Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "One reason Henry Thoreau left Cambridge for Walden Pond was to return to his senses..." (more)
Key Phrases: Veritas Forum, Jesus Christ, Ohio State (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Irreverant, inspirational, engaging, full of amusing stories, a page-turner . . . I couldn't put it down." -- Ard Louis, Royal Society University Research Fellow in Theoretical Chemistry, Cambridge University

"Not only Kelly's story, it is God's story of men and women who love the academy for Christ's sake." -- Kenneth G. Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics, University of Virginia

"The Veritas Forum is having a remarkable impact on college campuses, presenting the intellectual case for Christianity." -- Nancy R. Pearcey, Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar, World Journalism Institute, author of Total Truth

"The story of the movement that brought--and is still bringing--conversation about the reasonableness of Christian faith to universities." -- Eric Convey, former religion reporter, Boston Herald

"This is an inspiring story of The Veritas Forum with a tender and deeply moving account of Kelly's own struggle." -- Colleen Carroll Campbell, author of The New Faithful, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

Product Description

A Veritas Forum Book.

The quest for truth is an adventure into real life.

In her book Finding God at Harvard, Kelly Monroe brought together the stories of thinking Christians whose search for truth led them to Veritas---in the person of Jesus Christ. Now she tells the story of her own journey into wonder and discovery, which took her beyond the ivied walls of Harvard to universities across the country. In the midst of the arid skepticism of the academy, she found a vibrant, interdisciplinary community unafraid of facing life's toughest questions, embracing the quest for true knowledge with intellectual rigor, delight and joy. As The Veritas Forum grappled with the insights of the academy's brightest Christian scholars, Kelly came to realize that truth or Veritas is no mere abstract concept but the very light by which we see all things.

Engaging narrative and provocative content come together in this mind-stretching and heart-challenging journey. Come with Kelly on an intellectual road trip as The Veritas Forum explores the deepest questions of the university world, and the culture at large. And discover for yourself that Veritas transcends philosophy or religion and instead brings true life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830833870
• ISBN-13: 978-0830833870
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #313,649 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellect and belief don't have to clash, February 28, 2007

By	Christian Book Previews.com "Christian Book P... - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Kelly Monroe Kullberg's latest book, Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas is a follow-up to Finding God at Harvard: Spiritual Journeys of Thinking Christians, which Monroe (sans Kullberg) edited a decade ago.

Harvard, now best known as the flagship of the Ivy League schools, was founded in 1636 so that, according to Kullberg, "students might be free to know truth and life in relation to Jesus Christ." A 1643 brochure quoted in the Harvard Guide indicates Harvard existed "`[t]o advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.'"

But by the last decade of the 20th century when Monroe arrived at Harvard to research and write a thesis entitled `The Gospel in the Information Age,' the gospel of Jesus Christ seemed nowhere to be found. At Harvard Divinity School, of all places, Kullberg was disillusioned to discover that pretty much any belief was welcome, from paganism to eco-feminism--except belief in Jesus Christ.

But in the midst of her disillusionment, God showed Kullberg, as he had Elijah after Elijah's confrontation with Jezebel's priests, that she was not the only believer still left in the land. A friend connected her with the Harvard Graduate School Christian Fellowship, and she discovered a place where "the gospel was passionately discussed by students in the Schools of Law, Business, Medicine, Government, Design, Arts and Sciences. For the first time since coming to Harvard," Kullberg writes, "I saw joy." Out of this small beginning grew not only the book, Finding God at Harvard, a compilation of the stories of many of the believers Kullberg came to know at Harvard, but also the Veritas Forum, a ministry that, along with Kullberg's personal faith journey, is the subject of Finding God Beyond Harvard.

With passion, honesty, and a humble spirit, Kullberg recounts the story of the Veritas Forum's beginning. "It is thrilling," as Phillip E. Johnson writes in the January/February 2007 issue of Touchstone, "to read about how the Veritas movement began . . . how it grew from a novel lecture series to a way of life." But it is equally thrilling to read of Kullberg's own faith journey and how God brought her through the `dark night of the soul' that afflicts so many thinking Christians, ultimately restoring her to both spiritual and physical health.

