"When I was five, I knelt with my father in the living room of our house to ask Jesus into my heart." So begins Jon Sweeney's spiritual memoir of his childhood experiences. Full of poignancy, humor, and surprise,
Born Again and Again explores aspects of Christian fundamentalism not usually seen: the mysticism of God indwelling the body, religious certainty and its positive and negative effects, powerful experiences of worship, community, and trust, and most of all, the importance of struggling with matters of faith until they are truly one's own.
With a remarkable range of experiences - from Scofield Bibles to firsthand missionary work in Asia and from street witnessing to the tutelage of family and famous friends - Sweeney writes with warmth and affection for the faith he has left behind. And he offers wise reflections on those aspects of fundamentalism that all Christians can learn from.
Visit Jon Sweeney's blog at
www.jonmsweeney.wordpress.com.
Toward the end of his lovely new memoir, Jon Sweeney-writes that you cannot be fully alive in your religion until you learn to question the faith of your childhood..
Sweeney writes affectionately about the ways in which Evangelicalism shaped his relationship with God, inscribing faith so deeply in his being that he cannot imagine giving it up.
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| John Tintera |
| explorefaith.org |
Wait a moment. Take a pen and cross out the word "fundamentalist" in Jon Sweeney's subtitle. In its place, write "evangelical." Now we can begin.
Born in 1967, raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and educated at Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College, Sweeney might have been specially treated to represent the changing face of American evangelicalism, evolving from the fundamentalist faith of his grandfathers-both of whom were Independent Baptist preachers-to the expansive movement whose most prominent spokesman was Billy Graham. In his growing-up years, Sweeney seems to have experienced almost every distinctive of evangelical culture, including the ritual destruction of some of his favorite cassette tapes (the Eagles) after a visiting speaker explained that they contained subliminal satanic messages. It figures that by the time he was at Wheaton College, Sweeney and some of his fellow students were checking out a church that didn't look like a church, a place called Willow Creek.
But Sweeney's evolution didn't end there, and while he still defines himself as a Christian, he has departed on many points from the teachings of his childhood. His memoir-remarkably free of bitterness-will be particularly valuable to readers who have traveled part of the way with him (in their changing attitudes toward Roman Catholicism, for instance), but who remain evangelical, as an invitation to clarify their own convictions.
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| Christianity Today |
| January 1, 2006 |
| Jon M. Sweeney's is a bridge-building volume. We live in times of great religious divisiveness. . . Although Sweeney has moved away from his fundamentalist upbringing, he refuses to give up the idea that we are all born again . . . and again. His practice of openness and hospitality make this autobiographical journey something special. His respect for his fellow Christians, even those with different beliefs, is something we should all emulate in our own spiritual journeys. |
| The Lutheran: The Magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
| November 1, 2005 |
| Born Again and Again is Jon M. Sweeney's personal story of how the doubts he had about his fundamentalist upbringing led him down a stronger path in his relationship with God. Using his life as a guide, Sweeney discussest he cycle of birth and rebirth that every Christian experiences and the ultimate discovery of a personal belief system. Sweeney attended Bible college and at one point considered becoming a monk, but ended up abandoning fundamentalism and finding peace and balance in his faith. |
| Relevant |
| November 1, 2005 |
Born Again and Again: The Surprising Gifts of a Fundamentalist Childhood by Jon Sweeney explores aspects of Christian fundamentalism not usually seen: the mysticism of God indwelling the body, religious certainty and its positive and negative effects; powerful experiences of worship, community and trust, and the importance of struggling with matters of faith until they are one's own.
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| The Mennonite |
| October 4, 2005 |
