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

Rightly understood and rightly communicated, the Christian faith is one of great joy. It is an invitation to God's kingdom, where tears are replaced by laughter and longing hearts find their purpose and their home. This is the heart of the gospel: God's search to reclaim us and love us as his own. But have we truly grasped this? Those of us who have disdained Christianity as a religion of bigotry---have we repudiated the genuine article or merely demonstrated our own prejudice and ignorance? Those of us who are Christians---have we deeply apprehended the mission of Jesus, and do our ways and character faithfully reflect his beauty? From the nature of God, to the human condition, to the work of Jesus, to God's coming kingdom, and all that lies between, how well do we understand the foundational truths of Christianity and their implications? The Faith is a book for our troubled times and for decades to come, for Christians and non-Christians alike. It is the most important book Chuck Colson and Harold Fickett have ever written: a thought-provoking, soul-searching, and powerful manifesto of the great, historical central truths of Christianity that have sustained believers through the centuries. Brought to immediacy with vivid, true stories, here is what Christianity is really about and why it is a religion of hope, redemption, and beauty.

Chuck Colson (October 16, 1931-April 21, 2012) was a popular and widely known author, speaker, and radio commentator. A former presidential aide to Richard Nixon, founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship and founder of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, he wrote several books that have shaped Christian thinking, including Born Again; Loving God; How Now Shall We Live?; The Good Life; and The Faith. His radio broadcast, BreakPoint, hosted by Prison Fellowship Ministries, continues to air daily to eight million listeners. In 1993, Colson was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. The one-million-dollar prize along with all speaking fees and book royalties is donated to Prison Fellowship. In 2008, President Bush conferred on him the second highest civilian award of the U.S. government, the Presidential Citizens Medal, for his humanitarian work with Prison Fellowship Ministries. He graduated from Brown University and George Washington Law School, and received his juris doctor with honors. He served in the United States Marine Corps and attained the rank of Captain. SPANISH BIO: Chuck Colson (16 de octubre de 1931--21 de abril de 2012) fue un autor, orador y comentarista de radio popular y ampliamente conocido. Antiguo ayudante personal del Presidente Richard Nixon, fundador del ministerio internacional Prison Fellowship y fundador tambien del Colson Center for Christian Worldview, escribio varios libros que han moldeado el pensamiento cristiano, entre ellos Born Again, Loving God, How Now Shall We Live?, La vida buena y La fe. Su programa radial, llamado BreakPoint, presentado por Prison Fellowship Ministries, continua saliendo diariamente al aire, con ocho millones de radioescuchas. En 1993, Colson recibio el prestigioso Premio Templeton por el Progreso en la Religion. Este premio de un millon de dolares, ademas de todo lo que recibe en sus conferencias y sus derechos de autor sobre sus libros, son donados a Prison Fellowship. En 2008, el Presidente George W. Bush le concedio el segundo reconocimiento en importancia para un civil estadounidense por parte del gobierno de la nacion, la Medalla Presidencial del Ciudadano, por su labor humanitaria con Prison Fellowship Ministries. Se graduo de la Universidad de Brown y la Escuela de Leyes George Washington, y recibio su Doctorado en Derecho con honores. Sirvio en el Cuerpo de Marinos de los Estados Unidos, donde alcanzo el grado de Capitan. Harold Fickett is the author of numerous books, including an acclaimed novel about the evangelical experience, The Holy Fool; a critical biography of Flannery O'Connor, Images of Grace; and the inspirational Living Christ. He is a cofounder of Image: Art, Faith, Mystery, a journal devoted to the intersection of the arts and religion. He is a contributing editor of the web magazine GodSpy (www.godspy.com) and writes regularly for such publications as Books andamp; Culture and Crisis. Fickett has been making contributions to Colson's projects for twenty-five years, beginning with Loving God and most recently in The Good Life. He speaks regularly at conferences and retreats. He and his wife, Karen, live in Nacogdoches, Texas, with their children, Will and Eve. SPANISH BIO: Harold Ficett es autor de numerosos libros, incluyendo una novela aclamada en cuanto a la experiencia evangelica The Holy Fool, una biografia critica de Flannery O'Connor. Images Of. Grace y el libro de inspiracion i.e. Living Christ. Escribe con regularidad para publicaciones tales comoBooks and Culture (libros y cultura) y Crisis. Fickett ha contriuido a los proyectos de Colson por veiintiinco anos.

Longtime collaborators Colson and Fickett address the very tenets of the Christian faith in order “to renew ourselves as Christians and the Church as God's people.” Generally they do this well, first offering an overview of challenges facing the church and then moving on to specific core issues. Chapter builds on chapter, from “God Is” to “He Has Spoken” to “Truth” and so on to “Last Things.” Especially thought-provoking is the question of why so many people accuse the Christian faith of being “dry and brittle.” One answer, the authors say, is the church's “failure to teach what the faith is.” Colson and Fickett call the church to rediscover the “joy of orthodoxy,” to renew the surrounding culture and to rethink how we live out faith. “If there's ever been a time in which renewal was essential, it is today,” they say. Those who know Colson's work will appreciate his pointed statements and bold words, while those looking for subtle shadings of doctrinal issues may be aghast at the lack thereof. The book's strength lies not in minutiae but in opening the discussion on orthodoxy and what living as a Christian means by going back to faith's beginnings. (Mar.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

'...a winning combination of Christian apologetics and Christian doctrine -- a manifesto for looking at the world in a distinctly Christian way....'The Faith' is moved along by stories more than by systematic theology (though there's plenty of the latter in the book as well). Colson and Fickett bring together stories of courage and martyrdom from the annals of Christian history as well as riveting accounts of personal transformation from Colson's Prison Fellowship ministry. The contemporary stories help readers see what the Christian life looks like today. The ancient stories remind us that we are not the first generation of Christians to live this way. The stories aren't just inspirational. They're informative....[T]he book indeed works as both catechesis and as apologetic, a strong defense for traditional faith without sounding overly defensive. 'The Faith' is more a celebration of orthodoxy than a circling of the theological wagons. Its primary message is that Christianity is true, Christianity is good, and Christianity is beneficial for the world. Its primary method is to do so by explaining what Christianity is.' -- Christianity Today

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