The Faith by Charles Colson

A while back I was in the mood to read something with a little substance. I wanted to read something that left me feeling smarter when I finished it. While scrolling through Zondervan’s books I came across, “The Faith,” by Charles Colson. Since I had never read any Colson books I decided to give it a try. When it arrived my husband decided he wanted to read it first.


Reader, be warned, there is a lot of information in this book. I did not finish it near as quickly as I normally finish books. The three main questions the book answers are: what do Christians believe, why do they believe it, and why does it matter. Even though there is a lot of information in the book it is not overwhelming. It is broken into two parts, and then chapters and even the chapters are broken down into sections. Therefore, if you are like me and can’t get through an entire chapter in one sitting you can, at least, get through a section in a chapter.

Colson starts his book off with “God and The Faith,” and draws from personal travels with his wife to discuss church history. Don’t get lost in this section. Keep going. His first chapter ends with the question, “How can a Christianity that is not understood be practiced?” He follows up that question with chapter two discussing who exactly God is. He continues throughout the book discussing the Canon, truth, the Trinity, and the cross. Part II of the book has more application discussing holiness in everyday life, the sanctity of life, justice, and of course the joy of orthodoxy. While reading this book I was reminded of John Piper’s, “Desiring God,” in the way it was written, briefly covering a multitude of topics every Christian needs to be familiar with.

If you are interested in purchasing this book or downloading the free study guide that accompanies it please visit Zondervan.com.

Special thanks to Zondervan for the complementary copy of this book for reviewing purposes.