I Want to Believe: Finding Your Way in an Age of Many Faiths
In I Want to Believe, Mel Lawrenz ignites a latent desire in all of us--the desire to believe in something bigger than ourselves. Lawrenz takes an honest dive into topics that are true areas of tension--doubt, rebirth, faith and action, and the essence of Christian faith. A fresh and engaging style draws readers into an unexpected conversation in which they receive concrete, concise descriptions of Christian faith in principle and in real life, and are shown contrasts with other faith alternatives. The chapters are skillful interweavings of narrative, illustration, and biblical reflection. Throughout the book, readers are assured that doubts are part of believing and that hardships in life do not contradict faith. For believers and seekers alike, I Want to Believe will fan the flame of faith and affirm the quest for believing.
Top Highlights
“To many people, pain is the most significant argument against the existence of God (or, at least, a good God). But through the voices of dozens of prophets and apostles and Jesus Himself in the Scriptures, the message is this: God wants you to believe because God does, in fact, know pain, not as a spectator, but as a sufferer. In fact, if all human beings are the offspring of God, then God suffers as a parent to see any pain.” (source)
“‘Everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being: You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.’” (source)
“I think God is pleased when someone says, ‘I want to believe.’ Sometimes that's the best we can come up with.” (source)
“The only limit to God's givingness is our limitation in accepting it” (source)
“I know that God is real, and He is good, and He is powerful, and He is here. I believe God knows; I believe God acts. But … there is so much I think I should believe that is beyond my reach and beyond my trust. My faith gets me just so far. I'm afraid if I go too far out on a limb, it will just break off. I fear that my desire to believe some things that would be wonderful are just wishful thinking on my part. And I don't want to look like a fool. I don't want to be taken in. If I believe in and worship God, I want to know this God is real. So God, in all honesty, this is me: I do believe, and I think there is more I should believe but I have not been able to believe. Help me. I want to believe.’” (source)
Product Details
- Title : I Want to Believe: Finding Your Way in an Age of Many Faiths
- Author: Lawrenz, Mel
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2008
- ISBN: 9781441224019
Mel Lawrenz (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; PhD, Marquette University) is senior pastor at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He has a passion for the ministry of the Word in writing for effective outreach, is author or coauthor of several books, and has been developing a multidimensional media ministry network, which includes his radio interview program, Faith Conversations.