The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity from the Outside [Paperback]

Nick Fiedler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2009

Nick Fiedler (of Nick and Josh Podcast fame) decided to travel the world for a year or so, and in the process of figuring out what to set aside, what to carry along and what to throw out, heard a little voice telling him to set aside the faith of his childhood. So Nick changed his Facebook religion status from Christian to "Hopeful Skeptic" and set out to see where God would take him. If you find yourself asking nagging questions of the faith you were born into, put on your boots and take a little trip with Nick.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Over 150 years ago, Tennyson said it tenderly, as poets often do: 'There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.' With those words, Tennyson stepped above both blind faith and religion-bashing to make an observation that still needs to be heard today. Nick Fiedler does something similar in these pages--engages with honest doubt (that's the skeptic part) in hopes of finding a better faith (that's the hopeful part). I hope many people will read his words with the tenderness they deserve to be read with, and I hope many people will, motivated by Nick's example, pursue the kind of faith that is widened and deepened by honest doubt, for that is good faith indeed." (Brian McLaren, author/activist (brianmclaren.net) )

"Nick Fiedler is a spiritual anthropologist with a specialty in evangelicalism. On this road trip he picks up some artifacts of Christianity (prayer, Scripture, beliefs) and turns them over in his hand. Unfettered by beliefism, Nick relishes the luxury of ruthless honesty and thoughtfully reports his findings. If you've got the urge to travel to new places in your spiritual thought life, read this book." (Jim Henderson, executive director, Off The Map )

"In The Hopeful Skeptic Nick Fiedler unbuckles his Bible belt, takes off the armor of Christ and unpacks the preconceptions that defined the faith of his childhood. In his newfound nakedness, he dons his faith flip-flops and joins countless pilgrims before him on a journey to see where God may be speaking to him today. Other spiritual seekers can find solace in Nick's story as they realize they are not alone in their doubts and questions." (Becky Garrison, author of Jesus Died for This? (Zondervan, July 2010) )

About the Author

Nick Fiedler is the cocreator and cohost of the popular Nick & Josh Podcast, an internet radio show that interviews political, religious and community leaders on a variety of topics. Fiedler has a degree in English and has worked as a World Religions teacher, a Youth Worship Director, a Senior Credit Manager, and is currently writing and traveling the world while working for a Skydiving Company editing videos. Fiedler's church experience includes working with youth and music for about six years, as well as leading youth service projects in Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. He's a speaker, blogger, musician and regular party host with a particular interest in technology and post-Christian thought. Catch up with him at thehopefulskeptic.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (November 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830837272
• ISBN-13: 978-0830837274
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nick Fiedler was born in Pennsylvania in 1982. He grew up, moved around, worked in churches, and graduated from Georgia State University in 2006 with a degree in English. Not long after graduating he married his girlfriend Leslie Treece and moved from Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama where the two worked desk jobs and planned for a trip around the world that would end up lasting 15 months.

The lived in Australia and New Zealand and worked in vineyards, hostels, governments, construction sites, sky diving drop zones, and hospitality positions. After working and living Down Under, they traveled home for three months and visited about 10 more countries. During their travels Nick took a break from his religious upbringing and started thinking outside the church. Traveling and thinking gave him his first book, The Hopeful Skeptic, as well as his new title, forsaking the previous title 'christian', that he had held for over two decades.

Nick's work in the church started when he was a Junior in High School (1998) and didn't stop until 2006. During 2006, after Nick stopped working at a church he started recording interviews with prominent christian leaders, speakers, and theologians. He and his friend Josh Brown turned those interviews into The Nick and Josh Podcast, and broadcasted them on iTunes. Nick continues this podcast, though it has changed Josh's it still continues to deliver interviews with thinkers, writers, and practitioners of spirituality - in various forms.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful adventure into the beauty of hope and skepticism, January 20, 2010

By 

Michael L. Leaptrott (Augusta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity from the Outside (Paperback)

In his new book, "The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity From the Outside", Nick Fiedler shares a remarkably honest struggle with his faith, which may have emerged too far from the center to still be considered an insider. Although, the word "struggle" might not be the best choice of words. Nick seems to be surprisingly at ease with the tension of being both a person of hope and skepticism. I'm encouraged by his ability to embrace these two labels. I can relate to them both.

People tend to write books after they have everything figured out, or at least when they've lived long enough to think that they do. It's refreshing to read a book by someone willing to share their ideas at the beginning of their journey, when they admit they don't have many concrete answers. Nick writes with the wisdom of someone who's had a few changes in perspective, and that is rare in a young writer. I wonder how much better most theological books might be if, like Nick, the author wrote assuming they'd probably change their mind in a few years. There might be fewer emphatic declarations, and less harsh criticisms of others. Nick's ability to hold on to his ideas loosely may be the best part of this delightful book.

I highly recommend this book for the faithful, the skeptical, and those who've found peace as a hopeful skeptic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A current credo, January 1, 2010

By 

Matthew Stewart (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity from the Outside (Paperback)

First, the disappointment: travel isn't the theme of this book. The author seems to have spent his fourteen months of overseas living and working (not so much backpacking) in boredom. Maybe the idea was that he spent those months in thought, forming and reforming his beliefs, but surely something interesting happened in all that time? Granted, he relates a couple of experiences from that time, but most of the stories in the book are from his work in churches or with his podcast, all right at home prior to the big trip.

The best chapters are topical, focused, and sandwiched in the middle, not beginning until fully halfway through the book. In these chapters -- which in turn discuss the inerrancy of the Bible, the truth about who Jesus was, civil disobedience, traditional church structure and the efficacy of prayer -- you start to see what this book is all about. If travel wasn't to be the theme, perhaps it should have been the sorting of traditional beliefs into "keep" and "discard" boxes, as Fiedler mentions late. These chapters form a modern-day credo, written by and for my generation of kids who grew up in church, then went to college and learned to poke gaping holes in things they had been taught were unshakable.

Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason was brought to mind when Fiedler started discussing the problems with believing what people tell you to believe despite the glaring inaccuracies on which those beliefs are based. The difference, I suppose, is that when Paine tore apart the Bible he ended up a Deist, but when Fiedler does a little of the same he ends up a "hopeful skeptic" and still a born-again Christian -- though, one imagines, one that attends a non-traditional sort of church.

After a somewhat wandering start, Feidler hits his stride with this series of declarations and discussions of his current thoughts and beliefs. If you enjoy probing some of these same issues, you may find this to be a good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel companion, September 11, 2010

By 

Melissa J. Powell "Powell's" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity from the Outside (Paperback)

Searching for meaning and ones spiritual home is a journey. I appreciated the author's choice to use his spiritual traveling as a symbolism of his backpacking experiences while traveling the world. These days, as I search for my own, Nickolas Fielder's book, The Hopeful Skeptic, has given me the sort of travel companionship I needed. We all have our own experiences that led us through the twists and turns of belief and doubt. I found several pages that I could read and reread because of the attitude of openness with a healthy respect and reverence for Christianity. I wonder about my chosen faith tradition, many times wishing I could unload the heavy baggage and rhetoric that I unconsciously carry. I shared the author's point of view and through many of his own moments of transcendence, I saw my spirituality view more clearly. And, finding my own label in the emergent movement, it is always great to find another who has read and embraced Brian McLaren. Through this author's eyes I also foresee that great discussions are reaching Christians everywhere. It is time to ask the questions and be open enough to listen to the deeper and more complicated answers.