“Reflections of a Former Atheist.” Any author bold enough to tag a book with such a phrase no doubt opens him or herself up to ugly criticism. But there is nothing ugly about Alicia Britt Chole’s Finding an Unseen God.
The book begins with a simple word search, a jumble filled with words like “pain,” “debate,” and “angst” — words which evoke the feelings expressed at the outset of chapter 1 (or “52,” by the books whimsical numbering scheme): “Truth was dead. // God had never lived. // Life was filled with pain. // And death was the end of life.”
With that, we enter Alicia’s world, a world which she presents to us as two interwoven stories: her relationship with her father, and her discovery of and relationship with the Father.
Through honest reflections from both “sides” of her life, Alicia allows us to walk with her through her life, from atheism to one of a living, active faith in a living, active God.
And while Finding an Unseen God is not meant to be a treatise on theology or apologetics, the questions which Alicia raises for us are worthy of any theology text. Is the Bible reliable? Aren’t all religions equally valid? What about evil? Why is life so painful? Although at times, I did feel as though Alicia didn’t really answer the questions she raised as thoroughly as she should have, and no doubt a critical atheist reading the book would be quick to point that out. However, if her goal was to simply generate thought, engaging readers to question for themselves why the world is the way it is or even why so many Christians have been willing to die for what they have believed in… Then I think Finding an Unseen God does an excellent job.
With short chapters and engaging writing, Finding an Unseen God is a page-turner that I recommend.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Finding an Unseen God gratis in exchange for reviewing it.