A. J. Swoboda’s “After Doubt” is a wonderfully wise and pastoral response to those feeling like they are walking on a spiritual waterbed and not on spiritual solid ground. A. J’s vulnerability, passion for people, love for God and truth, make this a must read for those experiencing a disorienting faith shift.

I saw A. J. Swoboda’s book, After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith without Losing It, advertised last July on Twitter and was excited to read it. I started reading a digital version in mid-January thanks to @brazospress, and then received a physical copy a few weeks ago. Overall, I liked this book (the author’s left-leaning views were exposed several times, so I certainly didn’t agree with everything). But it’s got some great nuggets of wisdom for Christians struggling with doubt and for those who are thinking of leaving or who have, perhaps, already left their faith behind. Since we live in a culture that prioritizes authenticity and expressive individualism over honoring tradition, deconstructing one’s Christian faith is applauded. But there is a way forward: reconstruction. However the goal isn’t to reconstruct a new, unique faith but to recapture ancient Christianity with a whole new set of eyes in a way that is childlike, not childish.

Swoboda writes, “While there exist countless resources specifically crafted to help those who are crossing the chasm from doubt to faith, far more sparse are resources that aim to help people whose faith has meandered back toward doubt... Doubt and deconstruction play important roles in our journey of following Jesus. They can be exhilarating experiences. But also oppressive and hopeless. Though both have their dark sides, I will show that they can play a vital role in how we follow Jesus... In short, what I’m trying to do here is help my reader think through the how of doubt and deconstruction—the spiritual formation side of these experiences. This book, as such, is less about deconstruction and doubt as it is about how we walk through these experiences faithfully with and toward Jesus.”

When I filled out the form to join the launch team for After Doubt I had no idea what I was getting into. I had never heard of A.J. I had never read one of his books or heard a sermon by him. All I knew was that I was looking for more information and perspectives on the ideas of deconstruction and I was willing to pick up a book by someone I had never heard of to expand my knowledge. But I’m glad I took that chance.


As it turns out, After Doubt is a more… orthodox approach to the concepts of doubt, deconstruction, and reconstruction. And after years of hearing only progressive Christians really approach the topic of deconstruction in detail, and conservatives only really expressing wariness at using those terms, it is a relief to hear someone say, “it’s okay to have doubts, just don’t stay there.”

In short, it’s the book I needed five years ago when I was confronted with a rather large set of doubts of my own. But like all works that have been committed to the will of God, I think it’s been published at just the right time for others.

A.J. Swoboda’s book After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith Without Losing It (Brazos Press, 2021) was an excellent read on a subject that has recently become a flashpoint in the online evangelical/ex-vangelical space. Coincidentally, his book released the week after some major discourse on deconstruction was happening- to which this book would settle some folks down, hopefully.

Earlier on, he explains how he uses deconstruction and doubt synonymously. The “pro” of this is that it helps us see that we’ve been talking about this for a LONG time, just using different vocabulary. The “con” is that he misses some nuance about assuming constructs are valid to begin with.

He makes a good point about differentiation (which is healthy growth) and I think it can be helpful to acknowledge when this is the case rather than deconstruction/doubt. This would at least help us focus on what we are talking about when we say “deconstruction”.

There is a process of construct-ion that could have been more developed as this can help us understand better what it is that deconstruction is targeting. When those constructs are wrapped up in Christianity, it is hard to distinguish between them.

And when someone realizes that their spiritual community is complicit in perpetuating harmful constructs, it is right that should want change. The chapter on Discernment does a better job of addressing this, but it comes late.

His overriding concern is that deconstruction can become destruction, and that our current cultural moment does not prepare us navigate this well. At best, he is showing a path to create a dynamic life of faith. At worst, he is prescribing how deconstruction ought to be done.

Critique: I don’t feel he represents progressive Christians accurately or people whose deconstruction leads them to different constructs of understanding scripture and seeking to live faithfully. He admits a bit of his conservative evangelical biases toward the end of the book and it would be interesting to compare this with, say, Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt. (There just isn’t a lot of engagement with progressive folks, so their positions are sometimes simplistic or stereotyped.)

