The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters

The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett is a concise, cohesive, coherent look at why the United States most popular religion is still relevant despite the recent polemical diatribes that have been released saying otherwise.Colson sticks to orthodoxy in his explanation of tenets and doctrines without the pluralistic overtones taken by many of today's religious leaders.Colson pulls no punches and takes no prisoners while explaining issues about Jesus and the Trinity. On occasion, he even takes on Christopher Hitchins and Richard Dawkins who have attacked Christianity with an almost religious fervor and zeal. Colson doesn't stoop to their level; however, he avoids hate mongering and keeps a cool head while pointing out where their logic fails. This is a vital book for Christians to read and would make an excellent Bible study for churches.

Based on the Jude 3 admonition to "vigorously defend the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints", this a great read to help all Christian discern and distinguish truth from opinion. The call for us to, as Gordon Pennington states it, "engage our culture rather than abandon it", permeates the text throughout. But not only that, the book helps us to identify THE TRUTH uncompromised. We are thus challenged to not only winsomely be salt and light in a culture desperately looking for answers and finding none, but we are also reminded that engaging that culture is mandated by Jesus Christ himself (Matt 25: 34-40). "The Faith", faithful to scripture, identifies the right hills to die on, and encourages us that to engage our culture is a matter of obedience and not simply "polishing brass on a sinking ship".

If you're going to read one book this year about the Christian faith, read the Bible. If you're going to read more than one book, then I'd strongly recommend The Faith. Mr. Colson, along with Harold Fickett, have written an accessible, yet profound, treatise about what Christians believe, why they believe it and why it matters. They have also written it with a palpable sense of urgency as they delve into issues of justice, God's existence, holiness, salvation, the sanctity of life and, of course, a topic near to Mr. Colson's heart, the topic of truth. This book will be an encouragement to all who read it and it's celebration of the Faith - given once, for all.

If you like Colson, you will love THE FAITH. It is without a doubt the easiest read, yet remarkably thorough. One might first get the impression that it is kind of like the Cliff Notes of How Now Shall We Live, yet amazingly Chuck does not cut any corners and is even more explicit and thorough. I guess it is sort of like what Lincoln said about his Gettysburg address; ...If I had more time, I would have made it shorter... Well, Chuck must have had a great deal of time because he successfully sums up why Christians believe what they believe and why they believe it in a very easy to read book and in about 240 pages - WOW! This may be his best book yet, frankly whether one is a Christian or not. I put it up there with C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity.

This is a must read book for everyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ. It is very well thought out and logically defends the Christian Faith and the importance of engaging our culture at such a time as this. For those who don't believe the Christian Church should be involved in transforming culture, "The Faith" by Charles Colson provides a fresh perspective to why it is essential for Christians to remain engaged in culture. "The Faith" calls people of faith to be united in Christ and to love as Jesus loved.