I am the author of
Living by Faith, Dwelling in Doubt, a spiritual memoir published by Loyola Press. Overview from the publisher:
It may seem as if the concept of faith has become a line in the sand:
you either have it or you don’t. And if you have questions, then you
don’t. But such stark statements like this are not only untrue, but also
lead to more questions. Do questions and uncertainties negate our
faithfulness? If faith is all or nothing, how do we navigate the
in-between and find our own conclusions? What about during difficult
times, when we feel especially confused and wonder, “Where is God?”
Finding God in our current culture of zealous rhetoric can leave us
overwhelmed and uncertain where to turn.
In Living by Faith, Dwelling in Doubt¸
Kyle Cupp explores how the path we take to find our faith requires a
mindful examination that ultimately strengthens our connection to God.
Nagged by these same issues, Cupp applies his own experiences to dig
through the swirling questions of faith. By contemplating topics such as
the pursuit of truth, finding God in the bleakest moments, and coming
to terms with the unknowing, Cupp discovers that walking through the
darkness can lead to true freedom in faith.
For all who wonder where to go when conflicted by substantial questions, Living by Faith, Dwelling in Doubt offers
a way to find our faith within the murkiness of uncertainty. As Cupp
demonstrates how uncertainty doesn’t kill faith but rather is a
condition in which faith can thrive, the line in the sand slowly begins
to wash away.
You can purchase the book from
Loyola Press,
Amazon, and
Barnes & Noble.
PRAISE FOR LIVING BY FAITH, DWELLING IN DOUBT
"In this memoir, readers will find many of the facts they know so well
as to find cliche ("God is Love," "Faith is a gift," etc.) refracted
through Cupp's experience until we find these truths vivid, jarring, and
urgent again.
-
Leah Libresco, Huffington Post, Patheos.com
"
Living by Faith, Dwelling in Doubt
is a powerful and moving account of one man's journey of faith. Cupp
writes with humor, compassion, love, and no small amount of wisdom in
the face of life's most profound mysteries. His examples are
wide-ranging and eminently relatable: from video games, pop culture,
teenage jobs, and middle school angst to the depths of love, loss,
birth, and death. Here questioning and exploration win out over
triumphalism and easy certainties, and Cupp illustrates how the
otherness in our experience can give birth to an uncontainable love even
in the face of doubt, weakness, brokenness, sadness, and perhaps most
powerfully in the face of the appalling suffering of children that
Dostoevsky rightly identified as the strongest challenge to faith. In
the midst of this incomprehensible mystery, Cupp argues that faith in
God is love and that we are never more 'religious' than when we love,
which helps us to find worlds of meaning even in the confused and broken
fragments of the postmodern condition."
-
Dr. Brian Treanor, Philosophy Department Chair, Loyola Marymount University
"The book
is Kyle’s testament of his own personal history with
doubt, and how that doubt has actually strengthened his relationship
with God and the Church. Regular readers of Kyle on this site will by
unsurprised to find the prose thoroughly accessible even as it delves
into heavier and even difficult subject matter. Throughout, he weaves
his own history, nerd culture, modern philosophy and theology into a
bare, lean and honest tapestry. It is, in turns, delightful, funny, and
wrenching."
-
Tod Kelly, Ordinary Times
"This book is both a treatise of personal faith and a tribute to the eternal nature of love.
Cupp’s descriptions of preparing for the birth, baptism and burial of
his daughter were especially heart-rending, as he shares his story with
emotional honesty. While I am grateful that I cannot imagine the pain
of burying a child, I am reminded and inspired by his words to have
empathy with those who have suffered this unimaginable loss.
Our generation has been accused of being self-indulgent and of
oversharing, particularly on social media. But, for me, there is
inherent value in sharing one’s story, to help others glimpse a new
perspective of life. Cupp encapsulates this sentiment early in his
book: “Your unique place means that you will see the sun and what’s
under it from a different perspective than others.” Only he can tell his
story; only he can understand his experience from within it. Yet, when
I read Cupp’s words, both his and my experiences are illuminated, and I
feel that I understand life in a new light."
-
Rabbi Pamela Jay Gottfried
"Kyle's book explores the tension between faith and doubt on levels that
are both intensely personal and all-embracing. His meditations on the
meaning of life, the existence of or nonexistence of God, and,
ultimately, the power of love to transcend time, space, and human
existence itself, simultaneously pull the reader into his world and
prompt the reader to explore his or her individual, unique perspectives
on these animating issues in new, and I found, enlightening ways."
-
Kevin Funnell, Counseling Kevin
