did.

Not sure by John Suk is a book about a Pastor's journey from faith to doubt. As far as I know Suk has not left the faith, but he has some serious questions about it.Suk traces the Christian faith thorough some of its stages. We can easily forget that for 1300 years there were no Bibles available to Christians. Theirs was a simple oral faith. With the advent of the priniting press, Christians could own Bibles. This led to a literate faith. The Christian religion could now be understood in a linear fashion. The "Enlightenment" tried to dismantle Christianity, but never quite succeeded.Sul also chronciles the Post Modern version of Christianity, and appears sympthetic towards it. He questions some of Christianity's beliefs towards evolution and homosexuality. He also critiques the prosperity gospel, although not as harshly as others have.Not Sure was written with compassion and candor. The writing was very good. I don't agree with all of his conclusions, but he does make a strong case for his beliefs

I was raised in the Reformed Church, then tried several other mainline denominations. The author's discussions of what Reformed Church members believe, and the church's core beliefs, were welcome reminders of the faith that formed me. In my explorations of Presbyterianism (10 years) and United Methodism (15 years) I have been left with the feeling that they are struggling unsuccessfully with what Suk describes as the transition from the age of literate belief to the second period of oral belief engendered by television and the internet. It was amazing to read his critique of modern worship practices, mainline and nondenominational, as they are exactly my own. Until I read this book I had a difficult time understanding why the usage of power point sermons, praise bands in worship, and the skin -crawling exhortation to 'let's have a hand-clap for Jesus', which was a part of every service at a church I attended until recently, left me so cold. The book is a valuable exploration of critical issues in today's church.