Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Middle East, New Testament, The Gospel of Judas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The title of this book is misleading since it characterizes the author, pastor of a Boston-area Pentecostal church, as an ex-atheist. But as Schmelzer recounts in the book, his atheism was a teen phase, and adolescent explorations are generally not cited on one's intellectual résumé. The title also sets the reader up to expect some apologetic rejoinder to trendy bestselling polemical atheists. This book, however, is much broader (and better) than that, and almost antipolemical. Schmelzer has a disarmingly low-key way with words, a refreshing change from the fighting terms so often employed in battles over religious truth . His self-deprecating tone is persuasive even while he makes bold statements about the power of faith. He asserts, for example, that prayer can bring about physical healing, a statement he backs with evidence from his own family and a few other instances. Yet he's honest enough to admit he has no answer to the question of why God permits suffering. Schmelzer's mild-mannered theological humility is winning. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for Not the Religious Type

“With prose as warm and conversational as an old friend just trying to share some good news, former atheist Dave Schmelzer does an admirable job here of encouraging us to look at the possibility of a life rooted in the mystical, a life where a faith in Jesus is not restrictive but freeing. As someone who could well be called an unbeliever, I find this book to shine with the kind of non-judgment that might, just might, get me to consider much of what Dave Schmelzer gracefully argues here.”--Andre Dubus III
Author of House of Sand and Fog

“Dave Schmelzer is not the religious type, but his spirituality rings with the kind of authenticity many of us are seeking. Not only that, but he’s a delightful writer, evoking the work of Anne Lamott (without the cussing) and Donald Miller.”--Brian D. McLaren
Author and activist

“In the combined clarity and sophistication of his message, Dave Schmelzer has become very much an American C. S. Lewis. It is hard to overstate the potential of his work.”--Gregory Crane
Professor of classics, Tufts University

“Disarming and provocative . . . a wonderfully unique perspective on faith, filled with hope, possibility, and encouragement.”--Trish Ryan
Author of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

“Wow. As fun, smart, and refreshing as he is in person. Dave Schmelzer delights us while igniting passion to experience God—here and now.”--Kelly Monroe Kullberg
Founder of the Veritas Forum and author of Finding God beyond Harvard

“I was one of those who didn’t see myself as the religious type, who sought the Truth, who wanted life to matter, but who stayed as far away as possible from prepackaged Christianity. . . . Dave encourages us that as long as we’re moving toward God, in the best and worst of times, when we don’t have all the answers, we will have access to an infinity of good things.”--Sue Brown, Ph.D.
Resident dean of freshmen, Harvard College

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: SaltRiver (June 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141431583X
• ISBN-13: 978-1414315836
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #257,375 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the relational universe..., July 2, 2008

By	brian "brian" (Mass., USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This timely and well-written book is a quick, satisfying read (and for only $11). Dave Schmelzer is the pastor of a thriving, hip, intelligent, and artistic church in Cambridge, MA (fair disclosure: I attend the church. So sue me for thinking it's great! But I actually don't know Schmelzer personally.). These short chapters are the fruit of Schmelzer's 10 years of working with, and preaching to, a largely secular (even if 'secular Christian') audience, culled from the vibrant, multi-racial/ethnic communities of greater Boston and the halls of Harvard and Boston Universities.

I won't summarize the book chapter by chapter or point by point (much, but not all, of the content can be discovered by clicking on the 'Look Inside' book image above), but I will re-state a couple of positive things that stuck out to me:
1. This is not a bland refutation of the so-called 'new atheist' movement (though the sometimes ugly elitism, caricatures, strange rhetorical tactics, and even tacit racism of the new atheist crowd falls under the purview of Schmelzer's comments!), but rather it is a relational, idiosyncratic, and very often funny engagement with the issues that draw us to faith and the barriers that push us away.
2. Here's a great example of Schmelzer's technique: He doesn't give a theological discourse on 'The Cross' or the atonement, etc. Rather, he tells a moving, personal story in the book of how he (literally!) crashed into a cross while searching for God...
3. Schmelzer promotes a 'relational universe', where 'God is good. Religion is bad'. This is not new age drivel, as Schmelzer presents it, but rather, it is a move toward the center of Jesus's relational call to faith, a call that transcends the popular churchy language of 'insider' and 'outsider'.
4. Schmelzer adopts a multi-stage faith-development model that charts the way many of us move along the faith journey, where we often get stuck at the 'rules and regulations' stage or the 'rebellion' stage. Schmelzer argues that Jesus waits for us beyond rules and beyond rebellion, in a hazy and often messy place of trust and even miracles.
5. Those familiar with the so-called 'Emergent' movement will find that Schmelzer emphasizes many of the same things as the emergent cohort--but Schmelzer seems much more comfortable talking about wild miracles and having a 'chatty' relationship with God. Schmelzer is quite creative, and often theologically sensitive, but his tone is the opposite of elitist.

Criticisms: The subtitle ('confessions of a turncoat atheist') may have been a marketing ploy by the publishers; if so, or even if not, it's a little weak, since most of us think of 'atheists' as hard-core, Christopher Hitchens types, not brooding teenagers or college freshmen (as Schmelzer was during his atheist days, as he says in the book). However, it should be said that the author is only telling the story of his journey to faith, which does literally move from atheism to faith, so it's valid in that sense. (And besides, would anyone deny that children and teenagers can have true faith? If not, why should anyone deny that they can be true atheists? But anyway.) Also, some of the writing style is highly quirky, and thus will be hit or miss. But such is life...

But anyway, my best personal endorsement is this: After a long period of going to various churches, and periods of atheism/agnosticism, anger, and doubt, I've been able to move into a place of prayer and faith, and relative peace, and this book encapsulates the attitude and freedom and ambiguity and honesty that helped get me there.

There's a lot of bad 'Christian' writing out there, but this is clearly something different. I would give it 4.5 stars, but why don't we just round up...

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that invites conversation rather than dispenses opinion., July 4, 2008

By	P. Griffiths (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've read any of the last few rounds of atheist books, you'll note one common approach: they're joyless books without any ray of sun. In fact, they're more like amusement parks rides: you strap yourself in, ride the ups and downs, and return to the place you started once it's over. The author remains tirelessly in control.

By contrast, Not the Religious Type is a less of a polemic and more of a conversation starter. It's a book best discussed more than read by one's self. And Schmelzer even chats himself up -- arguing one conclusion for a chapter and then backing up, taking a contrapositive stance, and re-approaching the issue.

It's breezy, accessible, and while it doesn't buttonhole conclusions in a 7 or 21 step fashion, there is course charted in the book that is not merely the playing out of a well-written first chapter. For that reason, perhaps the book is best read with a companion on the journey.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inviting, not condemnatory, July 10, 2008

By	A. Mendes-sheldon (MA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great reading for just about everyone - believers, unbelievers, with faith, no faith, you name it! Dave's conversational tone is inviting. He is witty, yet quite profound and thought provoking. Like Jesus, Dave offers a non judgmental religious perspective. He successfully depicts a God who is pretty much alive and available to all who simply believe and seek Him.
After reading this book you will know that following this God is much easier than a lot of religious and preachers impose. (Thank God for such a guilty free, pleasant "religious" perspective for a change!)