{"id":2293,"date":"2013-08-20T09:36:21","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T13:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/frankviola\/?p=2293"},"modified":"2018-05-18T08:59:24","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T12:59:24","slug":"a-question-of-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/frankviola\/a-question-of-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"A Question of Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today I interview Tor Constantino of The Daily Retort<\/a>\u00a0on his excellent book A Question of Faith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why did you decide to write this book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino: I was raised in a strict, conservative, Christian household. Even though I had loving parents, I was not allowed to satisfy my curiosity about other religious beliefs and faith traditions. When I got to college, I was unprepared and ill-equipped to adequately defend my own faith, let alone address the truth claims or tenets of other belief systems. Needless to say my faith was shaken; however, through years of study, I was able to honestly re-affirm my own beliefs. One of the reasons I wrote this book was because I didn\u2019t have this type of resource back then when I needed it. At the time, my parents, youth group and church leaders all told me to just \u201cpray about it\u201d which was well intended but not especially helful. I knew I wasn\u2019t alone in that experience, which was validated when I saw a Barna Group study in 2009 that found two-thirds of Christian teens\/20-somethings left the faith when they left their parents\u2019 home. This book was written for them and their parents to help spur a lifelong discussion surrounding this important issue of belief.<\/p>\n

What will readers gain after reading it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0I\u2019ve come to learn that faith is not simply a function of reckless abandon and mindlessly following a random cause \u2013 rather, faith requires mental engagement in the face of incomplete information, toward a decision of belief. It\u2019s foolish to ignore that every human culture has a tradition of faith, and I believe it\u2019s equally foolish if parents do not pressure test those beliefs with their kids and teens.\u00a0The family is where we first practice all the life skills we\u2019ll need to succeed in life (i.e. social skills, basic hygiene, communication ability, problem-solving, manners\u2026etc.) and basic comparative religious study should be part of that mix. This book exposes teens and parents to the basic beliefs of the six major religions of the world \u2013 which more than 75% of the global population believe. My hope is that families can pressure test their faith together, making their individual and collective faith stronger.<\/p>\n

What aspect of writing the book did you find particularly challenging?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0The toughest part was establishing the premise of the book, which really is an introduction to comparative religion with a unique twist of compressing the six major faith traditions into a single multiple-choice question and then explaining why I took that seemingly counter-intuitive approach toward the issue of considering a faith to believe in. The intent was to simplify and make accessible the vastly complex question of religious belief.<\/p>\n

Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0Once it was finished, I shared it with about three dozen people whose opinion I trusted for their suggestions and input. Their collective feedback (both positive and negative) was very rewarding and a validating experience.<\/p>\n

What do you hope your readers will gain from reading your book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0Every society has a belief system that extends beyond the natural world. Faith is core to the human experience and getting the most out of this life. My hope is that this book will spur individuals to consider the benefits of faith and religion in a positive, relevant light. At the very least, prompt a discussion and desire to seek more information about religion(s) in general.<\/p>\n

How did you come up with your title?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0What makes this book unique is that it serves as an introduction to comparative religion with a unique twist of compressing the six major faith traditions into a single multiple-choice question. The book\u2019s title is a play on words regarding this single multiple-choice question regarding faith.<\/p>\n

What books have influenced you the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tor Constantino:\u00a0Huston Smith\u2019s Religions of the World<\/em>; Philip Yancey\u2019s A Skeptic\u2019s Guide to Faith<\/em>; Timothy Keller\u2019s The Reason for God<\/em>; as well as numerous writings and essays by C.S. Lewis and C.K. Chesterton.<\/p>\n

TOR CONSTANTINO<\/strong>\u00a0is a communications professional with more than twenty-four-plus years combined experience as a print\/broadcast journalist and a Fortune 500 corporate public relations professional, working for companies including ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates, Global Crossing, AstraZeneca and Bausch & Lomb. He holds an MBA degree, is a bestselling nonfiction author, a frequent speaker, and avid runner who has completed several full marathons. You can connect with Tor at\u00a0his blog<\/a>, on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I interview Tor Constantino of The Daily Retort\u00a0on his excellent book A Question of Faith. Why did you decide to write this book? Tor Constantino: I was raised in a strict, conservative, Christian household. Even though I had loving parents, I was not allowed to satisfy my curiosity about other religious beliefs and faith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Question of Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today I interview Tor Constantino of The Daily Retort\u00a0on his excellent book A Question of Faith. Why did you decide to write this book? 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