EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Sept. 28, 2009 — If Jesus Christ were to return today, would he recognize the contemporary Christian Church? This is the question that provides the impetus for Philip Voerding's voracious research in his new book, "The Trouble with Christianity: A Concise Outline of Christian History: From the Traditional Western Birth of Christ (PBUH) to Contemporary American Evangelical Fundamentalism" (published by AuthorHouse), in which he expertly weaves together his personal journey as a Christian convert to Twelver Shia Muslim and the totality of Christian history up to the 21st century which led him to make this life-changing decision.
"There is a tradition that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said: Seek knowledge, even if you have to crawl to China," Voerding writes of his inspiration and justification for "The Trouble with Christianity." Thought-provoking, meditative and easy-to-understand despite its large scope, "The Trouble with Christianity" probes beyond the bare facts of Christian history and examines the interconnectedness of world religions, the origins of Christian beliefs, traditions and the disunity of the contemporary Church.
Beginning with a description of Judaism in Palestine at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, Voerding quickly launches into a discussion of the early sects of Christianity, the development of the doctrine dictating the nature of Godhead in the Catholic Church and a theological comparison nature of some of the prominent figures of the Bible and those of the Quran. Voerding continues this survey with the theological differences between western and eastern Catholicism, the Scholastic Period, dissenting Christian movements in the west and the Protestant Reformation, the First and Second Great Awakenings, new religious movements in America and Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries, Neo-Orthodoxy, Evangelical Fundamentalism and the development of the Vatican II.
Thoughtful and provocative, "The Trouble with Christianity" provides keen insights into the complex history of Christianity and the differences between the earliest forms of Christianity and the modern Church, told from the perspective of a converted Muslim, so that Christian and Muslim readers alike may have a better understanding of the many developments and "brands" of the Christian Church and its doctrines.
Philip Voerding was born in Great Lakes, Ill. He received his degree in computer programming from St. Paul Technical College and has worked as a security guard, IBM mainframe computer operator and quality assurance analyst. "The Trouble with Christianity" is his first book.
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