Back Into the Fold

“I had drifted away a little bit. This book has brought me back into the fold. I was so incredibly struck in writing these stories by the incredible power faith had in people’s lives, it has made a profound impact on me in my belief. That’s been the completely unexpected effect of writing this book. I am in the process of rediscovering my own faith again.” So explains the New Yorker writer  Malcolm Gladwell , describing the effect of writing his new book David and Goliath .

He is not, he explains to our friend Sarah Pulliam Bailey, a member of a church, though he’s drawn back to the Mennonite tradition in which was raised. And though he now calls himself a Christian, his understanding of Christ isn’t (yet) all one would wish. But when asked if he’d had a conversion experience, he responded:

I realized what I had missed. It wasn’t an “I woke up one morning” kind of thing. It was a slow realization something incredibly powerful and beautiful in the faith that I grew up with that I was missing. Here I was writing about people of extraordinary circumstances and it slowly dawned on me that I can have that too.

 It’s a cheering story , and a testimony to the effect of godly lives upon others.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Battle of Minneapolis

Pavlos Papadopoulos

The Battle of Minneapolis is the latest flashpoint in our ongoing regime-level political conflict. It pits not…

Of Roots and Adventures

Peter J. Leithart

I have lived in Ohio, Michigan, Georgia (twice), Pennsylvania, Alabama (also twice), England, and Idaho. I left…

Our Most Popular Articles of 2025

The Editors

It’s been a big year for First Things. Our website was completely redesigned, and stories like the…