Faith Unraveled

How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions

By: Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey

Narrated by: Rachel Held Evans

From New York Times best-selling author Rachel Held Evans: a must-listen for anyone on the journey of doubt, deconstruction, and ultimately faith reborn.

Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith.

In Faith Unraveled, Rachel recounts growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, struggling as her own faith unraveled one unexpected question at a time.

In order for her faith to survive, Rachel realizes, it must adapt to change and evolve. Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty to doubt to faith, Evans challenges you to disentangle your faith from false fundamentals and to trust in a God who is big enough to handle your tough questions.

In a changing cultural environment where new ideas seem to threaten the safety and security of the faith, Faith Unraveled is a profoundly moving, fearlessly honest, and relentlessly hopeful story of survival.

This book was previously titled Evolving in Monkey Town.

©2014 Rachel Held Evans (P)2019 Zondervan

Not for the thin skinned

The reason for four vs five stars is that the target audience hopefully is fundamentalists. By definition of what fundamentalism is, the shock statements like “I am a liberal” r “I am an evolutionist” will repel fundamentalists and affirm them in the closed stance . However arguments such as the idea that there is an agreed upon “biblical worldview” . To reach a fundamentalist you would say “I have a biblical worldview” then by reduction to absurdity show that fundamentalists don’t even agree on specifics about marriage, baptism, salvation, and communion. You have to break up the illusions from within and I think this book tends to try take a position outside of fundamentalism to refute it. Very smart stuff in this work and I can use it but I have to reposition it.

Recharging my faith

I discovered Rachel Held Evans books very recently and apparently just in time. I have wondered for most of my adult life - can one be a Christian if they don’t believe homosexuality is a sin or believe that only Christians go heaven & everyone else goes to hell? All of these questions & more Rachel brings to the table with humility & humor. So grateful to have found her!

A better title?: Faith Realized

As a fellow Christ follower trying to reconstruct my faith, I found Evans' book to echo so much of my own journey and thoughts. Much like Evans, I have come to realize a richer faith in uncertainty. This is a well told story of a personal journey that is entirely relatable.

Eye Opening

This book sat in my library, unread, for about a year. Because while it looked interesting. She seemed a little radical and i wasn’t sure i could understand her point of view. But i was so wrong. Her search to understand faith has enrichment my life. While i might not agree with everything she says, it was easy to understand her point. And reading this book gave me the freedom to open my heart a little more to what Gods purpose for us. And I feel that I understand more then ever what my purpose is.

An invaluable Guide for the Recovering Evangelical

If you're sensing as so many are that Evangelicalism is a place that is far from God, Rachel's books are a very empathetic friend in the journey, maybe even a helpful guide to discovering true faith.

exceeded expectations

I love books that are read by the author. the performance of the author here only added to the enjoyment of this audiobook. she is able to articulate things that I have not been and put language to concepts that have been circling my head for years.

Beautiful book

This book resonated with me as someone who grew up as a fundamental evangelical who loved church. When questions lead to doubts I didn’t have a framework in which to ask my questions. Questioning the Bible lead to questioning god. This book has given me hope and a way forward. If you’re deconstructing, doubting or have lost your faith this is a great book.

Wonderful and familiar

A must read for anyone raised in the evangelical church. I really enjoyed this book and it was enjoyable to listen to. Ironically I listened while driving through Dayton TN!

super relatable

I was raised in a Christian home and a lot of what she talks about hit the nail on the head. There were so many times when it felt like she was talking about my own life, especially in how she felt like no one else around her were bothered by the same things she was. I'm thankful I currently have good friends that would recommended a book like this to me.

Incredible and needed

All of us doubt our faith. I worry about people who say they never have. Rachel's book is written in an excellent and vulnerable way that is rare in this world today.