I also notice that his experience (campus ministry, church planting, and now teaching undergrads) has put him in contact with a lot of people who are naturally differentiating and evaluating their constructs. This shows in some of the examples he uses and it could have been stronger if he had demonstrated/engaged with people who had deconstructed in what he considers a “healthy” way. Maybe there will be a sequel.

Overall, this is a thoughtful treatment of the topic by someone who has walked the path himself. We may not share all of the same commitments now but I can see his honest efforts to assist people along the way.

In After Doubt, A.J. Swoboda tackles the "deconstruction" phenomenon that has swept through Western Christianity, especially in the last decade. Swoboda himself has gone through phases of spiritual deconstruction and doubt, and his experiences led him through deconstruction into "reconstruction", where he believes he has re-discovered the essence of what it means to follow Jesus. This work is largely reactionary - as a pastor in Portland, Oregon, Swoboda regularly meets with congregants who are raised in conservative (or fundamentalist) Christian homes and experience faith crises when exposed to the big, bad world. Additionally, he sees the response of his secular city toward the headlines regarding Evangelicalism and anticipates his readers' discomfort with the Western Church.

Swoboda's work is decisively pastoral - he doesn't spend enough time delineating the reasons behind spiritual deconstruction, and instead focuses on trite lists of controversial issues without really engaging them. The work may have been stronger if Swoboda had dedicated a chapter to specific theological issues that may cause doubt, exploring the motivations behind those controversies, and pointing his readers to resources for further study.

By moving too quickly toward reconstruction, Swoboda runs the risk of alienating readers who are in the midst of deconstruction. Additionally, Swoboda tends to repeat similar themes across chapters by listing binary conservative and progressive reactions to what he sees at orthodox Christianity.

Swoboda's work was helpful in looking at the topic of deconstruction from a bird's eye view and challenging the narrative of post-modern skepticism. The book is simple and inspiring, but not necessarily transformative.

Rarely have I been so moved by a work of Christian nonfiction that offers countless, tangible ways to unpack and closely examine not only wrong beliefs [about God, self and the church] but also the dangerous, real-life implications of errant theology. As a mid-30s woman who has identified as a follower of Christ for most of my life, I read this book with great appreciation and felt validation for this timely subject matter; ultimately, Swoboda delicately yet precisely details a deconstructive journey that ultimately leads to new opportunities of offering greater glory to God by loving Him more than one's mere ideas of Him.

I would have given this book five stars except for the fact I do not recognize the author's affirmation of charismatic Christianity as an orthodox denomination of the faith. Swoboda's very minimal references to this theological umbrella personally distract and trigger unpleasant memories of my own time in charismatic churches. However, I understand and applaud his readiness for full-disclosure on this front.

Ultimately, this book's merit stands on its own feet and does not in and of itself depend upon charismatic undertones; that withstanding, my high review does not imply endorsement for charismatic doctrines/teachings. Please read--you will be blessed.

A.J. Swoboda has re-written the narrative around doubt in evangelical circles at a time when the word “desconstruction” has become almost a slogan for the visible and the influential. He suggests that, rather than a sign that our faith is circling the drain, our struggle with faith might be “the surest sign we actually have one.” (377) After Doubt, with its implied message that there is, indeed, Christianity “after doubt,” is brutally honest, but intensely hopeful about all that is good and joyful when believers allow time for reconstruction to follow the seasons of deconstruction that happen in the course of a following life.

Rather than glorifying deconstruction or dismissing doubt, what if we believed that Jesus is actually fully present in the chasm between doubt and faith? What if on the other side of the chasm there lies a deeper hope and trust in Christ? Swoboda advocates for navigating doubt through spiritual practices and through prudent management of one’s thought life and one’s choice of companions.

It turns out that our contemporary Western world with our Enlightenment sensibilities is more predisposed to leaving than to staying and to moving on rather than honoring where we came from. I am not immune to this either, having borrowed Philip Yancey’s moniker as a “recovering fundamentalist” more than once over the years. Readers exhausted with the prevalence of deconstruction narratives will rejoice to see it used, not as a sign post at the opening of a dark, yawning chasm, but instead as a bridge under our feet as we join centuries of faithful followers in the ongoing process of construction, deconstruction, and blessed, grace-fueled REconstruction to the glory of God.

Many thanks to Brazos Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.