NEW EDITION WITH STUDY GUIDE
NOW AVAILABLE

 

What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?

A Guide to What Matters Most

By Martin Thielen

Pastor and author Martin Thielen has compiled a list of ten things Christians need to believe—and ten things they don’t—to be a Christian. This lively and engaging book will help seekers as well as comfort believers who may find themselves questioning some of the assumptions they grew up with.

Many people in the twenty-first century hunger for an expression of Christian faith that is different from the judgmental and narrow-minded caricatures they see on television or in the news. With an accessible, story-telling style that’s grounded in solid biblical scholarship, Thielen shows how Christians don’t need to believe that sinners will be “left behind” to burn in hell or that it’s heresy to believe in evolution. At the same time, Christians do need to believe in Jesus—his life, his teachings, his death and resurrection, and his vision for the world. A great benefit of those beliefs is that they provide promising answers to life’s most profound questions, including: Where is God? What matters most? What brings fulfillment? What about suffering? And is there hope? Thielen articulates centrist, mainline Christianity in a way that’s fresh and easy to understand and offers authentic Christian insights that speak to our deepest needs.

In addition to a new foreword from the author that reflects on the book's reception, this new edition includes a comprehensive study guide that features unique and easily implemented aids for carrying out a seven-week, congregation-wide initiative that will help local churches reach out to their communities. A flyer for organizing a reading group is also available here: Reading Group Flyer

 

Watch Martin Thielen on "Issues of Faith," WTVF-TV: