Francis Spufford's Unapologetic is a wonderfully pugnacious defense of Christianity. Refuting critics such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the "new atheist" crowd, Spufford, a former atheist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, argues that Christianity is recognizable, drawing on the deep and deeply ordinary vocabulary of human feeling, satisfying those who believe in it by offering a ruthlessly realistic account of the grown-up dignity of Christian experience.
Fans of C. S. Lewis, N. T. Wright, Marilynne Robinson, Mary Karr, Diana Butler Bass, Rob Bell, and James Martin will appreciate Spufford's crisp, lively, and abashedly defiant thesis.
Unapologetic is a book for believers who are fed up with being patronized, for non-believers curious about how faith can possibly work in the twenty-first century, and for anyone who feels there is something indefinably wrong, literalistic, anti-imaginative and intolerant about the way the atheist case is now being made.
Chapters
1. The Crack in Everything: Introduces the book’s central idea: Christianity as an emotional, not merely intellectual, framework for understanding human brokenness.
2. Yeshua: A vivid, historically grounded portrait of Jesus, focusing on his emotional impact rather than doctrinal claims.
3. The Human Propensity to F* Things Up (HPtFtU)**: Spufford’s famous reframing of “sin” as a universal human tendency toward self‑sabotage.
4. Something is Missing: Explores the longing, absence, and emotional hunger that often precede faith.
5. Hello, Cruel World: A meditation on suffering, tragedy, and the emotional realism of Christian hope.
6. The Territory of Joy: Discusses grace, forgiveness, and the surprising emotional richness of Christian experience.
7. Big Daddy: A chapter on God the Father—addressing stereotypes, misunderstandings, and the emotional logic of belief.
8. The Church: A candid, humorous, and affectionate look at the flawed but enduring Christian community.
9. The Story: A sweeping retelling of the Christian narrative as an emotionally coherent whole.
10. The End of the Book: A concluding reflection on why Christianity still “makes emotional sense” despite modern skepticism.
