O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling [Paperback]

Jason Boyett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2010

In O Me of Little Faith, author Jason Boyett brings you a transparent and personal account of his own of struggles with doubts and unbelief in living out his faith. With humor and frankness, Boyett uses personal anecdotes and a fresh look at Scripture to explore the realities of pursuing Christ through a field of doubt. After three decades of knowing God, understanding Christianity, and living a Christian life, Boyett has come to the place where he can voice the tough questions and travel the road of uncertainty with blinders off, candor on. The message along the way is one of encouragement: Relax. Rely on the grace of a merciful God, a kind father who realizes that his finite creatures must have doubts, should have questions, and will have trouble making sense of an infinite Creator. Ultimately, Boyett concludes that doubt and faith are not polar opposites, but actually work together, existing side-by-side. Uplifting, entertaining, hopeful, O Me of Little Faith will strike a chord with you and any Christian who's dealing with the uncertainties of living life in pursuit of a God who occasionally seems to disappear.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Doubt can play an important role in a healthy spiritual life. This statement may seem counter-intuitive, but Boyett, popular speaker and author of Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, illustrates its truth through his own faith struggles. Grounded in Scripture and Christian history, the author provides examples of great religious thinkers who experienced their own trials of doubt about God, faith, and the church. But it is when he weaves in humorous, even poignant, autobiographical anecdotes that his writing springs to life. One fascinating highlight is the discussion regarding the "hidden God," a phrase used by many great religious figures to describe just how different God is from human categories and understanding. Ultimately, the author's point is clear: if there were no doubt, there would not be faith. The author is comfortable with a snarky, self-deprecating style that will appeal to the under-40 crowd, although older readers may not appreciate it. For anyone wrestling with doubt about religious faith, however, this memoir provides a chance to examine the experience with levity. (May) (c)
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Review

Doubt can play an important role in a healthy spiritual life. This statement may seem counter-intuitive, but Boyett, popular speaker and author of Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, illustrates its truth through his own faith struggles. Grounded in Scripture and Christian history, the author provides examples of great religious thinkers who experienced their own trials of doubt about God, faith, and the church. But it is when he weaves in humorous, even poignant, autobiographical anecdotes that his writing springs to life. One fascinating highlight is the discussion regarding the 'hidden God,' a phrase used by many great religious figures to describe just how different God is from human categories and understanding. Ultimately, the author's point is clear: if there were no doubt, there would not be faith. The author is comfortable with a snarky, self-deprecating style that will appeal to the under-40 crowd, although older readers may not appreciate it. For anyone wrestling with doubt about religious faith, however, this memoir provides a chance to examine the experience with levity. (May) Jason Boyett, Zondervan -- Zondervan <br><br> (Zondervan )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310289491
• ISBN-13: 978-0310289494
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jason Boyett is the author of several books, the most recent of which is the Kindle e-book Pocket Guide to 2012. It joins several other books in his Pocket Guide series of titles (Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse, Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, etc.). Jason is also the author of O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling (Zondervan). His writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Salon, Paste, the Daily Beast, and Relevant. He blogs at jasonboyett.com and tweets at twitter.com/jasonboyett.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top 5 Reasons Why to Buy This Book, April 28, 2010

By 

C. Rowe "Soul Munchies" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling (Paperback)

1) It's honest. Brutally honest. It's essentially a book filled with his confessions - how much he doubts and how imperfect he is. We could all learn a lesson or two from his act of honesty.

2) More likely than not, you have struggled at some point in time with the same questions he struggles with. It's the perfect book to help you feel like you're not alone in your doubting. If you haven't, you're not being honest with yourself - so you should go back to reason number 1 to read it.

3) This is a story of someone who grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition and learned along the way the value of learning from other denominations. No one denomination is 100% right. Jason pulls from rich liturgical traditions to help him when the simple answer of "Jesus saves" isn't enough to hold him up. At the same time, he embraces the power that exists behind charismatic traditions. I love the way he pulls things from various denominational traditions to help him discover what he believes. If you think you are 100% right in all you do and your denomination or traditions are better than others, revert back to number 1 for why you should read this book.

4) If you're in full-time paid ministry, there are many people that you encounter that struggle with the same kinds of questions Jason struggles with. Whether you can identify with what he's saying or not, you should know how to relate to people who are where he is. And if you think you can't identify with what he's saying, then I point you back to number 1 for why you should read it.

5) He's incredibly intelligent. Jason will probably tell you that he's not that smart - but I would disagree. This book is a brilliant portrayal of how intellectual giants wrestle with doubt and yet still have faith. His most brilliant point: faith & doubt are not mutually exclusive. In fact, faith & doubt work hand in hand with one another. If we don't doubt, then there's no need for faith. When we intellectually can't understand something, that's when faith steps in. If you think you understand everything - well, then - I guess you're just stuck with reason number 1 to read this book.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "O Me of Little Faith" -- Asking Good Questions, May 3, 2010

By 

Mark J. Turner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling (Paperback)

I must commend Jason Boyett for catching that most illusive of literary prey -- readability. His book ("O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling") is both interesting and enjoyable. It is pleasant to read. He combines vulnerability, humility, and self-disclosure with brief (possibly too brief) discussions of Christian apologetics. All the while he tells interesting stories and provides funny illustrations.

