My Top 5 Books on Doubt

Belief and Unbelief: A Philosophy of Self-Knowledge
Michael Novak (Transaction)

This brilliant book traces how the line between faith and doubt doesn't separate us into different camps; it runs through every human soul. Novak is relentlessly honest, deeply informed, sympathetic to all honest searching, and achingly personal.

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A Place to Stand
Elton Trueblood (Harper & Row)

Trueblood points out what we so often miss: The modern deference given to doubt is neither necessary nor rational; we speak of "blind faith" and "honest doubt" when faith can also be honest and doubt can also be blind. He unpacks the core conviction of Christianity: that Christ was not wrong.

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In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions without Becoming a Fanatic
Peter Berger and Anton Zijderveld (HarperOne)

This book outlines how to hold convictions in a postmodern world with both civility and confidence. It also demonstrates how and why the "secularization thesis" (that religious belief would diminish after modernity) has proven resoundingly hollow.

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Doubt: A History
Jennifer Michael Hecht (HarperOne)

Hecht's tour de force takes readers on a guided journey of doubt from the pre-Socratics to contemporary philosopher Daniel Dennett. While Hecht's own sympathies lie with the doubters, she writes with grace, flair, and engagement.

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Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge
Dallas Willard (HarperOne)

A decaf version of a technical work aimed at philosophers, this book covers topics like the nature (and necessity) of moral and spiritual knowledge, the fundamentals of worldview, the best reasons why belief in God can be confidently held, and the form of pluralism most needed today.

John Ortberg is pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and author of Faith and Doubt (Zondervan).