Curious Faith

God created us to be curious. We innately wonder about the world, one another, ourselves, and our Creator. But fear of the unknown, cultural taboos, technology, or even church leaders can smother our curiosity. Popular writer Lore Ferguson Wilbert has belonged to Christian communities that discouraged curiosity. The point of the Christian life was to have the right answers, and asking questions reflected a wavering faith. But Wilbert came to discover that the Bible is a permission slip to anyone who wants to ask questions. Reflecting her own theological trajectory toward a more contemplative, expansive faith, Wilbert invites readers to foster curiosity as a spiritual habit. This book explores questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and questions we ask each other. Christianity is not about knowing good answers, says Wilbert, but about asking good questions--ones that foster deeper intimacy with God and others. A Curious Faith invites readers to go beyond pat answers and embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith. Foreword by Seth Haines.

Author and speaker Logan Wolfram encourages readers to follow God with curious expectation, discover new hope, and experience a life full of possibility.

Did you know that of the 183 questions Jesus was asked, he answered only four of them directly? The other 179 he answered with questions (or sometimes a story). Questions are not the enemy of faith; they are the way Jesus most often helped people not just say the right things, but live the right ways. The joy, creativity, and the adventure we were created to live begin with asking the right questions and then living into the answers with God’s help. If you are wondering how to draw closer to Jesus and live your unique adventure with him, Curious will help you, question by question, step into the future God has for you. If you are a leader who wonders how to lead well without burning out, Curious will show you how, by asking the right questions, you can help empower those you influence to greater motivation and creativity as they live out their answers to these questions with God’s help. As Jesus demonstrated, asking the right questions at the right time, and communicating them in the right spirit, can transform hearts and change the world. Let Tom Hughes thread together stories that will lead you into a new sense of confidence, not in yourself but in the God who loves you and calls you according to his good purpose.

What is the point of faith, and, in particular, of the Catholic Faith? Written in a welcoming style, this straightforward book provides a clear, compelling answer to that question. As such, it's meant for non-Catholics who are curious about the Catholic Faith, for cradle Catholics who may never have really understood the Faith, and for longtime Catholics who've begun to question the Faith and may even be thinking of leaving it. Here, free of controversies and polemics, you'll encounter the principal beliefs that form the framework of Christianity, and, in particular, a thorough explanation of what the Church teaches about Jesus. To accomplish this faithfully, author Michel Therrien relies on just two sources—the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church—to provide an authoritative overview of what the Faith teaches about God and why believing in Him is important. In twenty short, easy-to-digest chapters, Therrien presents you with Christianity as t

Author Barnabas Piper explores what curiosity is for Chrisitans, and how it affects relationships, how we view art, entertainment, media, and politics, pointing them to discover a deeper connection with God.

Featuring five works of short gothic fiction, Curious, If True delivers peculiar stories that incite spine-chilling reactions. Depicting a classic ghost tale, The Old Nurse’s Story follows a nurse named Hester as she tells a group of children about her ancestry. The Poor Clare, depicts an intriguing narrative as a pragmatic lawyer uses his position to investigate the records and history of strange women said to have supernatural abilities. . Primarily told through a letter, The Grey Woman follows a young woman named Anna who was rushed into a terrible marriage. Soon Anna discovers how horrible her husband is proving the doubts she had before the she was pressured into the union. When his murderous rage makes Anna a target, her handmaid, Amante rushes to her safety. On the run and in disguise, Anna and Amante work together to outsmart and overcome Anna’s abusive and violent husband. Depicting a change of scene, Lois the Witch features a compelling and unexpected narrative set during the Salem Witch Trials. Following a woman accused of witchcraft, Lois the Witch tells a dark tale that leaves readers on the edge of their seats. Finally, the title piece, Curious, If True reexamines fairy tales and folk lore with a mysterious and dark lens, answering the question—what happens after “happily ever after”? First each published separately between the years of 1852-1861, the short works of fiction within Curious, If True can be read as stand-alone pieces while still working together to create a chilling tone and mood. Typically known for her biographies and Victorian fiction depicting homelife, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell breaks from her mold to deliver these delightfully spooky stories. With intricate prose, strong characterization, and compelling plots, Gaskell proves that her merit extends across many genres, and that her work remains to be applicable even to modern audiences. Now presented in an easy-to-read font and featuring a stunning new cover design, this edition of Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell’s Curious, If True, is catered to modern readers, updating the classic to be accessible and conformed to contemporary standards while preserving the original genius of the work.

