This book is addressed to Christian believers who are feeling the ambiguities and challenges of a life of faith. Many of them may be uncertain about the meaning of the faith which they profess. The familiar words that they hear in sermons and prayers seem, at times, to belong to a reality far removed from the actual world they live in. They need to discover a meaning of their faith that they can relate to their own life experience and their general knowledge of the world.

This book is a collection of brief essays written in response to specific questions about the Christian faith's vision of reality. The questions addressed here have arisen out of the experience of ordinary Christians trying to make sense of their faith. Some are asking about particular "Church words." Some are expressing difficulties in believing. Some are probing the paradoxes of Christian existence.

The author responds as a professional theologian and priest, writing in a non-technical way for fellow believers. His purpose is to make the best insights of sound theology available to them, to minister to their faith life.

Although many of the essays are limited in scope, there is a coherent understanding of the Christian faith that underlies all of them. Each essay is simply articulating part of that understanding in response to a specific question.

Tracing the Contours of Faith