Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin

'For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to work the coal face between Christian faith and the academy. She began by putting to paper common arguments - 'roadblocks' - against Christianity. She drew on her faith and friends to support her as she tried to juggle her writing and other aspects of her life, and as a 'super extrovert,' she continued in her mission to 'put things out into the world that were very personal, but very redemptive' for her. These challenges did not deter McLaughlin. She wrote the book in four months, while pregnant with her third child, and in the context of significant emotional strain that made writing feel like therapy. However, this intellectual affair was not as sexy as the word 'affair' suggests. There was a sense of excitement and discovery that came with the probing of her faith and the exploration of evidence.

'Writing this book felt almost like having an affair!' she said. McLaughlin’s passion for her faith fueled her writing process, and her desire to formalize a collection of conversations that have occurred throughout her life.

Religion, like politics, has the potential to ignite passions in even the most mild-mannered. In doing so, she took on not only a personal spiritual challenge, but a writing challenge as well. McLaughlin told Spine she set out to take a deep look at the arguments that could be significant barriers to belief, positioning her book as a litmus test of modern Christianity. With the book she wanted to address a broader audience, and to tackle her own faith head-on. Before writing her debut book, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion, Rebecca McLaughlin had written a variety of articles for online faith-focused platforms.

Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin