Dominic Done - When Faith Fails: Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt

2019 by Dominic Done

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ISBN 978-1-4002-0777-0 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-0776-3 (TP)

Epub Edition January 2019 9781400207770

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018957869

Printed in the United States of America

19 20 21 22 23 LSC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.... The point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

RAINER MARIA RILKE,

LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET

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Contents

Praise for When Faith Fails

Dominic Done addresses the topic of doubt from a profoundly intellectual perspective but wraps it in his life storya narrative about the challenges to his faith. Oxford educated, he knows the questions of the mind. As a pastor, he knows the burdens of the heart. As I read, Dominic captured both dimensions for me, and he will for you too. Doubt is such a pertinent issue in this cultural moment. Dominic walks us through the issues of doubt with which we wrestle but he does so in pastoral practicality. One feels as though you are seated in his living room sipping coffee. Dominic is the type of soul who understands the questions of the heart. He never shames. Hes always transparent. He gives substantive hope. You will find yourself trusting him as he shepherds you on three important elements: relationship, intimacy, and trust. I do not doubt you will love this book!

EMERSON EGGERICHS, PHD, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF LOVE & RESPECT

This book is one of those books that I will be buying to give to multiple friends. It answers and encourages so brilliantly the questions many of us have and wrestle with in regard to doubt. Im thankful for Dominic sharing his story, wisdom, and hard-fought truths with us and the rest of the world!

JEFFERSON BETHKE, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF JESUS > RELIGION

When Faith Fails is a good reminder that we are all vulnerable and our faith fails easily because we look for quick answers on our time line, forgetting God has his own timing. I want to encourage people to read this book, especially if they have doubts and questions that can only be answered by God.

SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE, DIRECTOR OF SAINT MONICA GIRLS TAILORING CENTRE IN GULU, UGANDA, NOMINEE FOR A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, AND ONE OF TIMES 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2014

So many people of faith are afraid and ashamed of doubt. Im thankful that in this book, Dominic gives us permission to wrestle with God and lifes hardest questions. He encourages us to walk through our doubt in order to find a deeper and richer faith on the other side.

PHIL WICKHAM, SINGER, SONGWRITER

Dominic helps us not to feel afraid of our finitude, ashamed of our doubt, or alone with our questions. This book is intelligent, well-written, and will be a real help to those going through the mill of doubtand those who seek to support them.

MICHAEL LLOYD, PRINCIPAL OF WYCLIFFE HALL, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

This is the best book on doubt Ive ever read. Dominic is a trustworthy guide, whos walked this haunting valley of doubts shadow himself, and emerged with wisdom, insightand humorous witon how to traverse its trail. When Faith Fails reveals that doubt is not the opposite or enemy of faith, but rather an opportunity to enter more deeply into Gods faithfulness to us.

JOSHUA RYAN BUTLER, PASTOR OF REDEMPTION CHURCH, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AND AUTHOR OF THE SKELETONS IN GODS CLOSET AND THE PURSUING GOD

Doubt can be a dark enemy that leaves faith in shambles or the catalyst to a deeper, better founded, more contagious faith. We must deal with these doubts whether they are intellectual, emotional, or social lest they move us to despair or denial. When Faith Fails is Dominic Dones personal story of his journey through doubt. He teaches us with his own responses to critical questions. He exemplifies the attitudes and tools for wrestling with our own haunting questions. It is a rare book, one that is both an intriguing biography and solid equipping.

GERRY BRESHEARS, PHD, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, WESTERN SEMINARY, PORTLAND

As someone who has always been a challenger and likes asking hard questions, Dominics book is a refreshing take on how doubting can be an opportunity for authentic vibrant faith. This book made me feel so much less alone in some of the hard questions Ive wrestled with, and its given me permission to keep wrestling with what I think, what I feel, and what Scripture says. As Dom puts it, doubt is not where faith ends, but where trust begins. This book will help you surrender and trust the areas of your life that are meant to exude God-designed mystery, while also holding your hand as you search for substance and truth. This book is for anyone who wants to discover more of God and live a life of unshakable faith.