Surprised by Doubt
Brazos Press, 2023
By Joshua Chatraw and Jack Carson
WHO: Joshua Chatraw, the Billy Graham Chair of Evangelism and Cultural Engagement at Beeson Divinity School; and Jack Carson, executive director of the Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement and as an instructor at Liberty University.
THEY SAY: “In what follows you will find ways of thinking differently, practices to engage in, and better questions to attend to.”
THE BIG IDEA: This book helps readers understand that even those who live by faith sometimes doubt. It also encourages them to engage with their emotional journey of fear, anxiety and frustration.
THE PROGRESSION: In Part 1, “The Attic,” the authors use C.S. Lewis’ metaphor that envisions Christianity as a house with many rooms to suggest readers move out of the attic of reactionary versions of the faith.
In Part 2, “Outside the House,” looks at those who are living outside of the house. Part 3, “The Main Floor,” discusses three perspectives: “Looking At,” “Looking Through” and “Stepping In” to offer readers a different way to view Jesus’ promises and step into his ways.
“The surprise of doubt may turn out to be the means by which you receive a very different kind of surprise: joy.”
