"An ironic Christian inhabits a world that is more 'as if' than 'just like,' a world fashioned by a God of surprises. The grace of this God is mysterious, sneaky. Some Christians chalk things up much too easily, too quickly, to the grace of God. I trust God's grace, but hesitate to identify it in particular cases. It often blindsides me, regularly catches me off guard, seldom hits me square in the face. When I know the grace of God, it's nearly always after the fact, usually long afterward. Grace as I have experienced it makes me an ironic Christian.

"This book is a companion the fancy traditional Latin term is vademecum, or 'go with me': a combination of shared wisdom, field guide, spiritual resource, antidote to boredom, helper out of jams, teaser of the imagination, and, ideally, a good read. You don't have to know at the start whether you're an ironic Christian. When you're done, you might still not know. Demand for guarantees far exceeds supply. But even if you're a non-ironic Christian, or not Christian at all, you might enjoy the journey. The root meaning of companion is 'one who eats bread with,' not 'one who agrees with, and the best traveling parties, beginning with Chaucer's motley band on the way to Canterbury, are those with an uncommon mix of guests."