Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions

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About Evolving In Monkey Town: How A Girl Who Knew All

Product Description Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. Growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, Evans asks questions she never thought she would ask. She learns that in order for her faith to survive in a postmodern context, it must adapt to change and evolve. Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty, through doubt, to faith, Evans adds a unique perspective to the ongoing dialogue about postmodernism and the church that has so captivated the Christian community in recent years. In a changing cultural environment where new ideas threaten the safety and security of the faith, Evolving in Monkey Town is a fearlessly honest story of survival. Review “These days the stories I love to read are the ones that ask questions, that live in the tension, that allow me to bring my doubt and uncertainty and join the conversation. Rachel Held Evans’ Evolving in Monkey Town is one of those stories.” -- Shauna Niequist|“This book is an argument---Rachel argues with herself, God, the Bible, and Southern fundamentalism. Somehow, though, we are the winners in this argument because we learn and watch as a young woman emerges into a maturing faith that lets the kingdom vision of Jesus reshape her life. I found myself cheering her on.” -- Scot McKnight|“Rachel Held Evans is brilliant, gutsy, real, and hilarious, and Evolving in Monkey Town impacted my spiritual journey in ways I never imagined. I can’t remember a book that I enjoyed reading more, partly because Rachel is a great writer, and partly because she so fearlessly examines the conflict between her inherited beliefs about God and the truth of her own spiritual experience. There’s a certain weight to Evolving in Monkey Town that distinguishes it from the other spiritual memoir books out there.” -- Jim Palmer|“Can I tell you how much I admire Rachel Held Evans? She is smart, compassionate, funny, and relentlessly inquisitive. It is the questions she asks, not the answers she uncovers, that make Evolving in Monkey Town such a compelling read. There are many good books worth reading, but a truly remarkable book will leave you pondering matters long after the cover is closed. I loved this book. That Evans wrote a remarkable debut at such a young age makes me want to slap her, bless her heart.” -- Karen Spears Zacharias|“Rachel’s humorous yet humble memoir of growing up in the evangelical world serves as an encouraging guide for anyone looking to navigate through that particular subculture. As I saw my own journey reflected in its pages, I appreciated Rachel’s honesty in revealing the doubts and questions that arose when she confronted the cracks in the evangelical facade. The story told here is both faith and doubt affirming, a beautiful reflection of a heart earnestly seeking to follow God fully.” -- Julie Clawson|“A whole generation of evangelicalism’s brightest young people, based upon a common misunderstanding of 1 Peter 3:15, was taught that vital, living faith is established by a ‘worldview’ that one can explain and defend. Rachel Held Evans, a bright and talented young writer with obvious courage, challenges this ‘sacred cow.’ Her discovery is surely right---we need a faith that obeys, not a worldview rooted in absolute certainty. She will help you embrace the questions without losing the reality of faith.” -- John H. Armstrong From the Publisher "With Evolving in Monkey Town, Rachel Held Evans steps onto the stage as a gifted writer, an honest storyteller, and a compelling voice in the Christian community. She represents what is most hopeful and promising in a new generation of articulate, intelligent, and faithful young leaders. "These days the stories I love to read are the ones that ask questions, that live in the tension, that allow me to bring my doubt