10 Things I Hate About Christianity: Working Through the Frustrations of Faith

By Jason T. Berggren

Book Overview

Who's going to Hell? Why do bad things happen to good people? Does praying work? Are miracles even happening today? The #1 book featured on ABC News and described as "fascinating and rather risky," 10 Things I Hate About Christianity: Working Through the Frustrations of Faith is geared to help all types of people explore and work through the frustrations of faith. It is an excellent resource for the spiritually curious, new followers of Jesus, and seasoned Christians struggling with disillusionment. Combined with the official Discussion Guide (available @ 10thingsihate.com), it is the premiere tool for small groups, college classes, reading clubs, or Bible studies looking to talk about something out-of-the-ordinary. Be ready for a healthy examination and exciting journey through the foundations of the Christian faith and spirituality. Includes subjects like: *Faith *Prayer *The Bible *Sin *Rules *Love *Hell *Answers (to difficult questions) *Church *Christians *The Problem of Evil and Suffering *Pluralism and Relativism *Premarital Sex *Homosexuality *Coming Soon: additional resources to help group leaders--like how to approach the 5 different personality types in your group and how to navigate the 5 most difficult issues. From the back cover: Hate: (n) a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action* My dad never let me use the word hate. He said it sounded too violent. But it was often the only accurate description of how I felt. Part of me understood, but another part of me rebelled. We can all feel hate. Even in the good, productive, and meaningful aspects of life, there's frequently a level of frustration that overwhelms us when we are faced with trying to achieve certain goals--like getting in shape, making the grade, or straightening out our finances. This is where I got stuck in my spirituality. Within these pages are the 10 things I've hated about Christianity over the years and how I've worked through my frustrations. I call it the intersection of real life, simple faith, and raw emotion. And I am confident it can help in your own spiritual journey. *WordNet(R) Princeton University lexical database for the English language

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0981944302
• ISBN13: 9780981944302
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: X-Media
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Such a refreshing viewpoing

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up this book, but I absolutely loved it and couldn't put the book down, once I got started. Jason Berggren goes into just about every complaint you've ever heard about Christianity, whether or not you're a believer in Jesus: the trouble with faith, the "fantasy" aspect of the Jesus story, how people interpret the meaning of heaven and hell (and how we end up in either), the hypocrisy of Christians, the answers we can't necessarily find in the Bible, the way some people pick and choose rules to enforce and then tell us we'll go to hell if we don't obey, how sometimes just being in the wrong church makes us feel uncomfortable. I'm sure a lot of Christians have felt these frustrations, as have people looking in from the outside -- maybe thinking about joining a church or just observing things like the fact that folks with the fish symbol are as bad about cutting them off in traffic as anyone else or wondering why it is that those Jesus freaks use such weird expressions. He does talk about the catch words used by Christians. I loved that because there are some expressions that really bug me, which I won't even repeat in church when everyone else is using them. I really loved the fact that this book was so reassuring. I didn't agree with absolutely everything the author had to say, but a good portion of it rang true to me and I often thought, "Yes! Exactly!" My favorite part is the bit during which the author talks about answers and one of the questions he says we can actually answer is, "Speaking of the flood, how could all those animals fit in Noah's ark?" He says it's actually pretty easy to answer this one and goes into the math. The closing sentence: "So all the animals and supplies could feasibly (and easily) fit in the ark. Now, the smell is another subject altogether." I love this author's sense of humor. He has a relaxed writing style and rambles a bit, but still does an excellent job of hitting a lot of salient complaints about Christianity. He has done a lot of thinking and talking, pondering and questioning and the book is filled with his thoughts. Highly recommended, whether you're a Christian or just someone who is curious about what could possibly irritate a Christian about his own religion.

Very encouraging read

I was happily surprized by this book. Finally someone else has been able to articulate some of my struggles with my faith and offer some well thought out insights. I highly reccomend this.

Worth checking out...

Whether you agree with the author or not, this book gets into your face...challenging you to question your thoughts about faith. His writing style was immediatly engaging and introspective read. As a Christian, I wasn't sure about all of his ideas but my faith is strong enough to welcome a man who is blatantly transparent about his love of God but disappointment with some established ideas

A must read for anyone who has faith but realizes it isn't perfect

You can hate and believe at the same time. At first sight, "10 Things I Hate About Christianity: Working Through the Frustrations of Faith" may seem like a new book on atheism, but it is actually the opposite. Author Jason Berggren is a man of faith, but just like one can hate something about what they love, Berggren has issues with his faith, and more exactly, how his faith is handled. A well crafted criticism of modern Christianity from one of its followers, "10 Things I Hate About Christianity" is a must read for anyone who has faith but realizes it isn't perfect.

An honest book

I struggle with certain aspects of Christianity. If you want to know what I'm talking about, read this book (though I reserve the right to change my mind at anytime). This book systematically verbalized what I believe. I found myself talking out loud while I read this book. "Yes!" "Exactly." And then I would laugh at a comment he would make about, say, country music, or something. As each chapter went on I would wonder if I could really agree with more of what this guy has to say? And I did - on the big things anyways. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as it seems like this book is going to take a negative approach to things. Instead, it is an honest look at some of our shortcomings and some of the most difficult questions relating to this religion. It does not claim to have all the answers, but it does have some good ones nonetheless. This is an easy book to read. With three kids running around the house, I had to put the book down often, but was able to pick up right where I left off. It held my interest (which I struggle with these days with nonfiction books). It is applicable. It is quotable. So, if you have questions relating to this religion. Or are a seasoned Christian looking for something good to read. Or are curious at all about this book. Or are looking for something that's - for once - not all touchy feely or claiming to have ALL the answers, I would highly recommend this book.