4 out of 4 stars
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Transforming Faith: Stories of Change from a Lifelong Spiritual Seeker by Fred Howard encapsulates the author's journey from accepting a faith he was taught to building his own faith from observations of people, life and situations. He begins by telling how he entered a group of born-again Christians in college while seeking friendship and acceptance. After some time, he began asking questions about their faith, questions that often had pat answers or no answer except for blind belief in what they had taught him. Howard did not back down and instead pushed conversations past the parroted answers, driving ever deeper to get at the truth. He found the Golden Rule particularly intriguing. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If he didn’t like people trying to convert him to their beliefs, then would it not be wrong to do the same to others? Howard tells how he kept pushing the boundaries of accepted questioning until he started to find the answers he sought.
Howard gained new perspective by studying various peoples and groups. He writes about his new insights in five sections in his book: imagination, faith, compassion, God and Christianity. My favorite section was the one on faith. Howard explores so many interesting lines of thought; it would be impossible to cover them all. So, I’m going to focus on my favorite one.
In Part II: Faith, Howard talks about three stages of faith: adopted faith, individuating faith and holistic faith. Adopted faith often comes through what we were taught to believe as children. As we grow up, some of us reach a point of questioning this faith and reaching out for something that suits us more specifically. This is individuating faith. This is where some people proclaim themselves as agnostics, atheists, etc. Then there are some who move past the need to express themselves through a unique faith, and they see the value in some of the things they had first believed in their adopted faith. They look at previous doctrines and beliefs in a more objective manner and choose to accept those things that have value to them. They do not judge the beliefs by the people who imparted them but rather see the good where there is good. These are the people who have come to a holistic faith, a faith that can see everyone as having value and can apply understanding and compassion to all people, no matter if they share the same beliefs or are at polar opposites.
This section on faith spoke to me deeply. Like the author, I was in a group of born-again Christians and taught a view of God that really didn’t make sense to me after I became an adult. Six years ago I completely relocated in an effort to search for something that made more sense. I’ve spent the past years learning, unlearning, seeking, meeting with disappointment. Then I read Fred Howard’s book. Even though he ends up in a denomination that I don’t know I wholly agree with, I felt that he understood me. His journey made sense out of so many questions I have had over the last decade. I am so grateful I came across his book.
I found his book well-written and easy to read. Howard begins each chapter with a story that helps the reader connect to a specific insight he learned. This technique makes for a smooth flow and keeps the reader’s interest. I found no mistakes in the book. The writing was clear and professionally edited in my opinion. As is often the case with non-fiction, the book contained front matter and back matter. Even the formatting of the intro, preface, contents and bibliography was professional. I was quite impressed with the book overall.
Due to this excellence and the overwhelmingly positive experience I had with the book, I give it 4 out of 4 stars. There was nothing at all that I disliked about the book. Those who do not care for non-fiction or “religious-type” books may not enjoy it as well as I did. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned traditional faith or traditional views of God. Since I was reading this book for review, I had to complete it within a time limit. I would recommend taking your time reading it and enjoy one chapter at a time. Let it soak in until you are ready for the next one. Even with having to read the book faster than I may have preferred, it was still an amazing and life-changing experience for me.
Even if you are not looking for a life-changing experience, you may come away from reading this book with a feeling that at least one other person understands your doubts and questions. And perhaps, because you now feel that someone cares, you’ll come away changed after all.
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Transforming Faith
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