Self-help ✦ Penny’s Take
Faith After Doubt
Brian D. McLaren · 2021
63/100
👎 Skip It
McLaren writes with genuine warmth and the four-stage framework is a useful vocabulary for people navigating religious disillusionment. But the dossier is clear that the book moves well past doubt and into dismantling core Christian doctrines — atonement, the necessity of Christ, scriptural authority — without a clear alternative to rebuild on. Progressive readers may find it resonant; anyone rooted in orthodox or evangelical Christianity will find it a harder fit.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Departs from orthodox Christian doctrine on atonement, salvation, Trinity, and Scripture authority — significant concern for confessional-faith households. We still scored it 63; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety80
substance65
craft72
originality65
accuracy60
hype60
age_fit75
human_eye60
Penny’s verdict63
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