In his second book, Charles Shingledecker goes beyond The Crazy Side of Orthodoxy to look at the issues confronting all traditions of Christianity. He accompanies fellow believers on an entertaining and informative journey through the Bible, Church history, and the nature of Christian belief. Narrow is The Way, Jesus said. It is a hazardous path, too, lined with obstacles and roadblocks that lurk in the shadows of naïve fundamentalism. Chuck has bumped into many rough spots, surprised at the difficulties he never saw coming in a simplistic faith but also fascinated by the nuances of a more authentic one. Now he offers a candle to help light the way for others, to provide some comfort for those troubled Christians who feel isolated and alone in their doubts.
The Church has long done its utmost to enforce that feeling of isolation. It would rather not deal with the stumbling blocks that challenge believers to remain on the path of faith. Chuck did so, and illuminates the dark places with candor, compassion, and a good dose of irreverent humor. He describes archaeological and scientific discoveries that discredit biblical literalism, the illogical aspects of Christian dogmas like the Trinity and Virgin Birth, the moral consequences of the doctrine of hell, and the failures and sins of institutional Christianity. Even the existence of God is not exempt from his honest inquiry. But all the while, Chuck remains a person of faith. It enables him to look beyond the cold, hard edges of a purely material world and contemplate the holy and transcendent. He has discovered that the life of faith need not be plagued by guilt and fear, but can and should be filled with the freedom to ask tough questions, the freedom to seek truth, and the Freedom to Doubt.
A self-proclaimed Doubting Thomas, Chuck was baptized Roman Catholic and raised in a religiously tolerant home. He was “born again” at the age of nineteen and spent most of his twenties trying to silence a “still small voice” of doubt that pointed out all of the contradictory claims found within the Bible and the various Christian traditions. His love and respect for history, mixed with a desire to discover which of the Christian denominations was most true, took him on an unexpected journey. He got introduced to the writings of Biblical scholars, archaeologists, historians, theologians, and eventually the Church fathers. A decade after his quest began, he joined the Eastern Orthodox Church, and was tonsured (ordained to the lower order) of Church Reader in 2004. Several personal tragedies and a sudden onset of multiple health complications challenged his faith in new ways, forcing him into his own personal dark night of the soul—a reality he’s come to embrace as a Christian and a writer. Chuck's first book The Crazy Side of Orthodoxy was published in 2011 by Regina Orthodox Press. In addition to his book publications, Chuck has had editorials published in various newspapers as well as opinion pieces addressing the current state of his own Eastern Orthodox tradition.
