Death to Deconstruction

Reclaiming Faithfulness as an Act of Rebellion

By: Joshua S Porter, John Mark Comer - contributor

Narrated by: Joshua S Porter

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

"Another Christian renounces the church and Christ." "Former Christian music star turns her back on faith." "I kissed Christianity goodbye." Headlines like these are becoming common. It seems like the most popular trend in faith circles lately is to deconstruct, then deconvert.

Joshua Porter knows that story from the inside out. He was raised in the tangles of American evangelical Christianity, and the church he knew was conservative, fundamentalist, and politicized. It feared culture, music, art, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, and anything else that was slightly suspect. This foundation of dread and fear was full of holes he nearly fell through . . . and out of faith altogether.

His story put him on the road to deconversion—but that isn't where he ended up. Despite his years of being surrounded by disaffected former Christians and living large in the punk rock lifestyle, Porter now finds his faith closer to the historic Christian tradition than ever.

This book is more than Porter's own story. It also invites those who may be in the deconstruction process themselves to consider the perspective of someone who was tempted to leave his faith—yet stayed. And it provides theological insight and pastoral support to those who worry that everyone is bailing out on the church.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Joshua S Porter (P)2022 Oasis Audio

Good therapy for me

Thanks Joshua for sharing your story.

Much needed discussion of Satan’s working evil in the world along with disobedient humans. What we all need for a proper understanding of God and his loving relationship with us.

A Feast for the Inquiring Mind

Every moment of this book was captivating & thought-provoking. Many of the subtle questions I have had for years about my faith were answered respectfully with great insight, magnificent vocabulary, rich illustrations, and honest personal experiences. I highly recommend this book to anyone questioning matters of faith and reality.

A MUST read for today’s Christian

The ‘Deconstruction’ movement is gaining ground in Christian young adults (age and maturity) across the nation. Josh’s experience and story telling expose the lies and dangers of such a movement. He then builds a Biblical foundation for those of us who have experienced doubts and frustration towards God and His Church to see the consequences of this path, reflection of heart postures, and encouragement to remain faithful. For those who have not been tempted to ‘deconstruct’, this book is beneficial to understand and help walk along side those who are in this process.
Thank you Josh for your courage and faithfulness to share your story. We are all better for it!

Where to go next for those who are deconstructing

Josh’s story resonates so much with me. From the legalism of growing up in southern Christianity, to feeling like an outcast for being the awkward punk kid in church. All of that culminated into what Josh describes in this book.

For anyone who never had the chance to own their faith for themselves and has experienced turmoil because of it, this book tells you not to give in or give up. It challenges you to know the true Jesus. Not the safe Jesus or tolerant Jesus. The Jesus that asks us to pick up our cross everyday and follow Him.

Exceptionally Amazing. Jarringly Beautiful

Wow!

I don't know where to begin.

I've been anxiously awaiting this book since I heard about it months ago now, and somehow it's better than I had imagined or hoped for.

From start to finish it compels you.
There isn't a single page or line wasted on filler content. I haven't felt so connected to an author or their message in a very long time. Everything inside is relative and relatable.

I, myself, had become hurt. I felt abandoned by my family, disconnected from my friends, and my church group had ignored me as I began asking questions they didn't want to listen to. I was lied to, I felt ashamed, and then I grew too proud to seek any help.

I myself have been struggling for a long time about my distance from the church and God. I have wanted to bridge that gap for so long, but felt there wasn't a reliable and true path to do so. I felt like nothing or no one really had any answers for me. Like how could they possibly know. How could I ever know. I would attach Bible verses to my ignorance and explain away that I'm humble enough to realize I'm too dumb to get there.

So like a sloth I crawled slowly, but aimlessly. I imagined I was doing the best I could, but I never really believed that lie. I just didn't feel I could trust what I knew I should've been doing. I didn't have community, or accountability, and I didn't work to find it after I became utterly lost. I just lied to myself and continued to say I'm fine.

This book wants me to accelerate. To earnestly seek, where I was really just stagnant before. Where I was talking about God, but not to Him. This book will challenge you. It will confront you. It will call for discipline. It will demand love. It will help shape you if you let it. It will direct you on where to go when you're uncertain, afraid, angry, or depressed. This book drives me to want to be the avid follower of God I desire to be, and pull myself up and out of the rot that's been growing around me.

I've admired the works of Josh since I first discovered his music back in 2004. Since then I have been a dedicated fan, attendee of shows, collector of his works with each release as a member of Showbread, author of comics and novels, and his various side projects.

I have so much love and respect for him. I have already shared this book with friends and family, bought additional copies, the audiobook, and I will continue to do so for years to come I'm sure.

Thank you Josh for everything!

May Raw Rock kill us all forever & ever. Amen.

Finding my way back

Thank you, Josh for providing deep insight on faith and the Bible. Thank you for being raw and honest. Thank you for explaining some of the basic understandings of the bible that tend to be confusing. Thank you for sharing your experience on how you found your way back.

Feeling lost in the journey of following Jesus? Me too. This helped immensely.

Grateful

Thankful for the daily grind that this book portrays as the inevitable journey every believer will face. The journey of taking up our cross and following Jesus.

Great all around.

Great listen all around, timely subject matter. very well written and read by the author.

It’ll make you bristle

The “your truth is your truth” crowd will get mad. The Uber fundamentalist will get mad. It’s great it’s one of the rare reads that will challenge you, no matter who you are.

"Faithfulness as an act of rebellion"

Laser-focused on the topics we as Millennials (or Xennials) wrestle with in this walk of faith, Josh speaks with honesty and clarity, pulling no punches and stroking no egos. The allegory of "The Apprentice' in this book is a beautifully apt mirror image of Josh's deconstruction story. we thank God for Josh, his family, his work, his talents, and the work that God will do through this book as more of us are invited to partner in the rebellion of faithfulness to Jesus and apprenticeshipto Him. This is The Way. (sorry, Mando)