This book was wildly encouraging to me when I first read it. I was a young (and reflective) Christian at the time, struggling madly to hold onto my faith in the face of burgeoning doubts. It might have kept the proverbial demons at bay for a while, but not indefinitely--for I speak now as a dyed-in-the-wool non-Christian (for the most part) who has moved onto greener pastures (or at least more tenable ones). Re-approaching this book reminded me just how wholesome and positive faith can be, and how madness-inducing trying to maintain it can be as well. Taylor's a master rhetorician here, demonstrating a clear empathy for both believers and skeptics alike--just when you think you can't follow him into his point, he throws you a bone of "I know, I know, but!" Ultimately he errs on the side of belief, of course, and does so with an interesting mixture of apology and pride (as well as a few unexplored assumptions). He makes good points, and is largely to be commended for what he's trying to do. The cynic in me could say that he provides the smoothest and most alluring defense of self-delusion I've ever encountered--but he confronts that accusation steadily throughout the book (hence the smoothness), so levying such a judgment would seem redundant. Ultimately, the book's only real flaw is in setting up a false dichotomy between holding onto your faith and losing it; between remaining a Christian and instead choosing the way of doubt. Implicit in this dichotomy is the misguided, dogmatic assumption that choosing a non-Christian path reaps no genuine reward of understanding or truth; on the contrary, there are plenty of valid, spiritual, and even Christ-honoring ways to contextualize, understand, and relate with the world, even when you cease to be Christian. There are broader, more comprehensive frameworks to consider (e.g. Integral Theory)--but ultimately even Taylor himself seems to be playing a positive part in those frameworks, by urging mindfulness and compassion over dog-headed certainty. And no one can fault him for that.