Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace PDF
Preview Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace
Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God How to give love, create beauty and find peace Frank Schaeffer © Frank Schaeffer 2014 WHY I AM AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2014 Frank Schaeffer Cover design: by the Create Space Team Cover Photography: by Gregg Brekke/SixView Studios for Creatista This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. ISBN 13: 9781495955013 ISBN: 149595501X Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903435 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform North Charleston, South Carolina Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, and a feature film director of four low-budget Hollywood features that Frank describes as “pretty terrible.” He is also an artist with a loyal following of collectors who own many of his oil paintings. Frank’s three semi-biographical novels (Portofino, Zermatt and Saving Grandma) describe growing up in a fundamentalist mission and have been translated into nine languages. Follow Frank on Twitter www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer See Frank’s paintings http://www.frankschaefferart.com/ Follow Frank on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/frank.schaeffer.16 Contact Frank at http://www.frankschaeffer.com/ ADVANCE PRAISE FOR WHY I AM AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD How to Create Beauty, Give Love and Find Peace “Part of the impact here, admittedly, is a result of who Frank Schaeffer is and of the platform from which he writes. That cannot obscure the fact, however— indeed, must not be allowed to obscure the fact—that in places this theological meditation cum memoir is arrestingly beautiful in and of itself, that it is, in fact, absolutely redolent of all the power that beautiful suggests. Schaeffer’s openness about his own wrestling with the concepts of God and god-ness which he inherited from his parents is heartrending at times, but it is also deadly honest and always unshielded. It is also balanced in a most gentle way by Schaeffer’s quiet defense of the traditional and his appreciation for its place in well-lived life. In fact, one leaves the final pages of WHY aware yet once again that sometimes and in some circumstances, an artist is still the best theologian.” —Phyllis Tickle author of The Age of the Spirit “Frank Schaeffer always writes well, but Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God is extraordinary. Somewhere between the sterile, absolute, and empty formulae of reductionist, totalitarian science and the earnest, hostile, excessively certain make-believe of religious fundamentalism, there is a beautiful place. There is room in this place for honesty. For tenderness. For fury. For wonder. For hope. For mistakes. For paradox. For grace. This book is written from that in- between place. It will help you get there too, if you’re interested in finding it.”—Brian D. McLaren author/speaker/activist “A delight and charmer of a read—deft insights, burnished gold probes, arrow hit bull’s-eye again and again.” —Ron Dart (Thomas Merton Society of Canada) PRAISE FOR FRANK SCHAEFFER’S OTHER BOOKS THE GOD TRILOGY (Crazy for God, Patience with God, and Sex, Mom and God) “A work that alternates from heartwarming to thought provoking to laugh out loud funny… Schaeffer brilliantly guides the reader through an exploration of the Bible’s strange, intolerant, and sometimes frightening attitudes about sex…” — Kirkus Reviews “Schaeffer’s journey demonstrates that the world could be a better place if we were all able to reassess our beliefs and values-to examine them closely and glean only those worth saving.” —Library Journal “Frequently entertaining.” — The Humanist “To millions of evangelical Christians, the Schaeffer name is royal, and Frank is the reluctant, wayward, traitorous prince. His crime is not financial profligacy, like some pastors’ sons, but turning his back on Christian conservatives.” — New York Times “Schaeffer is a good memoirist… As someone who has made redemption his work, he has, in fact, shown amazing grace.” —Jane Smiley in Washington Post “[Schaeffer’s] readers—believers and non-believers alike—will be challenged to reconsider their views.” — The Daily Beast “[Schaeffer’s] humor, at times of the laugh-out-loud variety, is abundant.” — San Francisco Book Review “Like Orwell [Schaeffer] became disillusioned with the extremism he encountered. Schaeffer fled the evangelical scene in the early 1990s… He now has created a thought-provoking analysis of the social and religious struggles that continue to define American consciousness.” — The Roanoke Times THE CALVIN BECKER TRILOGY of NOVELS (Portofino, Zermatt and Saving Grandma) “Poignant and hilarious Schaeffer is very funny, but we are never far from a sense that harshness and violence are real; we are never entirely sure how things will turn out.” —Richard Eder in Los Angeles Times “The wonderful thing about this book is that like any really good vacation, it ends too soon.” —The Richmond Times-Dispatch “Beautifully written … great insight and unselfconscious humor.” —Publishers Weekly “A wry coming of age tale … splendid.” —Kirkus Reviews “A profound and sometimes painful look at the challenges of practicing faith, and a lot of fun to read.” —Washington Times “Told with warmth and humor.” —Library Journal (starred) “Mr. Schaeffer’s gifts as a novelist are more than comic: Saving Grandma has a deeper river flowing through it as well, one that is sensual and loving and full of true grace. This is a wonderful book!” —Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog BABY JACK (a novel) “The reader marvels at how Schaeffer makes this concise chorus of social conviction moving and memorable by emphasizing emotion over description.” — USA Today AND GOD SAID, “BILLY!” “I love this novel… It’s downright insightful throughout and takes readers deep into the shallow psyche of a sincere Charismatic-Evangelical whose God fails him. That failure turns out, through a hilarious series of tragic-comic reversals, to be – let’s just say something close to miraculous.” — Brian D. McLaren in Huffington Post “… Honest, very funny and very serious. It’s sure to rankle those who believe that being human means being certain.” — Kevin Miller director of Hellbound? Patheos.com Books by Frank Schaeffer Fiction The Calvin Becker Trilogy of Novels: PORTOFINO ZERMATT SAVING GRANDMA BABY JACK AND GOD SAID, “BILLY!” Nonfiction KEEPING FAITH—A Father-Son Story about Love and the United States Marine Corps (Coauthored with John Schaeffer) FAITH OF OUR SONS—A Father’s Wartime Diary VOICES FROM THE FRONT—Letters Home from America’s Military Family AWOL—The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service—and How It Hurts Our Country (Coauthored with Kathy Roth- Douquet) CRAZY FOR GOD—How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back PATIENCE WITH GOD—Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism) SEX, MOM, AND GOD—How the Bible’s Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics—and How I Learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway WHY I’M AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD—How to Create Beauty, Give Love and Find Peace
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