Believer, Beware : First-Person Dispatches from the Margins of Faith

For so many these days, the religious tradition we were raised in no longer works for us. Others have no tradition, yet we all search for a spiritual life that feels authentic. The contributors to this book are seekers along the road, sharing true tales about striving to understand their relationship with the divine.The second collection to have sprung from religious commentators Jeff Sharlet and Peter Manseau's popular alternative Web site, KillingTheBuddha.com, Believer, Beware brings together first-person stories with the sensibility of This American Life, ranging from that of a Jewish teen who thinks she is the messiah to a Bible-camp counselor instructing his charges in a religion he is actively questioning to a Muslim hoping to move beyond a tradition of fatalism.By turns poignant, irreverent, and even funny, this collection offers a variety of insights gained from critical engagement with beliefs from all corners.