Author: Todd H. Speidell

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 1999-03-18

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 1579102344

Confessions of a Lapsed Skeptic is therapeutic in the best sense: it rehabilitates bad theological vision! Dr. Speidell's little text takes a major step in helping us overcome the narcissism that burdens contemporary religious life and theology. I plan to give this book to seminarians beginning their education and to church leaders engaged in educating laity. Both groups will greatly benefit from Speidell's wisdom. Willie James Jennings, Academic Dean Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina Exploring literature, film, case study material, and philosophical and religious texts, Confessions of a Lapsed Skeptic makes the fundamental questions of humanity's relationship to God accessible to skeptics and believers alike. Todd Speidell's approach is refreshing and authentic, challenging both the heart and the intellect to probe beyond simple answers to the mystery of faith. Confessions is a rich source of stimulating ideas, perfectly suited for both the seminar and the nightstand. Keith A. Evans, Head of School Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia Confessions Of a Lapsed Skeptic provides thought-provoking reading, even for a confessed skeptic like myself, about the human struggle for an understanding of the nature of God. By using case studies from wide-ranging sources, such as Woody Allen and C. S. Lewis, Todd Speidell manages to make this difficult and potentially abstract topic very concrete and relevant. You cannot read this book without all the time feeling wonderfully engaged in virtual discussions with the author about the wisdom that can be deduced from the case studies. Confessions deserves to be read and discussed by everybody trying to understand their position on the Big Questions in life. Soren P. Sorensen, Professor and Head Department of Physics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee Using a Kierkegaardian scalpel to expose the passion of the faith that underlies skepticism and Woody Allen's perceptive humor to reveal the irony of belief in an underachieving God, Todd Speidell depicts the plausibility of a faith that, although unprovable, remains compellingly true. 'The human heart can go the lengths of God, ' writes the English playwright Christopher Fry. 'Affairs are now soul-size. The enterprise is exploration into God.' This little book is 'soul-size.' It sketches the contours of the human quest for God by using the artist's palette of philosophy, literature and theology with creative insight and lucid prose. Ray S. Anderson, Prof. of Theology and Ministry Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Californi