Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace

119 Pages·2014·0.65 MB·English

by  Frank Schaeffer

Why I am an Atheist
Who Believes in God
How to give love, create beauty and find peace
Frank Schaeffer
© Frank Schaeffer 2014
WHY I AM AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2014 Frank Schaeffer Cover design: by the Create Space Team Cover Photography: by Gregg
Brekke/SixView Studios for Creatista This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or
in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of
the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
ISBN 13: 9781495955013
ISBN: 149595501X
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903435
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform North Charleston, South Carolina
Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen
fiction and nonfiction books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an
evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe
dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, and a
feature film director of four low-budget Hollywood features that Frank describes
as “pretty terrible.” He is also an artist with a loyal following of collectors who
own many of his oil paintings. Frank’s three semi-biographical novels
(Portofino, Zermatt and Saving Grandma) describe growing up in a
fundamentalist mission and have been translated into nine languages.
Follow Frank on Twitter www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer
See Frank’s paintings http://www.frankschaefferart.com/
Follow Frank on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/frank.schaeffer.16
Contact Frank at http://www.frankschaeffer.com/
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
WHY I AM AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD
How to Create Beauty, Give Love and Find Peace
“Part of the impact here, admittedly, is a result of who Frank Schaeffer is and of
the platform from which he writes. That cannot obscure the fact, however—
indeed, must not be allowed to obscure the fact—that in places this theological
meditation cum memoir is arrestingly beautiful in and of itself, that it is, in fact,
absolutely redolent of all the power that beautiful suggests. Schaeffer’s openness
about his own wrestling with the concepts of God and god-ness which he
inherited from his parents is heartrending at times, but it is also deadly honest
and always unshielded. It is also balanced in a most gentle way by Schaeffer’s
quiet defense of the traditional and his appreciation for its place in well-lived
life. In fact, one leaves the final pages of WHY aware yet once again that
sometimes and in some circumstances, an artist is still the best theologian.”
—Phyllis Tickle author of The Age of the Spirit
“Frank Schaeffer always writes well, but Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in
God is extraordinary. Somewhere between the sterile, absolute, and empty
formulae of reductionist, totalitarian science and the earnest, hostile, excessively
certain make-believe of religious fundamentalism, there is a beautiful place.
There is room in this place for honesty. For tenderness. For fury. For wonder. For
hope. For mistakes. For paradox. For grace. This book is written from that in-
between place. It will help you get there too, if you’re interested in finding
it.”—Brian D. McLaren author/speaker/activist
“A delight and charmer of a read—deft insights, burnished gold probes, arrow
hit bull’s-eye again and again.” —Ron Dart (Thomas Merton Society of
Canada)
PRAISE FOR FRANK SCHAEFFER’S OTHER BOOKS
THE GOD TRILOGY (Crazy for God, Patience with God, and Sex, Mom and
God)
“A work that alternates from heartwarming to thought provoking to laugh out
loud funny… Schaeffer brilliantly guides the reader through an exploration of
the Bible’s strange, intolerant, and sometimes frightening attitudes about sex…”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Schaeffer’s journey demonstrates that the world could be a better place if we
were all able to reassess our beliefs and values-to examine them closely and
glean only those worth saving.” —Library Journal
“Frequently entertaining.” — The Humanist
“To millions of evangelical Christians, the Schaeffer name is royal, and Frank is
the reluctant, wayward, traitorous prince. His crime is not financial profligacy,
like some pastors’ sons, but turning his back on Christian conservatives.” —
New York Times
“Schaeffer is a good memoirist… As someone who has made redemption his
work, he has, in fact, shown amazing grace.” —Jane Smiley in Washington
Post
“[Schaeffer’s] readers—believers and non-believers alike—will be challenged to
reconsider their views.” — The Daily Beast
“[Schaeffer’s] humor, at times of the laugh-out-loud variety, is abundant.” —
San Francisco Book Review
“Like Orwell [Schaeffer] became disillusioned with the extremism he
encountered. Schaeffer fled the evangelical scene in the early 1990s… He now
has created a thought-provoking analysis of the social and religious struggles
that continue to define American consciousness.” — The Roanoke Times
THE CALVIN BECKER TRILOGY of NOVELS (Portofino, Zermatt and
Saving Grandma)
“Poignant and hilarious Schaeffer is very funny, but we are never far from a
sense that harshness and violence are real; we are never entirely sure how things
will turn out.” —Richard Eder in Los Angeles Times
“The wonderful thing about this book is that like any really good vacation, it
ends too soon.” —The Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Beautifully written … great insight and unselfconscious humor.” —Publishers
Weekly
“A wry coming of age tale … splendid.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A profound and sometimes painful look at the challenges of practicing faith,
and a lot of fun to read.” —Washington Times
“Told with warmth and humor.” —Library Journal (starred)
“Mr. Schaeffer’s gifts as a novelist are more than comic: Saving Grandma has a
deeper river flowing through it as well, one that is sensual and loving and full of
true grace. This is a wonderful book!” —Andre Dubus III, author of House of
Sand and Fog
BABY JACK (a novel)
“The reader marvels at how Schaeffer makes this concise chorus of social
conviction moving and memorable by emphasizing emotion over description.”
— USA Today
AND GOD SAID, “BILLY!”
“I love this novel… It’s downright insightful throughout and takes readers deep
into the shallow psyche of a sincere Charismatic-Evangelical whose God fails
him. That failure turns out, through a hilarious series of tragic-comic reversals,
to be – let’s just say something close to miraculous.” — Brian D. McLaren in
Huffington Post
“… Honest, very funny and very serious. It’s sure to rankle those who believe
that being human means being certain.” — Kevin Miller director of
Hellbound? Patheos.com
Books by Frank Schaeffer
Fiction
The Calvin Becker Trilogy of Novels:
PORTOFINO
ZERMATT
SAVING GRANDMA
BABY JACK
AND GOD SAID, “BILLY!”
Nonfiction
KEEPING FAITH—A Father-Son Story about Love and the United States
Marine Corps (Coauthored with John Schaeffer) FAITH OF OUR SONS—A
Father’s Wartime Diary
VOICES FROM THE FRONT—Letters Home from America’s Military Family
AWOL—The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military
Service—and How It Hurts Our Country (Coauthored with Kathy Roth-
Douquet) CRAZY FOR GOD—How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped
Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back
PATIENCE WITH GOD—Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or
Atheism)
SEX, MOM, AND GOD—How the Bible’s Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy
Politics—and How I Learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway
WHY I’M AN ATHEIST WHO BELIEVES IN GOD—How to Create Beauty,
Give Love and Find Peace