Hope for the Thinking Christian: Seeking a Path of Faith through Everyday Life

Hope for the Thinking Christian is for anyone who has yearned for meaning, for a faith that nourishes and sustains us through times of loss and fear, for a faith that brings greater joy: in short, for the abundant life. It is for anyone who has wrestled with how to experience God more fully and to understand what God expects from us within an intellectually honest faith. Stephen Reese explores the dedicated work required to build an honest faith. We live in a fast-moving, diverse society; families are mixed, blended, and far-flung. We encounter others who don’t believe as we do, often within our own extended families. An honest faith asks, “How can we care for each other if we disagree? Do we need consensus of belief to have a community of faith? How can we honor the claims of Jesus of his own divinity while allowing room for those who don’t?”This book is a faith journey through everyday life, confronting the challenge of staying spiritually intentional in a demanding world. Readers who want to confront their faith more directly, to think it through and be open to God in an individual, authentic, spiritual encounter will find a resonant voice in Stephen Reese.

Stephen D. Reese is the Jesse H. Jones professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the School of Journalism, where he was once director and now serves as associate dean in the College of Communication. His PhD is from the University of Wisconsin. He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, but now lives with his wife, a public school teacher for the gifted and talented, in Austin, where they raised two sons. He has published widely in the social science analysis of the news media and their effects on political life, and has lectured internationally at universities in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. He is a member of Oak Hill United Methodist Church in Austin, where he has been active in the Emmaus community, Methodist Men, and the Stephen Ministers program.