Details
- ISBN: 978-0-9905943-6-9
- Publication Date: January, 2020
- Length: 194 pages
- Size: 6 x 9″
- Format(s): Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
- Special Features: Annotated bibliographies and extensive research material.
About the Author
Dr. Jamin Andreas Hübner (BA Theology; MA Religion; MS Applied Economics; ThD Systematic Theology) is a professor of economics at Western Dakota Technical Institute, the University of the People, and a Research Fellow for the Center of Faith and Human Flourishing at LCC International University (Klaipėda, Lithuania). He formerly served as an Associate Professor of Christian Studies, Dean, and Director of Institutional Effectiveness at John Witherspoon College. Hübner’s writing and research has been published by Wiley-Blackwell, SAGE, University of Toronto Press, the American Academy of Religion, Eisenbrauns, and other scholarly venues. He has also served on the Executive Board of the Canadian American Theological Association, on the regional program committee for the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion, and as a referee and editor for several academic journals. He and his wife Jessica run several small businesses in the Black Hills of South Dakota with their two rescue dogs, Shosta and ζωή, and two tarantulas, Qoheleth and Hevel.
From the Introduction
“. . .I’m here to offer my own (partial) account of leaving conservative evangelicalism in hopes of (a) providing shared discourse, encouragement, and signposts for those who have undergone similar experiences and religious trauma, and (b) unfolding some of the inner mechanics of “deconstruction” from the trenches of academia.
Because of these statistical realities, it is no surprise that this kind of book is now extremely common. It’s merely the latest in the subgenre alongside Diana Butler Bass’s Strength for the Journey: A Pilgrimage of Faith in Community, Rachel Held Evans’s Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions, David Gushee’s Still Christian: Following Jesus Out of Evangelicalism, Nadia Bolz-Weber’s Pastrix, Lyz Lenz’s God Land: A Story of Faith, and Renewal in Middle America, and the many writings of other renowned post-conservative Christians like Stanley Grenz, Sarah Bessey, Peter Enns, Rob Bell, Jen Hatmaker, Marcus Borg, Philip Clayton, Lauren Winner, Dianne Anderson, Jonathan Merritt, Keith Giles, Keith Ward…In that sense, my story is anything but new.
In fact, it’s basically a biographical blend of Gushee, Enns, and Evans. My conscious commitment to both (a) the life and teachings of Christ, and (b) to sound scholarship, resulted in (among other things) my termination as an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at a conservative evangelical college, and my abandoning of that identity entirely . . .”
Endorsements
“This book is electric! Hübner goes about Deconstructing Evangelicalism with the skills available only to someone formerly embedded in the apologetics-oriented, take-no-prisoners, Calvinist-Piperian-Brownian conservative evangelical subculture. Brilliant. Learned. Passionate. Creative. Angry. Hopeful? Maybe. You must read it for yourself and find out. I will be studying this book for a long time to come.”
—DAVID GUSHEE
Past President, American Academy of Religion and Distinguished University Professor of Ethics, Mercer University
“This book is special: at once incendiary and charming, you are invited into the world of Christian fundamentalism, in all of its glory and complexities and traumatic realities. This world is a crazy place, filled with all of the political zealotry, casual sex(ism), and apocalyptic young-earth creationism one could desire. Hübner’s story is a dynamic, sobering testament to that reality. From the depths of his days as an Internet apologist to his interdisciplinary career as a professor, we see the impact of religious fundamentalism on heart, mind, and body. For those who have walked through the valley of the shadow of fear, may you be filled with curiosity and joy at the sight of another theologian on the journey. From one sojourner to another, I am happy to commend to you the work of my colleague and dear friend.”
—NICHOLAS RUDOLPH QUIENT
Associate Pastor, The First Baptist Church of Redlands Co-Host of the Sinnergists Podcast and Author of The Perfection of Our Faithful Wills
“Many of Jamin’s experiences mirror my own, and I am grateful we were friends while surviving as faculty at evangelical “liberal arts colleges.” Reading this book has once again encouraged me, and given me a hopeful way forward, as he always has as a friend. His theological nuance and understanding highlights why evangelicalism is, in many ways, so superficial, and it will encourage anyone that their own deconstruction can lead to a stronger, more robust, and more inclusive faith in God. I will be passing along his book to my friends who come to me for help as they struggle with asking questions of who God really is.”
—KRISTY WHALEY
PhD Theology (Candidate), University of GlasgowFormer Theology Faculty, Colorado Christian University