Unboxing God was released this past Tuesday, and if you’ve looked at my Facebook or Instagram accounts, you’ve seen that we hit #1 it at least one category on our first day! Of course, I have no idea if there were more than 3 books in that category, but still…
Today (Friday), the publisher offered the Kindle version for free, and the book hit #1 in 2 categories, and #2 (so far) in a third! Now, I just need a few glowing reviews…
For those of you who would like to see a bit more of what the book Unboxing God is about (and I don’t blame you a bit), I thought I’d at least give you the Chapter titles so you can get a taste of the topics discussed.
Introduction: Becoming Unlost in the Evangelical Woods
Prologue: The God Box—A Short Story
Chapter 1: Born to Wonder
Chapter 2: Wonder | Doubt | Fear | Faith
Chapter 3: Faith & Reason—A Common Sense Approach
Chapter 4: Taking the Bible Out of the Box
Chapter 5: Opening The Bible
Chapter 6: The God Question
Chapter 7: Unboxing the Incarnation
Chapter 8: Whatever Happened to Western Christianity?
Chapter 9: Unboxing the Atonement
Chapter 10: Grace and Salvation
Chapter 11: Unboxing Salvation
Chapter 12: Final Thoughts
“Which woods?” you ask.
“Good question,” I respond. “Just look around: hundreds of denominations. Buildings. TV and radio preachers. A music and film industry. Hundreds of millions of dollars in donations. Preachers. Crackpots. Programs. Rules and expectations. Meetings. And theologies—hundreds of them. A dark, dank, and often frightening forest full of wolves and gingerbread houses and utter nonsense.”
“Is all of it nonsense?”
“No, of course not. But some of it is.”
“Which parts?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
Christianity is a relationship with God that began several millennia ago, as was revealed to our ancestors and handed down through the years. During that time, the people of God were embattled, enslaved, exiled, persecuted, and dispersed around the world. Prophets and kings came and went. God himself showed up at times. Stories were written down and structures were put in place to hold the stories. Ideas were added, removed, or changed. Groups split. Teachings were lost and others were invented. Along the way, religion became big business, and a lot of “fluff” (to put it very nicely) was added.
People are leaving Christianity in droves. Church leaders and laypeople alike spend too much time talking about postmodernism, deconstruction, and other big words that no one seems to understand (and that I try not to use). I don’t claim to be postmodern. I am not a progressive and neither am I a conservative (which, to me, is simply yesterday’s progressive that stopped progressing). I’m just a wanderer and a wonderer seeking truth while remaining rooted in the ancient creeds and beliefs.
Many years ago, a friend called me “the eternal seeker” because I refused to be satisfied with his or anyone else’s pat answers. I think it’s a good phrase. I believe that once God is freed from our mental, philosophical, and theological boxes, there’s always something new to discover. Seek and you shall find. Go where no man has gone before. Wonder. Wander. Grow.
From Unboxing God–An Unevangelical Guide To Christianity, release date October 15, 2024.
Copyright ©2024 Alden Swan
Unboxing God will be released October 15, but you can preorder your copy today! Available in Kindle and paperback. You’ll want the paperback, simply for the cover. It’s that good.
Pen, pencils, and microphone not included.
