True Believers Don't Ask Why

I picked up John Fischer's "True Believers Don't Ask Why (with 'Don't' crossed out)" back when it was first released in 1989. I was a fairly young Christian (and young adult) at the time and the book struck me as being very different from the standard Christian fare. John brings up miscellaneous issues/points throughout the book and successfully provokes the reader to seek the items out without necessarily spelling everything out or offering an easy, safe "answer" (he states in the introduction that if the book raises more questions than it resolves he'd consider it a success). Here's a sampling of some of the subjects explored: -- A big-league baseball player appeared at a high school conference to give his Christian testimony. He was indeed blessed: A major-league contract, a beautiful wife and family, not to mention he was kind, gentle and sincere. Famous Christian speakers often give testimonies like this. Good Christian kids listen. The ballplayer naturally asked for questions at the end of his talk. No one had any to ask -- no one, nada. John observes that what happened in the gymnasium that night was a microcosm of the present Christian culture in America -- a Christianity so full of answers that it fears to question, is hesitant to question or is discouraged to question. -- John points out how many Christians are obsessed with outward displays of supposed 'holiness' like refusing to dance, cuss, drink or go to an R-rated movie: "We love to stay stuck on petty things like [this] because then we can avoid the jealousy, hatred, predudice, divorce, child abuse and sexual immorality that we all know is going on in some form in our lives. It's like Jesus said about the Pharisees, 'You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.' I don't think the major problem with Christians is dancing; it's camel swallowing." -- To question does not mean to disobey; it means to check it out. The Scripture requires us to do so: Test the spirits, make sure our spirit bears witness to the truth we hear from people in authority. 'Open mind; pour in' is nowhere on the biblical agenda for the true believer. And if 'Question Authority' means to "scrutinize traditions," this too is good counsel. The value of the Jesus Movement of the early 70s was that it brought positive aspects of that radical movement into the church. Why do we have only dull, lifeless traditional music in the church? Why do we have to "dress up" in stuffy clothing? what's wrong with shorts and sandals? Didn't Jesus wear sandals? Why do we baptize in the privacy of a church building when the early church always did it in a public place? Why do we have all these denominations? Why do we do things a certain way only because that's the way it's "always" been done? Do our traditions take precedence over the bible? Churches that were willing to listen to these questions found themselves joyfully shaken from their dead orthodoxy and infused with a new life and broader undertanding of God and his activit

I bought this book almost 10 years ago when I heard John speak at a conference (he even signed it!). But I just recently picked it up again and...wow...how sobering and refreshing. John, a master of story and induction, will force and inspire you to confront the grey areas of the faith, dark areas of the heart, and the sometimes scary vastness of our all-pervasive God. It's a creative, insightful & witty book full of short vignettes that will, build a solid Christian worldview in you if you're not careful! You'll thank John for writing it...

This book really caught my attention, while scanning the library shelves in search for info on the "Shroud of Turin" {Jesus's burial cloth} I guess it was the Title of the book that caught my eye. The chapter I read and copied for friends, was the "Onward Christian Soldiers" chapter. It states that Christians or churches should not resort to hate tatics or to criticise each other or denominations. Christ showed us his love, and we should strive to be like him.Good Book - Read It. Thanks!

A hard look at the traditional, and often not-Biblically based, cultural practices of the church. However, this book is much more than a nit-pickers fest as Fischer leads the reader into seeking a deeper relationship with Christ by weeding through unbiblical traditions. Also check out "Real Christians Don't Dance"