Tuesday 14 December 2010

'Losing Faith' by Andy Frost

When I first saw the title “Losing Faith: Those who have walked away...” I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I wouldn't agree with it. Hackles raised, I assumed the author would be arguing that a person's salvation can be lost and that is something I cannot comprehend. However – all set to be challenged on this belief – I was completely taken aback by the actual message of this book. I could not have been further from the truth.


Andy Frost meets nine individuals (names and details altered where necessary for privacy) and re-tells their stories of how they lost faith in the Christian message. Each are emotional journeys of pain and disappointment with God and the Church. What Frost was keen to insist upon, however, was that while these people had let go of God, God hadn't let go of them. Salvation hadn't been lost. Some had already returned to Christ since walking away and he prayed the others would too.

After each story, Frost practically engages us in how we can support friends, family and church members who are going through the same thing. How we react to their unbelief, how we bring them back to Christ and how we help prevent it from happening in the first place. He touches on difficult issues such as homosexuality and abuse, but he does so in a sensitive and loving way. I was very challenged.