Take the time to read Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas. Read Finding God at Harvard, too. Together, these two books demonstrate that intellect doesn't have to be an impediment to belief. And Kullberg's sense of wonder and spirit of gratitude when she speaks of the Creator of the universe will strengthen your own faith and bring a blessing to your life. - Linda Whitlock, Christian Book Previews.com

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Seed that Bore Much Fruit, July 15, 2006

By	J. Govatos (Titusville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Word of God falls like a seed on our heart, but sometimes He must break our heart for the seed to fall in and grow." Kelley Monroe Kullberg's reference to a quote by Madeleine L'Engle is a symbol for Kullberg's life. In an honest, but humble fashion, Kullberg recounts the miracle of how God used her to help establish the Veritas Forum on campuses across America. This Christ-centered breakthrough into the minds of some of America's leading scholars was not without its price. An unfulfilled love, deep questioning, a deferred family were part of the struggles Kullberg endured. Yet she recounts these things not in a maudlin or self-promoting fashion, but simply as part of the work of God. Her refreshing spititual autobiography shows that God is interested in the heart even as He seeks to shape the mind. I am glad that Kullberg was willing to endure the breaking of her heart and to write about it so beautifully. I think the seeds God planted there will bear fruit for years to come.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a hard to classify book , June 18, 2007

By	kleytos "kleytos" (United States) - See all my reviews

This book is mainly about the beginning of the Veritas forum, a group that promotes dialog within university about questions of faith, meaning, and purpose from a Christian perspective. It's difficult to classify in any one genre because the book is partly autobiographical, partly historical (regarding the Veritas forum), and partly religious. Ms. Monroe-Kullberg has traveled widely and garnered a tremendous amount of life experience, which quickly comes through in the book.

The strengths of the book are hearing about Monroe-Kullberg's life -- a profound heartbreak after a potential marriage relationship failed, her struggles with depression, her finding meaning for her own life, and the emergence of the Veritas forum. She nicely instills hope for those struggling to find meaning and purpose. Ultimately she makes her best case for believing in Christ and his teachings as recorded through the Bible. She does this by often drawing from material that various speakers at the Veritas forum have presented. Several of the quotations are true gems, worth ruminating on carefully. And interspersed throughout the book are several interesting stories. The account of her speaking to an extremely hostile classroom at SUNY Albany is particularly interesting!

The weaknesses of the book are: some readers may find that the book is written in an ornate style, and also at times quite repetitious. Monroe-Kullberg goes to great lengths to describe beauty and joy, sometimes in stylized journal entries. For example, "Waking at Deanna's under a glass dome ceiling in winter. Silent but for birds and wind. A January hike down the valley, ending up at Snowmass Lodge where I swam alone in a heated pool in the snow. Stroking the white and blue reflection of the mountains, water like liquid sky. The pines my friends in that moment... Water and snow, wood smoke and steam, pine and eucalyptus, the best of creation pouring into me in those hours. Remember the lesson of the skis, 'Trust the fall line, center, and go.' Freedom and form. As my Cambridge housemate Heather used to say, 'Relax and accelerate.' " (p. 113) A person's response to the style of this writing (which is quite common in the book) may strongly affect your response to the entire book.

Early in the book, the author duly notes how Harvard Divinity School is not even neutral to Christianity, but quite hostile. Many will be surprised to see just how anti-Christianity most secular universities are today, and they show no real signs of changing that direction. Thus, I wish the author had much more explored a sentiment by Tolkien briefly noted near the end of the book. Apparently he questioned whether the university would come to a point of no return and "believers will be called to abandon the university to itself, to its idols and self-deceptions, to its self-worship." (p. 173) Given the direction of universities today and the inability for various Christian efforts to fundamentally turn the tide, I wonder whether or not that time has come. This is a hard question, and one that few reflect on, but perhaps would have brought a whole new dimension to the book.