“The Christian life is a journey” and Robert Chancellor offers us a glimpse into his with his book Confessions of a Troubled Christian Pilgrim. Chancellor offers gentle pastoral insight into topics and controversies that have played a big role in both his life and the Christian church, especially in America.
He touches on topics like atheism, social media, fundamentalism, sexuality, disappointment with God and many others. This book shares a collection of insights on pressing issues in Christendom. One particular topic I really enjoyed was the discussion of Christ where he rather skillfully walks the reader through Christology and Philo’s influence in this regard with his concept of logos. It was very refreshing to see the richness in his consideration of the incarnation.
I greatly appreciate the author’s boldness in discussion. He does not shy away from more difficult topics and subjects where emotions run high and many would rather avoid the controversy.
Among the cultural topics is a discussion on abortion. Though he states that abortion is sometimes warranted, I wish he had more specifically expressed in what situations (rape, incest, ectopic pregnancies, etc) he might consider it warranted.
On the topic of Roman Catholicism, he does focus on the western side of things, which makes sense given the western context of the book. The Orthodox do not receive quite as much attention. His presentation of Roman Catholicism and its history is perhaps debatable and a position that I would probably have to disagree with. I did not find his critiques particularly convincing.
That being said, Chancellor does not try to convince those with prior convictions of something new, but offers an informed perspective interlinked with his journey and experience as a troubled Christian pilgrim who has been able to observe a variety of topics. Those with more conservative evangelical leanings will be the most comfortable reading this, whereas others may be more challenged by the topics presented in Chancellor’s work.
Overall, I found this work to be a very interesting insight into the views of an evangelical protestant. While he understands some may disagree with his views, he allows room for conversation and to spark a curiosity about these subjects that will have readers interested in exploring even deeper.
I received compensation in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Theosis and Tea 
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