A New Testament scholar’s new book to be released in February tackles the subject of how to rebuild faith after ‘deconstruction.’
Dr James McGrath is a New Testament scholar based at Butler University in Indianna. He told Insights his new book was about how to realign your Christian faith after your worldview changes.
“The term “deconstruction” in recent years somehow went from being a technical term for a particular approach to literature, to become a buzz word for the process of critically examining your faith,” Dr McGrath said.
“The term hasn’t been clearly defined in that sense, and thus is used to cover a wide array of experiences ranging from carefully rethinking your beliefs to experience a catastrophic collapse of your worldview.”
The book, he said, has been in the works for some time.
“I had the idea to write this book even before the term and the experiences that go with it became widely discussed and popularised. Most people who pursue advanced degrees in biblical studies became interested in the Bible as a result of a faith heritage that they are connected with, whether through upbringing, personal experience, or both. In that context, we are also told things about the Bible that are oversimplified or simply wrong. Thus, as a result of studying the Bible closely, the worldview that motivated us to do so gets shaken to its very foundation.”
“Biblical scholars have thus been “deconstructing” for as long as there has been academic biblical scholarship. I wrote Beyond Deconstruction because I came through the process with a transformed Christian faith, and from conversations I’ve had with others going through the process, sharing the details of that journey has been helpful to them. I wrote the book to share my experience and details of the process and approach, in the hope that they would be useful to others who abandon certain beliefs in light of new evidence, and reach a point where they are ready to stop defining themselves over against what they used to think. Instead of saying “I’m a Christian but…” or “I’m not that kind of Christian,” the book is an invitation to offer a positive articulation of the new worldview you assemble.”
“It took me surprisingly long to realise that I didn’t need to apologize for the faith I have now. An important influence on me was Keith Ward’s book What the Bible Really Teaches. He starts off by demonstrating clearly that those who claim to be “Bible-believing Christians” are selective in what they believe. When something is unacceptable to them for whatever reason, they find a way to persuade themselves that the Bible “can’t possibly mean” that thing that they don’t want to believe or do. I passed briefly through a period as a young-earth creationist, having fallen under the influence of some people who persuaded me that being a true Christian included rejecting evolution.”
“My love of science and reading led me to discover that the views of young-earth creationists are lies, and because that wasn’t something I grew up with, I was able to leave it behind. But the experience made me keenly aware of how something that is not part of historic Christianity can become central to the identity of a group.”
According to Dr McGrath, “rejecting science” was a tempting prospect for Christians, and he understands the appeal.
“It took a long while for me to realise what is at the heart of the attraction of views like this. What Jesus calls his followers to do is so hard. Give up what we have, put others first, love our enemies. It is tempting to find something easier to substitute in place of those difficult demands. Not that there isn’t effort involved in being a science-denier. But it is easier than loving your enemies. Indeed, it creates a whole bunch of new enemies (scientists and Christians who embrace the conclusions of science) for you to hate.”
“All the while it feeds your ego, allowing you to think that you know God’s truth and thus can see things about evolution that those clever scientists miss, without ever having to do any actual research. It feeds pride, sows division, distracts from the teaching of Jesus, and misrepresents what the Bible says.”
“The book will hopefully persuade people that not only can you be a Christian without denying science, you will actually be a better one, not least because you’ll stop spreading lies about science and about the Bible. Young-earth creationism is as dishonest about what the Bible says as it is about science.”
According to Dr McGrath, he had a particular readership in mind, and the book is not aimed at persuading readers to embrace science.
“Those who have “deconstructed” undoubtedly already do so,” he said.
“If they were previously young-earth creationists, they may feel a nagging guilt or uncertainty, or that accepting science makes them less Christian. The book offers a vision for and guide to fostering a form of faith that doesn’t need to feel threatened by science. And that’s just one of the small snippets of my own experience that I share.”
Dr McGrath said there were many good experiences while working on Beyond Deconstruction, but his favourite was sharing the first draft of a chapter with his wife and son.
“My wife called it one of the best things I’d written, and certainly the most personal,” he said. “Our son said that I’d now started writing a book that he’d be interested in reading, which hasn’t always been the case. I knew then that I was going to keep working on the book.”
“The book will be available in Australia as well as in other parts of the English-speaking world. I think the two fastest ways to get your hands on a copy are to pre-order the Kindle edition so that it shows up on your phone as soon as it is available, or to go into a local bookstore and tell them you want them to get a copy.”
Dr McGrath’s previous books include What Jesus Learned From Women and the A to Z of the New Testament.
Beyond Deconstruction releases on 3 February 2026. It is now available for preorder. Insights will have a full review.
Jonathan Foye is a freelance writer and academic.
