Book excerpt: "Fascinating, elegant . . . [Easterbrook] invests the timeless question of life's meaning with distinctly contemporary pertinence."--George Will, Newsweek Yes, says Gregg Easterbrook in this provocative and probing new book. In the tradition of Jack Miles's God A Biography and the work of Karen Armstrong, Beside Still Waters ponders the question "Is there anything left to believe in?" Gregg Easterbrook persuasively argues that rationality and outright doubt are inevitable and indeed vital elements of spiritual faith. Other new and important ideas about spiritual thought include the challenging observation that the Bible never actually proclaims God omnipotent -- a concept, Easterbrook suggests, that arose through the sociology and politics of religion, nor Scripture. Bucking the current trend to undermine the Bible's historical value, he affirms that it is neither simple myth nor mere literature, but rather it records many genuine events that can be seen to chart a spiritual journey not only of man but also of God. A thought-provoking book for anyone who believes that true faith can and should accommodate sincere doubt, Beside Still Waters addresses some of the central spiritual issues of a profoundly skeptical age.