Amazon, New York Times bestseller
『Back to the Bible』 『In Search of the Church』
Rachel's amazing debut!
“In the end, it was doubt that saved my faith.”

“C of the Millennial Generation.
S. Lewis", a memoir written by Rachel, author of the New York Times bestsellers "Back to the Bible" and "Finding the Church," at the age of 27.
It honestly and lightheartedly depicts the journey of faith that changes from a firm belief to an evolving faith.


Raised in a devout Christian home—a recipient of numerous "Best Christian Awards," a vow of chastity, a regular winner of Bible memorization contests, and always ready to answer any question with a Christian worldview—one day Rachel is confronted with a fatal question.
"What if I'm wrong? What if what I've believed all along isn't true?"

Raised in a fundamentalist faith and taught that doubt and skepticism are sins, it is not easy for Rachel to question and question the faith she has been taught.
Everyone worries about her, pities her, and considers her a slacker, a skeptic who is tempted.
But what Rachel discovered in the process of asking questions and finding answers was not a firm conviction that resists change, but an evolving faith that can adapt to any change, a life that lives with questions, not answers.
This is a remarkable essay that depicts the journey of faith that will become the starting point for a new generation that chooses honest confrontation rather than blind faith in the midst of a crisis of faith.

The problem with fundamentalism is that it cannot adapt to change.
If you consider every doctrine you hold absolutely essential, change is never an option.
If change is not an option, we can only hope that the world remains as it is, lest our view of it be shattered… Fortunately, the ability to adapt to change is one of Christianity's greatest virtues.
Although we often overlook that fact…

But these doubts, far from killing my faith, led to a remarkable rebirth.
To survive in a new and unstable environment, I had to shed old beliefs and replace them with new ones.
I had to take a closer look at what I believed and figure out what was truly essential.
I moved from crawling safely on all fours in the mud of my inherited beliefs to standing vulnerable, head and heart exposed, in the truth of my spiritual experience.
I have evolved.
It's not that I've become better than the people around me, but I've evolved into a more improved and more adaptable me.
Me, who is not afraid of my own thoughts, doubts, and intuition, and who has the faith to endure change…

My story is about this evolution.
It is a story that starts with certainty, passes through doubt, and reaches faith.
This is not a story about the answers I found, but about the questions I asked.
A question you may have asked yourself.
It's not a pretty story.
It's not even a finished story.
My story is a survival story.
A story about how I evolved in an unlikely environment, a small town called 'Monkey Village'.
---From "Introduction: Why I am an Evolutionist"

Would such a confession of faith be enough to save her? Would such a faith be more valuable to God than the kindness and compassion of Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam?
---From "Chapter 2: The Ten Commandments Given to a Woman"

It was only then that I began to wonder if there was no such thing as a single biblical worldview, or if there were as many worldviews as there were people.
---From "Chapter 4: Greg the Apologist"

If salvation is only available to Christians, the gospel is not good news at all.
For most of humanity, that's terrible news.

---From “Chapter 7: When Believers Ask Questions”

Being a Christian is not about agreeing with a certain way of life, but about embodying a certain way of life.
Just as Jesus lived as God in the flesh, so we live as Jesus in the flesh.
Wearing tennis shoes...is to become Jesus.
---From "Chapter 8 Jesus, Jesus in Sandals"

In the end, it was doubt that saved my faith.

---From "Chapter 9: Survivor's Guilt"

Most Christians believe that if they had lived in Galilee two thousand years ago, they would have given up everything they had and followed Jesus.
But would we, with our expensive Christian education and deep-rooted religious background, have actually done so?
I wonder if most of us have joined the 'Jesus-hating club' by sympathizing with the Pharisees.
---From Chapter 13, “What God Has Done”

Perhaps being a Christian is not about experiencing heaven someday, but about experiencing heaven every day.

---From "Chapter 15: Judgment Day"

I want to tell you that the idea that there is a single, comprehensive biblical worldview that all Christians can agree on is a myth, and that it's okay to question people's interpretations.
I would like to suggest that doing so does not diminish the beauty and power of the Bible, but rather enhances it and gives Christians something to talk about.
And I want to tell you that femininity, like the Bible, is too lovely, too mysterious, too transcendent to be structured or explained.
---From "Chapter 17: Sword Training"

The Apostle Paul said that the Bible is “God-breathed.”
But the Bible clearly bears the imprint of human hands.
The Bible is perfection filled with imperfect language.
It is the other world expressed in the ways of this world, holiness written by unholy hands, read by unholy eyes, and processed by unholy minds.
---From "Chapter 17: Sword Training"

Our interpretations are shaped by our culture, our communities, our assumptions, our experiences, our language, our education, our emotions, our intellect, our desires, and our biases.
Just as the Bible influences my worldview, my worldview influences how I read the Bible.
In fact, the way I interpret (or 'select') the Bible says as much about myself as it does about God.
---From "Chapter 17: Sword Training"

As I've learned from correspondence with some readers, in most cases it's not the weight of the questions themselves that makes their faith difficult, but the idea that they shouldn't ask the questions.
---From "Chapter 19 Adaptation"

In some ways we are all fundamentalists.
We all have our own theological systems and political positions that we cherish, and our own moral standards that we cling to so tightly that they leave a mark on our palms, even though they are not part of the gospel.

---From "Chapter 19 Adaptation"

If I've learned anything in the past five years, it's that doubt is how faith evolves.
Doubt helps us let go of faulty fundamental principles so we can recover what we've lost or embrace something new.
Doubt is a refining fire, a hot flame that keeps our faith alive, moving, and seething.
Certainty only freezes faith in place.

---From "Chapter 21: Bringing Questions to Life"

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that the deepest doubts that lead to despair don't begin when you start questioning God, but when you stop questioning out of fear.

---From "Chapter 21: Bringing Questions to Life"