Book Review: The Faith by Chuck Colson and Harold Fickett

The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why they Believe it, and Why it Matters. Charles Colson and Harold Fickett, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2008), 240 Pages.

It has been a while since I published a review of books I have read, so I thought I would share a short overview and some quick thoughts today.

Colson and Fickett offer an interesting read that serves as a good introduction to some of the basic beliefs of all Christians. There is not a “slant” toward any particular subset of Christianity; rather, the point is to discuss the main points of Orthodox Theology (beliefs about God) that are shared by all Christian faith. This is not a book that will inform theologians since it is a survey/ introduction of Orthodox beliefs.

To build the case of why to study these beliefs, Colson spends some time discussing cultural observations and making some assessments about the church. He explains why it is important for Christians to understand what they believe and why they believe it. Further, he interweaves stories of Christian history as they relate to the articulation of these beliefs, or how great figures in Christian history dealt with these beliefs.

In essence, this book serves as a balance between “doctrine” (beliefs) and “apologetic” (defending ones beliefs).

Being a student of theology, I was a bit skeptical about reading a book on Christian doctrine that took no particular stand on particular church traditions. Having read many wise men who break down the minute details of difference between Christian sects, I thought that this would serve as more of an “aggravation” of sorts…causing me to write a scathing review of compromise. I was wrong. The substance of the doctrines considered in this book were handled well and, if learned and understood, serve as the basis of conversation…not only with those outside of the Christian faith, but with those within the Christian faith. Knowing the stories of how some different church traditions arose serves to encourage Christians to look for common ground first, then discuss distinctives as necessary.

The book encourages the reader to understand and celebrate Orthodoxy. In a culture today where everything is questioned and popular opinion holds the beliefs of the individual as greater than the beliefs of the collective throughout the ages, this book is a call to embrace Orthodoxy as good. As a wise older man from Mississippi once said to a teenager, “just because it is an old idea doesn’t make it a wrong idea.”

I recommend the book as a great read for those who have grown up in church but have not discovered “why” they believe as they do. I also recommend it to those who are looking skeptically at Christianity from the outside as though it were equivalent to every other religious proposition in the world. Both would gain from the read. Finally, I recommend it to those in academic circles who find themselves drawn to debate the minutiae, rather than focusing on the big picture. This read will help some of these guys “come up for air” and re-engage in the cultural conversation in a relatable way.

Here is a link to the book and resources available at Amazon. There is also a “small group discussion curriculum which looks like it may be helpful as a discussion primer for a group study. Enjoy!