A Search for Faith in a Violent Religious World
All over the globe today, regions are ravaged by chaos and violence often incited by religious convictions, leaving millions to suffer in the aftermath. In Revelation, author Dennis Covington treks across the world in search of the reason people have been able to survive: faith. The smallest appearances of faith in each other and the world, he argues, make even the darkest atrocities bearable. Based on years of research and fieldwork to areas like Syria, Mexico, and the American South, Covington pens a powerful narrative uncovering the evils of humanity and the glimpses of hope that save the souls left behind.
In a recent interview with The Clarion-Ledger, Dennis Covington states:
“I was looking for faith as it’s defined in Hebrews 11:1 as ‘the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ I wasn’t looking for people who believed one thing or another. I was looking for a ‘substance.’ So the phrase ‘people of powerful faith’ doesn’t mean much to me, or at least I don’t understand what it means. I found ‘the substance of things hoped for’ in a number of places, as food, medical care, shelter and self-sacrifice. But as often as not, these actions had begun, and were being sustained, by people who professed to be non-believers. And many of them, believers and non-believers alike, lost their lives.”
For more information on the book, click here. Find an excerpt provided by the publisher here. To read Covington’s full interview with The Clarion-Ledger, click here.
Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.