In this age we live in, an age of pluralism, inclusivism,
universalism, and anything goes, it was refreshing to read about someone who is
looking to define his faith for himself. And so David Gregory defines his faith
walk according to a question that a sitting President asked him on more than
one occasion: How’s your faith? How’s Your Faith? An Unlikely Spiritual
Journey (Simon and Schuster, 2015) is Gregory’s answer to that question
asked him when he was a correspondent covering the White House during the terms
of George W. Bush.
Gregory is an excellent communicator, as one might expect
from a reporter who ended his career as moderator of the TV show “Meet the Press”.
And he puts those communication skills to good use as he describes mixed faith
families, growing up with an alcoholic mother, making decisions as to whether
his own children should be brought up as Jewish or Methodist.
There are many people who ask themselves some of the same
questions that Gregory has asked in this book, they just aren’t in the position
to ask some of the same experts that he did. One of the things that makes the
book stand out is that Gregory did more than just ask people who think like him
to validate what he already thinks. He talked to Evangelicals, Catholics,
Muslims, Jews, and even spoke with at least one Hindu, a proponent of the
prosperity gospel and members of twelve step programs. He got answers from all
of them, and all those answers help him to define his personal faith.
While it’s an engaging story, I never got the sense that
David Gregory truly understands what it is that he believes. While I do agree
that all religions have their strong points, it’s difficult for me to understand
how anybody would feel comfortable with a pick and choose approach to eternity.
Understanding other religions is a good thing, picking 1 from column ‘A’ and 2
from column ‘B’ just doesn’t work for me.
I hope that those who read this book, and it’s a well
written story, perhaps slanted a bit towards making Gregory look good, will
learn from his journey, and then make a decision for a specific religion rather
than trying to take the best from each and in the process being left with
something that ends up being ‘none of the above’.
Well written, and an interesting story, but theologically
speaking, I wish he had come to a definite conclusion.
My friends at Grace Hill Media provided me with a copy of
this book in exchange for my review. As
a bonus they provided a copy for me to give away to a reader of my blog. One
week from today I’ll randomly select someone who has commented on the blog (or
on the link to FaceBook)
4/5
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