In my journey of deconstructing my faith and rebuilding it around Christ and historical orthodoxy, I’ve also noticed that there are many in the Christian faith who resist the word or experience of “deconstruction” because of people on the internet who have become anti-God and anti-Christian in their deconstruction. I would argue that, while understandable, we would be wrong to blame deconstruction for the state of these individuals’ faith.
As I’ve said, deconstruction is a twofold invitation from God to 1) take apart what we thought was true, and 2) struggle with Him as we allow Him to rebuild and reorient our lives and theology around sound teaching — the truth of what He says and what the Church has always historically taught.
Deconstruction itself is not the end — the end is either apostasy (de-conversion) or reconstruction. Apostasy, not deconstruction, is what we should be concerned about for our fellow brothers and sisters, and ourselves, in our re-learning.
I believe that if we can do the work to learn the core of the Christian faith — the non-negotiables and hills to die on, if you will — the stuff that people have died for throughout Church history, then we will have more clarity and feel more anchored to the foundation we’re saying we want to build our lives on.
The questions we’re asking about the world and the Christian faith have been asked over the course of the last two thousand years within the Church, and countless saints devoted their lives to study, to prayer, and to severe persecution for the sake of discovering these answers, finding them to hold water, and daring to let them shape their lives in a way that was so threatening to the way of the world, and yet still so compelling, even to this day.
We don’t have to stay stuck in our anger and disillusionment, like so many of those who’ve de-converted. We can come to God in our anger and disillusionment over and over again and let Him lead us to the clarity and truth we long for.
My “Rebuild Your Faith” Starter Kit
That being said, I’ve put together a “starter kit” if you are in need of a place to begin in rebuilding your faith around historical orthodoxy, or if you know someone who’s in this boat. This is not an exhaustive list, but these resources have been some of the most impactful in helping me find true and confident freedom in Christ.
*Please note that some of the links on this site may be affiliate links. This means that I may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase through these links. I only recommend products and services that I have personally used or thoroughly researched.
My #1
- The Bible
- PLEASE read your Bible. You don’t have to feel pressured to understand it all. This is the Word of God — our source of truth. How can we expect to know what God’s voice sounds like if we are not reading His word and getting to know His character?
- I love the She Reads Truth Bible for all the additional resources it includes and because it’s in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) translation, which I find to be the most helpful.
- There is also a He Reads Truth Bible that is geared towards men in design but contains the same material.
Ancient Church Documents
- The Didache also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles
- The Apostles Creed
- The Nicene Creed
Books
- The Nicene Creed: An Introduction, Phillip Cary
- Every Woman a Theologian, Phylicia Masonheimer (not just for women, this book is for anyone who wants to grow in their theology!)
- Church History in Plain Language, Bruce Shelley
- The Story of Christianity, Justo L. Gonzalez
- Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology, Mildred Bangs Wynkoop
- Abortion & The Early Church, Michael J. Gorman
- Love Thy Body, Nancy R. Pearcey
- The Gift of Being Yourself, David Benner
- The New Book of Christian Martyrs, Johnnie Moore & Jerry Pattengale
Podcasts
- For Church history and theology
- Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer
- For faith and culture
- Think Biblically with Sean McDowell and Scott Rae
- For Bible study
- BibleProject with Tim Mackie and Jon Collins
- For encouraging testimonies of how God is working in people’s lives