Finding God in the Questions: A Personal Journey (Hardcover)

by Timothy Johnson (Author) "Passages between the seasons of life have a way of provoking questions to answers we take for granted because we've been living with them for..." (more)
Key Phrases: New Testament, Hebrew Scriptures, Son of God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
It is always interesting when a public figure like Johnson, medical editor for ABC News and frequent medical journalist on shows like Nightline and 20/20, writes about faith from a personal angle. The initial chapter relates much of his life story, outlining the questions that have caused him to question and doubt. The remainder of the book is a pithy discussion of what he has discovered (and what he still doubts) about issues like the origin of the universe, proofs for the existence of God, the identity and teachings of Jesus and the practical difference that religion should make in people's lives. While peppered with gently humorous asides and personal observations, the overall focus of the book is not on Johnson himself but on the questions he explores. Most notable is his excellent discussion of the "intelligent design" arguments that have recently become so widely discussed in academic settings. His brief and very comprehensible discussion will introduce a much wider audience to these ideas. In discussing his faith, Johnson is honest enough to surprise many readers. As he himself states, "some who admire my secular achievements will be turned off by this spiritual explorationâ€"and some who admire my spiritual stance will be disappointed in my conclusions." Although some readers may disagree with Johnson, they will find it difficult not to be stimulated to think much more deeply about their own answers to these questions.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
ABC News medical editor Johnson, who is also a practicing physician and an assisting minister at West Peabody (Mass.) Community Covenant Church, here bridges the often huge chasm between science and faith. He admits that he has learned to live with doubt and come to terms with mysteries he cannot fully comprehend. That is, he is content not knowing all the answers. He lives with contradictions, the scientist in him regarding skeptically many religious claims that seem to offer absolute truth. His book addresses three seminal questions: Does God exist? What is God like? What difference does it make? He explores the most fundamental human relationship, a person's relationship with God; examines what it means to be human; and offers observations on how we determine right from wrong. He scrutinizes the Bible on Jesus and Jesus' teachings, and he addresses such obstacles to belief as the problem of what he calls undeserved suffering. His is a helpful and compassionate look at the spiritual questions many have wrestled with and many continue to wrestle with today. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830832149
• ISBN-13: 978-0830832149
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #470,649 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examining what it means to believe, May 26, 2004

By	David J. Gannon (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Timothy Johnson is a physician-he the staff ABC News doctor of the moment-and an ordained minister. In Finding God in the Questions he has, essentially, written two books in tandem-a deeply thorough and thoughtful theological inquiry and his personal history and faith journey. The two books-in-tandem format works very well as Johnson provides us with both intensely framed questions of faith as well as the clues and basis for understanding his own answers to those questions.

What I especially like about this book is that it is in fact an inquiry, not a demagoguery in wolfs clothing as so many "spiritual examination" books are these days. I'm tired of the slew of books purporting to be examinations on faith that are in fact merely thinly disguised polemics that in fact dictate what one "has" to believe to be Christian. Johnson here is truly in examination mode, providing a challenging list of questions and presenting his own assessment of possible answers without ever becoming dictatorial in the process.

Not all will agree with Dr. Johnson's conclusions. He is obviously deeply skeptical of much of what passes as "acceptable" Christian dogma in these intolerant times. In fact, his skepticism reaches the point where he concludes he cannot even really call himself a Christian given the prevailing ethos but rather refers to himself as a "follower of Jesus". Obviously, those that hold the utterly dogmatic and intolerant viewpoints that so sadden Dr. Johnson will reject his conclusions out of hand-tragic given that they are the ones most in need of a truly thoughtful self examination such as the one Dr. Johnson undertakes here.

In the end one is left with a moving and though provoking book that inspires one to think seriously about many of the questions Dr. Johnson raises. That, obviously, was clearly his intent. That leaves us with a book that is a success from everyone's viewpoint.

This is a truly great book.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Message of Hope, June 12, 2004

By	Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Timothy Johnson's book is an account of his own spiritual journey in which he has found God by examining the big questions which trouble many of us. He begins by asking if the universe is an accidental creation and concludes that our inner and outer universes are far too vast and complex not to be created by design. The footprints of an intelligent creator are found everywhere as in the very nature of human conscience and in our basic need to form relationships which shape our lives.

