*Winner of the 2018 TGC Book Award for Popular Theology* "It's a brave new world in the late-modern West. Not too long ago, being a churchgoing person was an asset on a social resume; today it's increasingly a liability. This isn't entirely bad, of course; nominal Christianity has wreaked untold havoc...
*Winner of the 2018 TGC Book Award for Popular Theology*
"It's a brave new world in the late-modern West. Not too long ago, being a churchgoing person was an asset on a social resume; today it's increasingly a liability. This isn't entirely bad, of course; nominal Christianity has wreaked untold havoc in the church, and its death is long overdue. Nevertheless, we face serious challenges to gospel faithfulness that demand fresh wisdom and courage. *Faith Among the Faithless* is medicine for the moment. Writing with trenchant insight in a breezy style, Cosper unfolds the story of Esther with exegetical rigor, cultural analysis, and pointed application. From beginning to end, he sounds the right notes. Here's one example: "Cultural assimilation is a failure of nerve, and cultural isolation is a failure of heart. The former fails to resist; the latter fails to love" (43). Amen."
- Ivan Mesa, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/2018-tgc-book-awards/
**Acclaimed writer and pastor Mike Cosper provides Christians with a surprising guide for living in a secular culture by looking at the story of Esther--a tale of evil, awakened faith, and hope of good in a world where God seems absent.**
How can Christianity survive in a secular world? How can Christians live without compromise in an increasingly hostile society? And what if we have already been shaped by the culture around us in harmful, soul-destroying ways?
*Faith Among the Faithless* provides answers by drawing parallels between our world and the story of Esther. Far from the gentle cartoon stories we heard in Sunday school, the book of Esther is a brutal tale of people assimilated into a pluralistic, pagan society who discover its murderous underbelly and turn to God in a moment of courage and crisis. A story of sex, ego, and revenge, the book of Esther reveals a world where God seems absent from everyday life--a world not unlike our own.
*Faith Among the Faithless* helps readers see themselves in the very human character of Esther, discovering that like her we have an enemy who plots against us. A call to spiritual awakening and to faith and courage in an age of malaise and apathy, *Faith Among the Faithless* is an invitation to remembrance and presence, knowing that in our dark times God may be hidden, but he is never absent.
*Winner of the 2018 TGC Book Award for Popular Theology* "It's a brave new world in the late-modern West. Not too long ago, being a churchgoing person was an asset on a social resume; today it's increasingly a liability. This isn't entirely bad, of course; nominal Christianity has wreaked untold havoc...
*Winner of the 2018 TGC Book Award for Popular Theology*
"It's a brave new world in the late-modern West. Not too long ago, being a churchgoing person was an asset on a social resume; today it's increasingly a liability. This isn't entirely bad, of course; nominal Christianity has wreaked untold havoc in the church, and its death is long overdue. Nevertheless, we face serious challenges to gospel faithfulness that demand fresh wisdom and courage. *Faith Among the Faithless* is medicine for the moment. Writing with trenchant insight in a breezy style, Cosper unfolds the story of Esther with exegetical rigor, cultural analysis, and pointed application. From beginning to end, he sounds the right notes. Here's one example: "Cultural assimilation is a failure of nerve, and cultural isolation is a failure of heart. The former fails to resist; the latter fails to love" (43). Amen."
- Ivan Mesa, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/2018-tgc-book-awards/
**Acclaimed writer and pastor Mike Cosper provides Christians with a surprising guide for living in a secular culture by looking at the story of Esther--a tale of evil, awakened faith, and hope of good in a world where God seems absent.**
How can Christianity survive in a secular world? How can Christians live without compromise in an increasingly hostile society? And what if we have already been shaped by the culture around us in harmful, soul-destroying ways?
*Faith Among the Faithless* provides answers by drawing parallels between our world and the story of Esther. Far from the gentle cartoon stories we heard in Sunday school, the book of Esther is a brutal tale of people assimilated into a pluralistic, pagan society who discover its murderous underbelly and turn to God in a moment of courage and crisis. A story of sex, ego, and revenge, the book of Esther reveals a world where God seems absent from everyday life--a world not unlike our own.
*Faith Among the Faithless* helps readers see themselves in the very human character of Esther, discovering that like her we have an enemy who plots against us. A call to spiritual awakening and to faith and courage in an age of malaise and apathy, *Faith Among the Faithless* is an invitation to remembrance and presence, knowing that in our dark times God may be hidden, but he is never absent.
Faith Among the Faithless: Learning From Esther How to Live in a World Gone Mad$24.99
If your job is anything like mine, chances are that as a Christian in the workplace you're feeling distinctly discombobulated right now, struggling with what it means to follow Christ's call when your daily work experience seemingly grows zanier every day. Yet, if pressed to nominate a book of the Bible you'd turn to for guidance at such times, I'd bet Esther wouldn't be in your top ten. It wasn't in mine either, until I read this great book by Mike Cosper. Written in tight, racy prose, the author unpacks the story of Esther and her uncle Mordecai in a fresh way that transcends the cute pieties we encountered in Sunday School as kids. Drawing upon the insights of Jewish scholars ancient and modern, Mr Cosper paints a picture of two deeply conflicted Jews who were literally and spiritually far from home and profoundly seduced by the idols of sex and power that dominated the violent Persian society of their exile. While tracing the trajectory of grace through the twists and turns of Esther's plotline - one in which God's presence seems distressingly invisible - Mr Cosper displays a pastor's compassion as he pokes and prods the alluring idols that ensnare our restless hearts just as tightly today as they did in Esther's time. Buy a copy of this fine book if you're seeking some energy and uplift for your daily grind.
