Against the post-modernistic moral morass in which we live, I approached Help My Unbelief with a hopeful optimism. What I found was, true to post-modern form, squishy.

Positively, I think Barnabas Piper addresses some important issues. He challenges the cultural christian notion of belief. "Mental assent is not belief. It is part of belief, but not the whole of belief" (47). He clearly confronts the antagonistic spirit in which so many approach Christianity with their endless philosophical questions. "Questions indicate belief only if you actually want an answer. Someone who asks without wanting to learn is not truly asking, but is challenging. Challenging is not believing, but undermining" (34). He argues passionately for mystery to be part of the vocabulary of the church; we don't have to have neat little, pre-packaged answers to everything - especially the truly difficult issues of life.

The part of Help My Unbelief that was difficult for me was Piper's use of the term "believing doubt." As the title of the book indicates, he frequently references Mark 9:20-27 where the a father is struggling with whether or not Jesus can heal his son. In desperation, he cries out, "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief." Piper dubs this concept of "believing doubt" to express what we, like the man in Mark 9, go through in difficult times of faith.

Honestly, I whole-heartedly agree with much of what Piper offers in response to "believing doubt." He encourages those struggling to root their faith in the character of God, to recognize that they live in the already-but-not-yet state, and to embrace mystery. These are good and wise suggestions. Still, the phrase "believing doubt" is problematic for me. I think a better term would be "imperfect faith." Is is more appropriate for a follower of Jesus to say, "I have doubt, but that doubt isn't destroying me," or "I have faith, but faith has not yet been perfected." I think the latter suggestion is much better and more theologically accurate.

If you are looking for a resource to pass along to a skeptic, this probably isn't it. If, however, you are looking for a book to help you on your journey as a believer who is wrestling with some honest questions, pick up Help My Unbelief. I think you will find Barnabas Piper's transparency refreshing and his writing style very readable. ( )

Let me just start by saying this is a great topic for a book on Christian life. I wish it had be written when I was in my late-teens / early twenties and going through a kind of non-Amish rumspringa, full of questions and doubts and plain stupidity (me, not the book). But this isn’t a book just for young adults or new believers. Help My Unbelief by Barnabas Piper is a book for every Christian. The book deals with the expression of the desperate man in Mark 9 who wants Jesus to cast a demon out of his son. “I believe. Help my unbelief.” Piper writes, “These juxtaposed phrases represent the reality of every follower of Jesus no matter how mature, new, stumbling, or strong. We believe. And we don’t. We follow. We fall. We are weak, and we need help.” The reality is there’s a constant tension between our faith and our sinful nature. Piper writes, “Our faith is one of brutal tensions.” And sometimes we have questions. We have doubts. Yet, so many Christians brush over the tension or don’t discuss it at all. What does it mean to be a Christian and have questions? What does it mean to have faith, but to wrestle with doubt sometimes? How should we handle that? This book helps answer these questions about having questions.

Piper had a “crisis of faith” in his mid-twenties. Growing up the son of pastor John Piper, Barnabas had the head knowledge of Christianity down. He grew up in church. He had all the right answers at youth group. He had a theology degree from a respected Christian college, but he hadn’t completely surrendered to Christ. Piper writes, “Transformation was what was missing from my belief.” Through the process of coming to faith—to having his heart transformed by the grace of Christ to live for Him and through Him—Piper wrestled with these notions of true belief and asking questions and doubting.

Help My Unbelief explains what belief and faith mean and how questions and doubts should work in the Christian life in a very clear, concise style. Piper’s writing feels like sitting down and having an honest discussion. He doesn’t shy away from the tough topics or questions. He admits there are questions that we aren’t going to get answered. He writes, “This should tell us something about God and about belief. God is infinite, beyond our understanding, and He chose to reveal Himself to us in a way that sparks questions rather than settles all of them… He didn’t want us to be able to understand Him so well that we could package Him, wrap Him up, and put a bow on Him… If we could store God in a box, what about Him would be worthy of worship?… He wanted us to search, to wrestle, to wonder, to be mystified. He wanted us to ask.”

And Piper doesn’t just leave us with ideas. He seems to genuinely want to help people grow in their faith and walk through these struggles. He gives very practical suggestions. He discusses how to ask well and how to differentiate between unbelieving and believing doubt. He even gives a guide to “reading the Bible to meet God” in the appendix, but this isn’t the type of book or topic that gives us a bulleted list of steps we can do, check off, and be on our way. There is no quick fix here. Piper writes, “If this seems like a bunch of theoretical, high-minded stuff, then think of it in this context: your life is an ‘already, but not yet’ life. You are saved, but you are not perfectly holy. You trust Jesus, but you do not follow Him perfectly… You are in a relationship with God, but you wander and seek other gods… You believe, but you battle unbelief. ‘I believe; help my unbelief’ should be the daily cry of every Christian.” The Christian life is a daily process of surrendering to God and dying to self, and as Piper states, we live in the “not yet,” but we have Christ’s promise that we will arrive and be with Him one day. That should motivate us, even as we question and seek to know God more.

There’s a lot packed into this relatively short book. I would recommend it to anyone, but especially to those struggling with questions and doubts about faith. Also, any book that includes an additional reading list in the back earns a special mention for me. If you haven’t listened to the Happy Rant podcast with Barnabas Piper, Stephen Altrogge, and Ted Cluck, you should check that out as well. It’s fun. You can read more from Barnabas Piper at barnabaspiper.com. ( )

(1) The tensions of Christianity (22-23)
(2) What is faith? (56) (58)
(3) The basis for trusting God (113) ( )