I received an advanced audio copy of the book and I'm about halfway through my third listen. This book has been like a life raft for me. As someone who has really been struggling with my faith and the decision about whether I want to continue to be a member of a church, this book brought me clarity and helped me work through the big questions. The author didn't shy away from the church's ugly history or current reality and while he obviously has an opinion, I didn't feel his beliefs were being pushed on me. This was the kind of non-judgmental gentle guide I needed to sort out my faith right now and I'm so grateful to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Essentials for access to the audiobook of Do I Stay Christian: A Guide for the Doubters, Disappointed, and the Disillusioned by Brain McLaren in exchange for an honest review.

CW: spiritual content, religious abuse, systemic oppression

McLaren is the author of several grace-filled books describing the phenomenon of Christians leaving the Church. I was fortunate to have been gifted a copy of his book Faith After Doubt a few years ago, but unfortunately have yet to read it. I now feel motivated to return to this earlier book having listened to Do I Stay Christian. McLaren clearly argues both reasons to leave the Church and reasons to stay in explicit and frank detail. Never have I ever been so refreshed as to hear another Christian speak so honestly about the atrocities that have been (and continue to be) committed by the Church. For those new to Deconstruction, I would highly recommend this book as a great place to start. As McLaren himself states, if you have become disillusioned with a Church that does not always practice the love and grace that they espouse, you may be particularly challenged and encouraged by the section discussing the reasons to remain. If you have a friend or family member who is critical of the Church and you feel hurt and at a loss to understand their viewpoint, then the section about reasons to leave might bring some enlightenment.

I was particularly impacted by McLaren's personal story about an interaction that he had with a group of Catholic nuns. In this account, McLaren is invited to have a drink (alcoholic! gasp!) with a group of nuns who are being investigated by the Church due to their increasingly liberal views. Their convent is at risk of being shut down, which means that they would lose their home and all sense of security and livelihood. McLaren uses this story to illustrate his point that Christians traditionally think along a binary. Having been faced with the atrocities committed by the Church, and being unable to reconcile these systemic forms of harm with an all-knowing, all-loving God, the two options for Deconstruction are thought to be, a) leave defiantly, or b) stay compliantly. McLaren proposes, encouraged by the example of these nuns, that there is a third option; to stay defiantly. While it is certainly a challenge to adjust your own personal schemas to fit what you now know into a Christian framework, that very work of Deconstruction is what the Church desperately needs at this moment in time. To leave the Church would still certainly be your right and make a strong statement in and of itself, but think of the power you could also have by staying and challenging systems of harm and oppression from within, encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ to no longer accept the historical status quo and change into an institution that truly practices what it preaches.

Oh disheartened Christian. I am with you. The work you are doing to deconstruct what you have been taught is difficult. To do all that work and come to the other side still having a steadfast love for the Lord in spite of the harm perpetuated by man is an incredible feat. God is making all things new through you. Keep the faith and stay strong on this journey.

<i>Do I Stay Christian?</i> is broken down into three parts: reasons not to stay Christian, reasons to stay Christian, and how to move forward once you have made your decision. <spoiler>To condense each section to a sentence: Don’t stay Christian because of all the horrible things the Church/Christians have done. Do stay Christian because leaving the faith means leaving it in the hands of those who have done the worst with it. Whatever your decision, work with others to undo the bad Christianity has done.</spoiler>

McLaren shares both sides of the argument fairly, not encouraging the reader to go one way or the other. For me, one side of the argument resonated more loudly than the other, but I can see why other people might be better persuaded by the flip side of his argument. He did a nice job narrating the audiobook. The book was well-written, and I liked hearing not just McLaren’s personal struggles with these issues but also those of other ministry workers who have had the same doubts.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

This was the right book at the right time for me. If you are struggling with Christianity, whether you are trying to understand why others leave the faith or feel compeled to leave yourself, I highly recommend picking up this book. The author/narrator speaks with gentleness and compassion without shying away from the ugly truths and difficult subjects so necessary to wrestle with to be a mindful and thoughtful person.

I listened to the audio version; therefore, I did not have access to any illustrations that may have been included with the print book.
I found this book interesting. The author did not sugar-coat anything. It was clear from his presentation which side of various issues he was personally on, which did not bother me, especially since I agreed with much of what he said. I can imagine this book could be very controversial with some groups of people. I enjoyed his arguments for and against staying Christian. At about 60% through the audiobook, he had summed up his arguments on both sides. Overall, I thought his presentation was very fair. I wondered what he was going to talk about for the next 4+ hours. I continued to >80%. The remainder of the book focused on remaining Christian and working toward changing various attributes of how the religion is practiced, positioned, perceived, etc. Even though I listened to this book on 2-2.5x speed, I did not want to invest any more time in his discussion of why people should remain Christian. I understood his point; it all made sense and was well thought out. I simply wanted to move on to my next audiobook.
This book is well-written, interesting, and provides reasonable arguments for both sides of the issue. However, the author does take a stand for staying involved in the Christian religion, though he makes of point of understanding why some people may choose to do otherwise.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.