Strange Sects and Curious Cults, first published in 1961, is a well-written overview of a number of important religious sects and cults. Author Marcus Bach divides these into three categories: the sex sects, conscience cults, and the utopianists. The first group includes ancient Baalism of Mesopotamia, Osirism of Egypt, Shivism of India, and more recently, Voodoo of Africa and the New World. The Conscience Cults include the Penitentes, Apocalypticists, Father Divine of Harlem, the Oxford Groupers, and Psychiana. The section on Utopians includes the now-vanished Russian Doukhobors, followed by the Shakers, Amanas, Hutterites, and Mormons. For anyone looking for a good introduction to offbeat religious groups, Strange Sects and Curious Cults will provide a useful background and serve as a basis for further research.

This book is not a scandal rehash. It describes the evolution of many Compliant Catholics of the largely ethnic, pre-WWII Church into both the Curious and the Critical Catholics of today. It is also about the potential demise of the American Catholic Church in the next few decades unless that evolution continues. The authors mission, based on his own experience and development, is to suggest to todays Compliant Catholics that they not only may, but should become Curious; to demonstrate to already Curious Catholics that it is all right to be Critical; and to encourage Critical Catholics to speak up and be heard among their friends, in their Parishes and throughout their Dioceses. The book is clearly critical of many things about our Religion and the Church, but it is not an exhortation to pack up and leave. In fact, it is a plea to fellow Catholics to realize that they can find and embrace reasons to stay and provide help in getting the Church back on track. The book is not an attempt to convert people to Catholicism nor is it a Theological treatise on elements of the Faith. After reading the manuscript, a good friend, herself educated in Theology, said, You are not a Theologian(but you are) a fiercely loyal critic. This book is addressed to all Catholics, whether practicing or not. The author was born in 1930, during the golden age of Catholicism in the United States, which was rooted in the ethnic parishes of every city. Now, seven and a half decades later, he is a very different kind of Catholic, who despite the controversial election of Pope Benedict XVI is cautiously optimistic about the future. When the author was growing up, his Religion was inextricably entangled with family, society, politics and nearly every other phase of life. It was an Immigrant Church, although many of its members were by then second and third generation citizens. From their midst they had provided a strong clergy and an army of Religious, who staffed excellent schools, colleges and hospitals. These were Compliant Catholics, trained in that tradition through the firm, but usually gentle authority and discipline of the Church. These people didnt know that they were Compliant Catholics and no one called them that, because that was the only kind of Catholics there were at that time. They were taught that there was much somewhat undefined important work to be done and little time to spend discussing dogma or alternatives. There were also strong indications that not only would it be imprudent to introduce such discussions, but also that they would not be tolerated if they were introduced. Compliant Catholics were defined by their Religion, instead of being supported by it. That Religion, in turn, was specified and taught, monitored and adjudicated by the Church, which itself was largely an enigma to its members. As the author grew up he became falsely comfortable and secure in his Religious beliefs; shielded by the Church from contrary opinion; but with no real sense of the meaning of Faith. In the first two chapters, the author describes that not always subtle indoctrination, which extended through his high school years. At first, his training as a Compliant Catholicism came by example from his parents. Then it was the Nuns, first in Religious Education classes and later in Parochial School. Finally in a private boys high school the Brothers of the Christian Schools, an order founded in France, taught him their version. Authority and Discipline, not Faith. The next five Chapters deal with the evolution of some of the Compliant Catholics of the authors generation and their offspring, through the intermediate stage of being Curious Catholics and beyond into the Critical Catholics found today in sizable numbers in the American Catholic Church. This evolution had its roots in the