{"id":2405,"date":"2008-09-09T21:36:45","date_gmt":"2008-09-09T21:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2010-12-22T12:21:54","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T17:21:54","slug":"6565","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/09\/09\/6565\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do People Change, Abandon Their Faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

CHICAGO, IL (September 9, 2008) \u2013 Scot McKnight\u2019s new book on conversion, Finding Faith, Losing Faith<\/em><\/a>, is a first for the North Park University New Testament professor and prolific author. It is the first for which he has a co-author \u2013 a North Park Theological Seminary student who also was a student of McKnight\u2019s while working toward her undergraduate degree.
\n
\nMcKnight says he doesn\u2019t view Hauna Ondrey as a former student, however. \u201cShe is a colleague in the fullest sense of the word.\u201d He asked Ondrey, who was once his student assistant, to co-author the book because of her research skills and the results she was finding.<\/p>\n

The authors explore the patterns of conversion from one faith to another. The chapters focus on Jews becoming Messianic Jews, Roman Catholics converting to Evangelicalism, and Evangelicals to Roman Catholicism. The book also examines why people leave the church and their faith altogether.<\/p>\n

\"coverThe authors build on a conversion theory – McKnight says all conversions involve a similar process: \u201cEach person emerges from a context as a result of a crisis of some sort that leads them to a conversion. That crisis prompts a quest to find a solution to that crisis. Converts then encounter and interact with those who advocate a new faith, leading them to a new commitment and to consequences for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors examined previous studies and interviewed numerous people who had conversion experiences.<\/p>\n

Individual reasons for conversion are different, but distinct patterns do emerge, says Ondrey, who grew up attending Zion Covenant Church in Jamestown, New York. She wrote the chapter,\u00a0 \u201cLeaving Rome, Finding Wheaton,\u201d which focuses on why Catholics become Evangelicals.<\/p>\n

Although McKnight had done previous studies on the issue, \u201cShe went beyond what I was seeing, and I knew she had it figured out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ondrey discovered that Catholic laity convert to Evangelicalism for different reasons than do priests. Priests convert because of issues related to the authority of scripture versus the authority of tradition. Laypersons tend to convert because of Evangelical\u2019s emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first began charting and developing these patterns, it was somewhat tentative,\u201d says Ondrey, who was surprised by the finding. \u201cBut the more stories I read, the more evident the patterns became until I reached a saturation point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised by the intensity of the anti-rhetoric I found among former Roman Catholics,\u201d Ondrey says. \u201cThis wasn’t universal – I spoke with several people who had deep appreciation for their Catholic upbringing, but I generally found that former Catholics regarded Catholicism suspiciously. This surprised me because I have had several quite positive experiences with Catholicism.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKnight, who has previously published articles on conversion in academic journals, explains, \u201cThe degree of trauma involved in one\u2019s conversion often will be matched in one\u2019s rhetoric.\u201d And conversion can be traumatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the conversions involve deep trauma in families, and at the level of the perception of the self,\u201d McKnight says. \u201cPeople reconstruct their own identity in conversion. This is a serious thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although McKnight was not surprised by the anti-rhetoric, he was surprised by some of the reasons people convert. He did not expect to learn that Jews convert to Christianity because they are looking to answer the question \u201cIs Jesus the Messiah?\u201d and not \u201cIs Jesus my savior?\u201d<\/p>\n

McKnight also studied why Evangelicals convert to Catholicism. \u201cThey want to have a cognitive certainty that they are part of the true church,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Theological questions on issues such as the role of Mary and the nature of the Eucharist play little role in conversion. \u201cDogmas fall into place when converts become convicted of the magisterial teaching role and authority of the church,\u201d McKnight says.<\/p>\n

McKnight says the conversion theory also worked well in focusing on how and why people leave a faith entirely. Generally, people walk away from faith because they can\u2019t make intellectual coherence of life with the scriptures and don\u2019t have a place to address questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe emerging people will tell you that is what led to the growth of the emergent movement,\u201d says McKnight. The movement enables people to ask questions, he explains.<\/p>\n

The author believes the book can be helpful to churches. \u201cRecognizing what causes people to abandon one faith in favor of another should prompt self-examination for those being left,\u201d Ondrey says. \u201cFor example, in response to this study, the Evangelical church should be questioning what often amounts to our disregard for the breadth of church history. In response to the apostasy chapter, all Christians can test their own faith to see whether it stands to the critiques leveled by those who leave the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKnight says he hopes the book will help pastors recognize the benefits of conversion theory for understanding what is happening in their churches. The insights into conversion patterns can give guidance in providing pastoral care.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspect Roman Catholics will benefit from Hauna\u2019s study,\u201d McKnight says. \u201cThey\u2019ll be very interested in what she found.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her part, Ondrey says the experience of writing the book will help her as she pursues a doctoral degree after completing her studies at North Park. \u201cScot offered – and continues to offer through this process of post-publication business – helpful advice that is direct and succinct and so is effective and sticks with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

To purchase a copy of the book online, visit Covenant Bookstore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (September 9, 2008) \u2013 Scot McKnight\u2019s new book on conversion, Finding Faith, Losing Faith, is a first for the North Park University New Testament professor and prolific author. 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