The Faithful (Book)

A couple of days ago I finished reading Jonathan Weyer’s The Faithful, a Christian horror novel dealing with faith, science, doubt, murder, the Church and the supernatural. Fiction isn’t what I usually lean towards, but I really wanted to read this one for several reasons.

1. Weyer is the brother-in-law of my good friend and talented illustrator Eric Wieringa.
2. Weyer founded The Thomas Society, a discussion group at Ohio State University. The group focused on opening up honest dialog between Christians and atheists and their blog was often an interesting read for skeptics and believers alike.
3. Apparently, The Faithful is now a screenplay and has been getting some attention from some film producers. Since I rarely pick up fiction novels and everyone always says, “…yeah, but the book was sooooo much better than the movie,” I rarely get to read the book before I see the movie. So here was my opportunity to read it before it hits the big screen.
4. The Kindle edition is only $8.99. Since I’m a touring musician, paperless and more affordable e-books are super attractive to me. Plus delivery is immediate. My inner consumerist couldn’t be happier.

At just under 400 pages, The Faithful is an easy read (I finished it in just a few nights), especially on these dark Midwest winter nights. Though horror as a theme has become fairly common in Christian music (see: Underoath, Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, or my friends Grave Robber), it is still a rarer breed in novel form. Genre classification aside, I think this book is a good contemporary fit for our times and it will appeal to most people. This may be why it could make a good film.

Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan, an assistant pastor, is already a spiritual battleground. When he learns that his ex-fiancee was murdered in a possibly demonic ritual, he finds himself catapulted into an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted spirits in the afterlife, Aidan becomes a medium that will hold the key to solving this murder mystery. As Catholic priests, paranormal investigators and rogue law enforcement seek Aidan out, readers both secular and religious will find that the Faithful tears at the emotions and doubts of humankind.

— Amazon.com Editoral Review

Through protagonist Pastor Aidan Schaeffer, Weyer quotes scripture and references Dawkins, gives sermons and curses, and challenges both the faithful and faithless to continue exploring their doubts as they pursue the truth. His irreverent, but honest treatment of the Church may be upsetting to some sheltered and defensive churchgoers, but will be seen as welcome and necessary concessions of the American Church’s failures in the eyes of critics and skeptics. I think the book will resonate with well-read believers, those with paranormal interests, murder mystery enthusiasts, church insiders and even some skeptics.

The Faithful

Jonathan Weyer – Brio Press 2010

WorldCat • LibraryThing • Google Books • BookFinder

 

Paperback on Amazon | Kindle Edition