Blessed are the Nones

Last updated on: August 27, 2020 at 3:49 pm by George M. Benson

Blessed are the Nones 2020-08-27T15:49:21-04:00 George M. Benson

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Spiritual memoirs are not something that normally catch my eye. Not because I don’t find them interesting, I’m just a nerd that reads theology textbooks for fun. However, when I found out Stina Kielsmeier-Cook had one coming out I immediately jumped on that bandwagon.

I have been following her on social media for a little while, and something I found fascinating about her writing is her openness of her husbands de-conversion (no longer a Christian). Having been a pastor through the years, this is something I’ve seen in our generation. One spouse starts down the road of deconstruction (which is a very good thing to do) but decides that God is no longer for them. Which leaves the other spouse holding the spirituality/religious bag. I mean, I was that spouse. There was a period where I was as agnostic as I could personally go, which made my wife’s life a bit of a living hell for a time.

While I decided to come back into Christianity, there are a lot that do not. Stina talks about that journey in an earnest way I have yet to see spiritual memoirs tackle. Her candidness allows you to feel like you’re in the book, watching everything happen in real time. From discovering that there is a monastery in her neighborhood, navigating new churches being the only parent in attendance with two kids, to the richness she has found. There is so much I want to say but, I also want you to ride the waves of the story, it’s worth it.

For me personally, this book hit on so many levels. If you’re a millennial who has been through the evangelical church, looked at or attempted the new monasticism movement, gone through the doubt, are married and find yourself on the other side of all this, I cannot recommend it enough. In a few weeks you’ll be able to hear my interview with Stina about the book on the Evangebros Podcast which was a lot of fun.

Blessed are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and my Search for Spiritual Community comes out September 8th. Please support this book by pre-ordering it here, I can already tell this is going to be one of those I recommend for years to come. #blessedarethenones

Stina Kielsmeier-Cook

the Church

theology

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