Bad Religion, Good News: An Honest Guide for the Spiritually Disappointed

Bessenecker (The New Friars), director of global engagement for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an interdenominational campus ministry, considers in this stimulating treatise what it means to reckon with disappointments in God, other believers, and the “historical sins of the church.” He notes how personal challenges can help Christians build a deeper faith as they seek God’s “companionship” to endure suffering, and how grappling with the church’s flaws is essential because the faithful are meant to live and grow in community. (Believers can begin to do so by recognizing the ways they’ve contributed to harmful aspects of Christian culture, joining a healthy church community, and forgiving others for their sins.) The author also overviews the sins of the historical church to help readers avoid the same mistakes, like participating in missions that reinforce a colonial Western Christianity. While the dearth of direct guidance may frustrate some readers (Bessenecker instead offers reflection questions, like “How do you think Jesus’ words about loving enemies... apply to Christians when a nation is at war?”), this accounting of the church’s structural sins is bold, thorough, and evenhanded. Believers questioning their relationship with the church will be gratified. (May)