5.0 out of 5 stars He does it again!

P.W. · 4 April 2025

Once again Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, unfurls his encyclopedic scholarship in an approachable guide "for the curious" to Christianity. A perfect complement to his many other general audience books.

3.0 out of 5 stars Very successful within its frames of reference

A.B. · 15 March 2025

This is a book for anybody curious about Rowan Williams' take on Christianity, or, more precisely, his mediation of the orthodox Anglical church in which he has been embraced for many years, and which he led as top man before his retirement. He is also a professional theologian, and a good chunk of the book is a justification of the need for theology.I am left feeling that he had two readerships in mind. One is practising but unsatisfactory Christians who have strayed from orthodoxy and become prone to sensationalist stuff such as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Gospel of Thomas. Such folk also may be tempted to snatch at heretical and extremist dogma (for instance as inheritance from splits post-Reformation). They may also be arrogant enough to believe that they can read the Bible unaided, without the necessary guiding of 'wider and holier' readers. Still, the Biblical scriptures remain central, and while God did not hold the pens of their construction, His spirit touched both their writers and the design of millennial unfolding of wise and holy interpretation.The other type of reader would be the likes of me who, not a Christian, is invited to explore the invitation to be so, In this the book fails completely, though of course this may be my Fault.The book is largely a series of explanations and justifications - apologies in the old sense - aiming to reveal how, yes, there have been many errors in historical interpretation and some quite horrible 'uses' of distorted Christianities, but there is an essential and God-given opening into a 'new world' (post-Christ) in which this giveness vibrates as Holy Spirit. Williams' writing is clear and elegant, his arguments are consistent and coherent but for most of we curious we are puzzled by the axiomatic validity around which all this revolves. I got no sense, no feeling, of the original 'explosion': everything seemed an effort to justify the works of Church to man.I should say that I, as all readers, bring to the text much other experiences - of life, of temperament, of acquaintance with (albeit random, generally superficial and unguided by wise and holy mentorship). From my years of en-joying Christian writers, I cannot not locate Williams' discourses in some sort of comparison and contrast. I find other writers have made Christianity more Real for me, this Reality being in the regions of Soul (in the poetic sense). Lugubrious by nature, one of William James; 'sick souls', I am more drawn to the dark side admitted to Christian visions, and unfulfilled by sweetness and light. Perhaps I have read too much Barth.Doubtless this book will preach well to the converted and provide encouraging confirmation of conformity to a particular, specific orthodoxy. For myself the book succeeds in providing a different confirmation.

3.0 out of 5 stars Repeats an earlier text

B. · 23 February 2025

This book is worth reading, but take care: it contains quite a lot of another book by Williams from 2015

A Gentle Invitation to the Heart of Faith

C.W.L. · 21 August 2025

Rowan Williams’ *Discovering Christianity* is one of the most contemplatively rich and profound books I’ve read this year. With characteristic clarity and quiet depth, Williams invites readers into the mystery of Christian faith with steady, gentle insight. For lifelong Christians, this book offers a fresh perspective, helping us rediscover the heart of what we believe. In an age when the pursuit of power often co-opts Christianity, Williams reorients us toward its true center: a God who, in Christ, is with us, for us, and leads us in the way of love. And for those just beginning to explore faith, he extends not a demand, but a gracious invitation to encounter Christianity not as escape from reality, but as an opening into its fullness."Faith is most fully itself and most fully life-giving when it opens your eyes and uncovers for you a world larger than you ever thought. The test of true faith is how much more it lets you see, and how much it stops you from denying, resisting, or ignoring aspects of what is real" (3).

Rowan's brilliant -- but, barely introduces what we might be called 'Christianity'

B.H. · 25 June 2025

For what Rowan sets out to do with this book, it's terrific. But while there's a wonderful openness to a sense of awe, and curiosity, and solidarity, and the Divine, etc., I can't imagine anyone reading this book and then leaving with much of a sense of what Christianity *is*. That's perfectly fine, and I'm writing as a fan of the author's. It's a 30,000-foot introduction to a sense of spirituality, perhaps, with only a handful of specifics related to Christ(ianity). It's terrific for what it is, but it's here to provide openness and intrigue (both wonderful and vital), but rather little when it comes to looking to learn about or understand the Christian faith.The entire book is on Spotify (punctuated throughout with short interview reflections following each short chapter), and it's well worth the time. I will give my copy to someone, and I could see purchasing additional copies in the future. But, it's important to understand what this book sets out to do, and what it leaves others to do instead. I was hoping for the Welshman's version of, say, Keith Ward's "Christianity: A Guide for the Perplexed" or perhaps Tom Wright's "Simply Christian" (a book which might be used for a college survey course). I see Rowan's book here as the warmest of dinner invitations, perhaps with a faint whiff of something lightly roasting from quite a long way off -- but, he leaves it to others to give serve the actual meal.