Johnson next turns to a discussion of organized religion which he sees as having a role in trying to interpret and communicate spiritual truths as well as providing a sense of community for its members. He admits that many people seek God within themselves but Johnson chooses to look mostly to the Bible for help in his search. In particular he is interested in what he can learn about Jesus from the Bible and other sources. What intrigues Johnson most is the Jewishness and humanness of Jesus as well as His radical teachings.

Johnson refers to himself as a "follower of Jesus" in the style of the earliest Christian believers before the existence of any creeds or formalized Christian religion. Above all he places great importance on the role of the servant which was valued so highly by Jesus Himself.

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome Surprise, July 15, 2004

By	Trent Dougherty "Socratic" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm going to be honest: I got this book by mistake. I'm in the IVP book club and-as is inevitable-one denial form got lost under a stack of papers and this book showed up on my doorstep like an unwanted orphan. I was like, "Geez, I gotta pay almost twenty bucks for this?!" But as soon as I opened the book and looked at the table of contents, I knew the book was more than I thought.

SECTION ONE: DOES GOD EXIST?
1. Why do the questions keep coming?
2. Is The Universe And Accident?
3. How Did We Get Here?
4. Who Are We?

SECTION TWO: WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
5. Why Bother With Religion An The Bible?
6. What Did Jesus Teach?
7. Who Was Jesus?

SECTION THREE: WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
8. How Should Faith Shape Our Lives?
9. Is God In Control?
10. Can We Bet On The Heart Of God?

As you can see, it is a standard two-stage apologetic (see _Five Views on Apologetics, which I also reviewed): theism then Christ. The former drawing on work in the Intelligent Design movement the latter drawing principally on the excellent work of N.T. Wright-not to different from what you might see in a William Lane Craig book, just pared down.

My next surprise also came before I even started reading the book. From the back inside flap I learned that Johnson actually teaches at Harvard University. I mean, I knew he must have gone to med school at some point, but I thought he had left academia behind. To me, he was just some lightweight TV commentator. So it was with a slightly more open mind that I began to read the book. What I found was a very forthright (sometimes strainingly so) recounting of his own questioning process. [Note that all the section headings and chapter titles are interrogatives.] You can tell he's doing something he feels is important even though it's difficult. High-profile people catch a lot of flack for their faith (witness Mel Gibson) and though he hasn't exactly hidden it, this is the first time he's really spoken up about it and you can feel it. At one point he's like "Yes, I actually believe in the resurrection of Jesus" as if he's forcing himself not to beat around the bush. I respect that.

I only have one serious worry about his view and than concerns the all-important issue of the divinity of Christ. It's the only place he's somewhat cagey. He endorses a very carefully worded answer to the question "Is Jesus God" that avoids commitment to the hypostatic union (though it certainly doesn't deny it, the quote is from N.T. Wright and appears on p. 145). My real beef is with his treatment of the Nicene Creed and the Catholic Church. He complains at several points of the Creeds "intellectualization" and even compares it to a "biology lesson." He refers to the Catholic Church as an "imperial church." Even if you are a Protestant, you ought to be concerned at he balking at the Creed. Even if he does not formally deny the hypostatic union, he misses Dorothy Sayers' point in _Creed or Chaos_ that "the dogma is the drama". He ought to read Gerard O'Collins' _Christology_ a simple, readable text which puts Christology in context. I hope that Johnson is not hiding heresey behind the term "intellectualism" and his anti-Catholicism, that would be a shame because this book is so surprisingly good otherwise. It's the only point where I feel like he was holding back. I'm pretty theologically scrupulous, so hopefully it's simply lack of scrupulosity on his part. I would love to discuss with him the way the Creeds emerged out of the Church Fathers' love for Jesus and the Truth, not out of "intellectualization of the Gospel," it's a common and sad misunderstanding that can be easily dispelled.

Finally, the book is chock-a-block full of challenges to get out there and risk something on your faith, which I really appreciate. It should accompany any apologetic and I commend him for it.