Skip to main content

Finding God in the Waves






Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost my Faith and Found it Again Through Science by Mike McHargue

I really thought this book was going to be a dud.  I was under the impression that this was going to be another one of those 'find god through the particles' book that didn't really move anyone to believe or not believe.  Yet, as I read through Finding God in the Waves, it was different, very different.  Mike isn't really trying to sell you something in the book but tell you a story.  Really, the book is good at gathering Mike's story and telling it through the lens of a boy's curiosity.

Growing up in "husky" jeans and being that kid who didn't fit into most conventional groups, Mike felt the pangs of loneliness in his early years.  Even at that, his brain was hardwired for curiosity, he had to know how things worked.  Growing up as Christian at 7 in a conservative Southern Baptist Church, he was baptized early on and began to be involved in the events of a evangelical church.  As a high school senior, Mike met Jenny Frye and suddenly became enamored with her.  Mike at that time wasn't a regular church goer but his future wife was, and so the prodding continued for some time.

Mike begin to seriously investigate the bible to see what it had to say with regards to what science purports.  Why hadn't God said that Genesis 1 and 2 were written to address two things, one, the whole word being made, and second, the creation of the Garden of Eden?  Further, why is God killing the Egyptian firstborn and drowning people during Noah's time?  These questions Mike pondered as he went about his study.  And yet, throughout the book, Mike evidences times when even in his doubt he saw how Christian practices work.  He writes, "Most of all, I had seen prayer work...We all prayed for her (his mom), and in a few months her tumors were gone." (49)

There is nothing more freeing in this world than knowing someone will hear your secrets or confessional thoughts and care for you through them.  As Mike shared his non-belief in God anymore, she tried to evangelized him but kept his secret.  The thing that was really fascinating about this is that Mike sought to interact with his church friends the same way at times but invited them to star parties and other events.  And yet he came back to God, albeit a different route.  Mike writes, "How do you know God is real?"  I know God is real because I see the work of God via telescopes, space probes, and particle accelerators.  Instead of fighting science or trying to filter science through my understanding of God, I discovered that you can begin by accepting scientific evidence - (149)"

I really enjoyed Mike's story and I hope you will too.

Thanks to Blogging for Books and Convergent for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

God's Grace for All of Life

The Romance of Grace by Jim McNeely III To be honest, when I received this book in the mail I had visions of what it might be like with a title like, ‘The Romance of Grace.’  The emotional rollercoaster and one-sided perspective on how our emotions fuel our faith was my presumption about the book, but this was the furthest thing from the truth as I started reading.  The Romance of Grace by Pastor Jim McNeely III is a careful look at the movements of grace in the way God pursues us with his love and his desire to get us to love him back.  McNeely writes, “We are entering a cosmic romance with a passionate lover, and He is interested in our heart’s truest desire.  His deepest objective isn’t to make us more moral; it is to get us to love Him back.  Virtue is the fruit, not the root” (18).  Why is this helpful?  For one thing, beginning with God’s initiating grace frees us from starting out on the wrong foot in the way we tell the story and...
2 comments
Read more