Doubter’s Parish Books
Welcome to Doubter’s Parish books.
We hope you enjoy Martin’s most recent (free) book, My Long Farewell to Traditional Religion and What Remains. Other books by Martin can be found below, including his novel An Inconvenient Loss of Faith.
In this engaging book, Martin Thielen, best-selling author, ex-megachurch pastor, and founder of Doubter’s Parish shares his story of deconstructing and reconstructing faith. If you struggle with traditional Christian beliefs and institutional religion but still seek a faith/spirituality that makes sense for the twenty-first century, this book was written specifically for you.
This book is available as a PDF download.
Group Discussion Guide Available
Some readers will want to discuss My Long Farewell to Traditional Religion and What Remains in book clubs, progressive Sunday school classes, and other groups. Small group discussion questions can be found at the end of the book.
An Inconvenient Loss of Faith tells the story of a doubting southern clergyman who loses traditional faith, quits the ministry, and forges a new life and faith beyond the constraints of institutional religion. However, it’s far more than that. It’s a love story between a minister named Paul and a scientist named Sarah. It’s a story about best friends. It’s a story about a specific United Church of Christ congregation between the years 1991 and 2001. It’s also a story about some of the most challenging theological issues of our time.
Read an interview with the author about An Inconvenient Loss of Faith.
This book is available as a free PDF download.
Group Discussion Guide Available
Some readers will want to discuss An Inconvenient Loss of Faith in book clubs, Sunday school classes, and other groups. For small group discussion questions, click here.
The guide is also available as a PDF download.
Martin is currently working on future nonfiction and fiction books to add to this site. If you want to receive email notifications about future books, articles, and posts, please sign up on our Contact Page.
Other Books by Martin Thielen
Martin currently has three books in print with Westminster John Knox. Since he is under contract with the publisher, he cannot provide these books for free download. However, if you are interested in purchasing one, you can order them there, or on Amazon.com.
What’s The Least I Can Believe And Still Be A Christian?
A Guide To What Matters Most
In What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian, pastor and author Martin Thielen has compiled a list of ten things people need to believe, and ten things they don’t, in order to be a Christian. This lively and engaging book will be a help to seekers as well as a comfort to believers who may find themselves questioning some of the assumptions they grew up with.
Buy Paperback & Kindle on Amazon
The Answer To Bad Religion Is Not No Religion
A Guide To Good Religion For Seekers, Skeptics, and Believers
If you think the only logical response to bad Christianity is to leave Christianity completely, The Answer to Bad Religion is Not No Religion is the book for you. In an effort to help those who’ve been hurt by or turned off by negative religion, Martin Thielen explains that there is an alternative to abandoning religion: good religion. Thielen uses personal stories to illustrate the dangers of religion that is judgmental, anti-intellectual, and legalistic.
Buy Paperback & Kindle on Amazon
Searching For Happiness
How Generosity, Faith, and Other Spiritual Habits Can Lead to a Full Life
The key to happiness is being rich, successful, and beautiful…right? Martin Thielen, best-selling author of Searching For Happiness, insists that this is far from the truth. Happiness, Thielen argues, does not come from external factors like getting a job promotion or finally reaching your goal weight. Rather, happiness is an inside job.
Buy Paperback & Kindle on Amazon