I have a friend named David, who six years ago, asked me why I believed in Christianity:
- “Why are there so many religions in the world?”
- “Is religion just made up?”
- “What makes Christianity different from all the other religions?”
He had been questioning and soul-searching for some time, reading books like More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell andThe God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, among other Christian books. He had talked to Jewish and Hindu friends in order to learn more about their faiths.
“I’ve encountered many rich cultures and wise teachings behind all these different religions, but the biggest conflict I have is that so many exist,” he said. “How did you come to follow Jesus? Why do you believe in God?”
If you’ve ever had similar thoughts, then you know how it’s possible to grow up around values heavily influenced by Christianity but still be missing reassurance on whether Jesus is truly real. Like David, maybe you’ve been content to follow your own principles, but am curious or longing for a strong community that is united in sharing in specific, common beliefs. Whether you identify as a seeker, someone investigating religion, or someone working through doubts about Christianity, you are not alone in wondering about Jesus!
At the time when David approached me, I had just come off a year of questioning my own faith and upbringing. I could fathom the possibility that God existed, but I didn’t see how Jesus was real in my own personal life. That is, until that past summer in 2015.
In response to his questions, I decided to write David a letter describing my own story in full. I also hoped to give him some advice and encouragement as a friend, in his own investigation of faith. But as I sat down to write him a lengthy email explaining the backstory and thought process to my journey from doubt back to faith, the email quickly stretched into more than 30 pages…
Which after several months of intensive effort, has since been turned into a book!
There are a million and one Christian ebooks out there, but I wanted to share my own journey to faith in a really accessible, personal-conversation sort of way. I describe it almost as a “letter” memoir to my friend David. And that’s what Dear David ultimately is: an eBook for seekers and people who are curious about Christianity, told in story-form from a friend sharing honest reflections about faith and doubt. If you are interested in reading or sharing with your friends, you can download it from the Amazon Kindle Store today!
But more than that, if you have thoughts or reactions, I would love to hear back! I created a Dear Andrew page for anyone looking for follow up conversation or a place to share their honest reactions.
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