Not the Religious Type
Dave Schmelzer
List Price: $16.99
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 192
Release Date: July 2008
As an atheist, Dave Schmelzer never thought of himself as the religious type--and he still doesn't, even though he now believes in God and leads a large Boston church in the shadow of some of the nation's most impressive universities. Religion is usually about rules and codes, about "being good," about what will get you embraced and what will get you shunned. But God, according to Dave, is all about how you can become a closer friend with him, with others, and with yourself.
In the tradition of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity and G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy comes this illuminating collection of thoughts on faith in a postmodern world. Not the Religious Type bridges the gap between the two communities in which many of us live--the secular and the religious--and suggests a new, unexpected way of seeing the world and our place in it.
Whether we're the religious type or not, there's a certain part of each of us that invariably wonders if it's true--if there's a God we can connect with who is alive and active, with the kind of perspective on our lives and futures that we could never have on our own.
As Dave engagingly explores these most important questions, he invites his readers into "a new and warmer spring," a way of thinking that will help both secularists who never imagined they would become people of faith and also people of faith who perhaps haven't experienced all from God that they've hoped.
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
Full Version: Not The Religious Type
QUOTE (BlueLikeJazz @ Jul 3 2008, 12:49 PM) 
Not the Religious Type
Dave Schmelzer
List Price: $16.99
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 192
Release Date: July 2008
As an atheist, Dave Schmelzer never thought of himself as the religious type--and he still doesn't, even though he now believes in God and leads a large Boston church in the shadow of some of the nation's most impressive universities. Religion is usually about rules and codes, about "being good," about what will get you embraced and what will get you shunned. But God, according to Dave, is all about how you can become a closer friend with him, with others, and with yourself.
In the tradition of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity and G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy comes this illuminating collection of thoughts on faith in a postmodern world. Not the Religious Type bridges the gap between the two communities in which many of us live--the secular and the religious--and suggests a new, unexpected way of seeing the world and our place in it.
Whether we're the religious type or not, there's a certain part of each of us that invariably wonders if it's true--if there's a God we can connect with who is alive and active, with the kind of perspective on our lives and futures that we could never have on our own.
As Dave engagingly explores these most important questions, he invites his readers into "a new and warmer spring," a way of thinking that will help both secularists who never imagined they would become people of faith and also people of faith who perhaps haven't experienced all from God that they've hoped.
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
Dave Schmelzer
List Price: $16.99
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 192
Release Date: July 2008
As an atheist, Dave Schmelzer never thought of himself as the religious type--and he still doesn't, even though he now believes in God and leads a large Boston church in the shadow of some of the nation's most impressive universities. Religion is usually about rules and codes, about "being good," about what will get you embraced and what will get you shunned. But God, according to Dave, is all about how you can become a closer friend with him, with others, and with yourself.
In the tradition of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity and G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy comes this illuminating collection of thoughts on faith in a postmodern world. Not the Religious Type bridges the gap between the two communities in which many of us live--the secular and the religious--and suggests a new, unexpected way of seeing the world and our place in it.
Whether we're the religious type or not, there's a certain part of each of us that invariably wonders if it's true--if there's a God we can connect with who is alive and active, with the kind of perspective on our lives and futures that we could never have on our own.
As Dave engagingly explores these most important questions, he invites his readers into "a new and warmer spring," a way of thinking that will help both secularists who never imagined they would become people of faith and also people of faith who perhaps haven't experienced all from God that they've hoped.
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
If you need religion to see how life matters then you definitely have problems.
Life is full of problems. I cant really say that someone falling on a religion is a bad thing. It does give some people focus. I have seen people battle addictions with the help of religion and the people within it. So I guess it is how you use it. I personally never cared for it, trying to figure out which one is the correct one will drive you crazy. I also don't like how it keeps some people from thinking. But I have also seen some religious people who I felt were of a better character than I. I will never forget going to church one day, and I asked the preacher if there was a devil, he told me no. That one blew my mind. He must have not gotten to that part of the book yet.
QUOTE (RandiLover @ Jul 3 2008, 09:07 PM)
Life is full of problems. I cant really say that someone falling on a religion is a bad thing. It does give some people focus. I have seen people battle addictions with the help of religion and the people within it. So I guess it is how you use it. I personally never cared for it, trying to figure out which one is the correct one will drive you crazy. I also don't like how it keeps some people from thinking. But I have also seen some religious people who I felt were of a better character than I. I will never forget going to church one day, and I asked the preacher if there was a devil, he told me no. That one blew my mind. He must have not gotten to that part of the book yet.
I don't know. I've always seen religion as a way of coping rather than a source of answers. Often to questions that don't even exist. But I think that when they were passing out the religious impulse they were scraping the bottom of the pot when I came around.
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