If Yes is the Answer, What is the Question? Eight Existential Issues of Faith

'Beach draws us into a deeper level of understanding liberal religious commitment by organizing eight chapters around stories and questions. . . . He does not require the reader to respond in the same way that he does. But his point of view is always there, helping sharpen your own.' -John Buehrens, former President, The Unitarian Universalist Association 'A great achievement. There is a vast need for just this kind of material.' -John B. Cob, Jr., Claremont Graduate School 'Beach demonstrates how religion illuminates the real issues of our age. He shows how important critical faith can be in a confused and disoriented time.' -Harvey Cox, Harvard Divinity School, author of Fire from Heaven The mind-bending question, If yes is the answer, what is the question? asks us: What are the central questions of our lives-the issues that challenge and move us to our deepest affirmations of heart and mind? It points the way, then, to the discovery-or perhaps the recovery-of a contemporary, liberating faith. It does so not by providing pre-packaged answers but by asking us to discern and decide what we are committed to and will live for-the issues of human existence that call forth our affirmation. Eight existential issues form the backbone of the book: · Are we incurably religious? · Does the question of God presuppose God? · Can we acknowledge evil and tragedy and not lose heart? · Do we have a human vocation? · Are ethical values rooted in reality? · Is help available when I need it? · Is religious community a religious necessity? · Does faith make sense? 3