This book provides a personal, ongoing journey through valleys of doubt and peaks of faith. Along the way it provides wonderful gems of Biblical, cultural, and spiritual insight while also running into a few logical and Biblical potholes.

Boyett has a knack for observing the inconsistencies of modern American "churchianity." He rightfully notes that many of the intellectual and pragmatic objections to Christianity are answered unsatisfactorily by Christians (so-called). For example, he notes the false god of "American evangelical Christian religion" who is "totally cool with the money we spend on concert lighting in the worship center while the widow down the block has a hole in her roof" (p. 129).

One of Boyett's greatest strengths is also one his greatest weakness. The reader is deeply empathetic with his doubt struggles and particularly interested in the answers he has found to deal with his rollercoaster of faith and doubt. Unfortunately he either refuses to give answers by hiding behind the "I'm no theologian/scholar" excuse or giving examples of unsatisfactory responses he has found (e.g., Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell are not at the top of my list of credentialed, well-researched, exegetically qualified, and philosophically sound apologists).

Boyett takes issue with a hard deterministic view of God's sovereignty, the philosophical "problem of evil," and purely rational (as opposed to presuppositional) apologetics. While this book cannot answer every philosophical issue of Christianity, I would have hoped Boyett could have offered a few alternative Christian views on these subjects. The only intense objection I have with this book is the conflation of the Biblical perspective of doubt with Boyett's personal doubts. In the Bible various characters doubt the trustworthiness of the promises of God, but Boyett is doubting (it appears) the very existence of God. I cannot find a Biblical character doubting the existence of God.

All-in-all reading this book is like sitting down for a drink with a close friend. You are never exactly sure where the conversation will take you (e.g., church history, liturgy, sin, existentialism, apologetics, etc.) but you will be glad you had a chat. Along the way you will be challenged and maybe even frustrated. You will learn some good spiritual lessons and you will be encouraged to give voice to the questions and doubts with which you wrestle.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slightly better than filet mignon, April 28, 2010

By 

Everett Bracken (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling (Paperback)

Finally. I have needed a book like this for about 5 years now, and Jason Boyett has delivered with O Me of Little Faith. It is a book written by a life-long Christian (like I am) who is immersed in the Christian culture (like I am), is very active in his local church (like I am), and has written several books and magazine articles about Christian/religious topics (like I would like to do), yet he struggles with spiritual doubt (like I do).

First let me say a big "Thank You!" to Jason for being courageous enough to admit to the world that he wrestles with some intellectual issues in his faith. In the introduction Jason writes, "I am a Christian. I have been a Christian for most of my life. But there are times - a growing number of times, to be honest - when I'm not entirely sure I believe in God."

Wow. I love that honesty. And (following Jason's lead) I admit that I have uttered those same words! In fact, Jason mentions 22 questions that have rocked his faith and I have wrestled with all of those and more.

The thing that I appreciated most about reading Jason's book is that I felt like he has given me (and many others) permission to own our doubt. Many of us doubters feel like we can't be honest about our doubts because that will show that we are weak. In fact, the tagline of Jason's book is "True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling." But Jason not only talks about his doubt, he also shares why doubt is not necessarily a negative thing, and there are ways to still live faithfully as a follower of Jesus while still having doubt.

Let me share a few of my favorite moments from the book. Notice the journey Jason takes us on throughout the book:

*My entire spiritual self rests on the belief that God exists...That's why the question of God's existence is the biggest question of my life and yours. What if everything rests on the back of a turtle whose existence is impossible to prove?

*The more I struggle with my own faith, the less impressed I am with rational arguments - whether for or against the existence of God.

*God is hard to prove. God is hard to disprove. The existence or nonexistence of God is unprovable.

*It's hard to believe in an unprovable, mysterious God. But, mostly, I do. Maybe a better way to put it is that I have chosen to believe.

*Am I a bad Christian because explaining every detail as "God at work in my life" seems like religious narcissism instead of profound faith?

*When it comes to matters of faith, I find more common ground among atheists and agnostics than I do with doubt-free Christians. But I still believe. I choose faith, despite my doubts.

*How in the world do you begin to pray when you don't understand prayer, barely tolerate prayer, and can't find the discipline to get beyond your prayer hang-ups?

*Liturgy taught me to pray again.

*I accept my doubt for what it is. I embrace my humanity and the stumbling faith and limited understanding that come with it. I keep walking despite my limp.

*There are few things that turn me off more than people who speak with absolute certitude about complex issues (like eschatology or the Bible) or deep mysteries (like God or the saving work of Christ).

*Doubt is an essential part of faith. They are companions.

*Faith is action - action taken right in the middle of your doubts.

*Don't let your doubts stop you from living in faith.

*When it comes to following the teachings of Jesus and the traditions of Christianity, I have decided not to let my doubt paralyze me.

I have read several amazing books so far this year, including A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, The Year of Living Biblically and AJ Jacobs, and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, but if I could only read one, I would have chosen this one for me. It is what I needed, and if you have struggles with doubt, then you need to get this book.