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Nerd Faith

Nerd Faith

Last updated on: March 27, 2026 at 10:14 am by James F. McGrath

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Nerd Faith 2026-03-27T10:14:19-04:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In her absolutely wonderful book Nerd Faith: 60 Second Sprints of Spiritual Guidance for the Occasionally Uncool, “The Nerdy Priest” offers a devotional for Christian nerds of every variety. The volume isn’t just for fans of science fiction and/or fantasy of the classic sorts. The Muppets and The Princess Bride are mentioned in just the first few pages. This isn’t a book for one sort of fan. It is a book for those who want to explore their faith in ways that will jump from one franchise to another, making references that will warm your heart and tickle your funny bone. I am not aware of another devotional for Christians that mentions insufferable paladins, romantasy, and E.T. in a single section before wrapping up with a mention of St. Cuthbert’s Way. Then on to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, to Lucifer and sitcoms, and much much more.

There are plenty of devotional books that engage with both fandoms and faith at a superficial level. This book is as different from those as a Hobbit’s second breakfast is from being digested for a thousand years by the Sarlaac. Whether Kessler is discussing the Bible or a movie, or even the Berenstain Bears or the Great British Bake Off, the material gets the respect it deserves. It wsrestles with stories at their bleakest and their brightest, from Disney to Octavia Butler, and with theologians ancient and modern, from Anselm to Lisa Sharon Harper to…Bob the Tomato.

One phrase in the book encapsulates why a devotional like this makes such perfect sense. “We as human beings are creatures of story. We all have a need to be caught up in narratives that are bigger than just our own experiences.” Jesus knew the power of stories to challenge, motivate, and transform. So does Kessler, and she brings diverse stories together in ways that will make you engage your favorite shows and novels devotionally and approach your faith with fervent fandom.

Read a little and you’ll be blessed and inspired. Read the whole thing, and you’ll find countless questions explored that you’ve long asked and countless questions raised that you never thought to ask. Let me know which category this one is in: “How many communion wafers does it take to make a whole Jesus?”

The book is full of wonderful quotes. Here’s one that resonates profoundly with something that I regularly emphasize: “I do not accept conservative evangelical Christianity as some kind of assumed default Christian position to which I am obligated to give answers. We should put our energy into proclaiming the gospel rather than trying to defend ourselves to a narrow segment of other Christians who have set their frameworks up as the standard for our shared faith…Evangelicals don’t get to establish the default rules for biblical interpretation just because they often set themselves up to be ‘biblical’ Christians, as if anyone who disagrees with their framework is not.” Here’s another: “God annoyingly keeps revealing new depths of love and justice I’m constantly learning and unlearning. Even now, more than ten years into life as a priest, I find my faith continuing to shift and change. ‘Deconstructing’ is not a sign weakness in our faith but of vitality. We are all works in progress and should not be afraid to let ourselves grow.” And another: “In a world where hatred increasingly seems to be the norm, we do well not to underestimate the transformative
power of human kindness.”

If those aren’t the kinds of things you’d expect in a book titled Nerd Faith then that is exactly why you should read this book.

The book is simultaneously fun and profound, lighthearted and movingly insightful. It is an invitation to grow, to reflect, and to celebrate the stories and imaginary worlds that you may have kept compartmentalized off somewhere separate from your faith, and yet which are calling out to be integrated as part of your worldview and your walk.

Let me add that even if someone is not a nerd, this book is a wonderful devotional. Not familiar with the stories that pepper the book? Skip them and see what Kessler says about the Bible and Christian faith. Do check out those novels and shows she recommends, though, and you’ll find there’s still more to explore that will enrich your faith and your life more generally.

As a reader who knows the Bible and many of the other stories Kessler discusses at a level of detail that is uncommon, I nonetheless found myself engaging with them in new ways. For the average fan and Christian, it is bound to be mind-blowing and transformative at a level that exceeds my own entirely positive experience of reading it. I cannot recommend Nerd Faith strongly enough. It is sooooo good.

But you don’t have to take my word for it…

Also from Rachel Kessler is this video that makes me so happy…

@nerdypriest My 20s might have been a lot easier if this book had existed! #progressivechristian #christian #exvangelical #exfundamentalist #deconstruction ♬ original sound – thenerdypriest

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