Between a Church and a Hard Place
One Faith-Free Dad's Struggle to Understand What It Means to Be Religious (or No t)
$51.99
- Paperback
224 pages
- Release Date
1 February 2011
Summary
Read Andrew Park’s post on the Penguin Blog.Stumped when his children start asking questions about God, a lifelong nonbeliever takes a colorful and thought-provoking tour of religion in America.At age thirty-six, Andrew park hit a parenting snag. Teaching his children about ethics, good manners, and the perfect free throw posed no problem. But when they started asking about religion, he came up empty-handed. He was raised faith-free in a household of nonbelievers. Confronted with the responsi…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781583334171 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1583334173 |
| Author: | Andrew Park |
| Publisher: | Penguin Putnam Inc |
| Imprint: | Avery Publishing Group Inc.,U.S. |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 224 |
| Release Date: | 1 February 2011 |
| Weight: | 191g |
| Dimensions: | 210mm x 140mm x 13mm |
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Critics Review
“A gently humorous, insightful journey through one man’s heart and one family’s life, as seen through the lens of belief. Highly recommended.” -Library Journal “Between the strident attacks of the new atheists and the self- confident retorts of God’s defenders, Andrew Park has crossed enemy lines unarmed, recovering a place for doubt in our public conversation about faith. Those of us who believe despite our doubts can be grateful for his honesty. I found myself moved to prayer: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” -Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of God’s Economy “Park had little difficulty teaching his children about ethics and good manners-that is, to live by the Golden Rule-but was struck speechless when they asked about religion. His son first said God at age three, after Park and his wife enrolled him in a nearby Methodist church’s preschool. And that was only the beginning. Park tried to balance his nonbelief and sincere appreciation of his son’s endless curiosity, attempting to maintain a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy at home. When his daughter began questioning, he realized he had some serious thinking to do. He discusses his parents’ religious upbringing and the impact it had on him. His father, for instance, was raised in the Church of Scotland, the forebear of Presbyterianism, which left him with unpleasant memories that he passed on to Park; meanwhile, Park’s older brother converted to modern Evangelical Christianity. Whether writing about his family or Rick Warren’s Saddleback megachurch, Park remains a father trying to delicately balance the responsibilities of parenthood and being true to himself. A lovely read.” -Booklist
About The Author
Andrew Park
Andrew Park is a former correspondent for BusinessWeek, whose work has also appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Slate, and other national publications. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife, Cristina Smith, and their two children.
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