Reviewed by: Connor Salter, Professional Writing student at Taylor University

Introduction

Title: Faith in the Shadows: Finding God in the Midst of Doubt

Author: Austin Fischer

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Publication Date: 2018

Format: Paperback

Length: 184 pages

OVERVIEW

Does having faith in Jesus mean a person can’t have doubts? Austin Fischer tests that assumption in Faith in the Shadows, showing the more biblically based, honest understanding is that faith and doubts go hand in hand. After outlining why doubts and faith aren’t incompatible, Fisher describes where that assumption comes from and looks at topics like the problem of evil and faith versus science.

Fisher chooses to be brutally honest about what it looks like to experience doubt, and the fact he claims doubt and faith are compatible means readers easily assume he’s saying people don’t have to think about their faith. These factors make this book difficult to read at times, seemingly counter-intuitive. Ultimately though, Fischer emphasizes the reason faith and doubt seem incompatible is people feel they must know everything in order to be Christians. He also ends up giving biblically based answers to the questions he raises, even if the journey to reach those points seems confusing at times because he’s dealing with a fundamentally tough topic.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

3

Suggested Audience

People undergoing spiritual crises, people unsure how to view the classic contentions to Christianity (such as the problem of evil, why people go to hell, or faith versus science), people trying to understand the problems with fundamentalist thinking.

Christian Impact

This book will help anyone dealing with spiritual doubts understand why that doesn’t mean they have to lose their faith.

Interested in reviewing a book, movie, album, or other type of media for our website? We would love to hear from you! Find out more about how to submit media reviews.