Being radically honest with God
Review of "I've Got Questions" by Erin Hicks Moon.
I’ve Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having It Out with God
By Erin Hicks Moon
Baker Books, 2025
As I opened the book I’ve Got Questions by Erin Hicks Moon, I was hesitant about what I would find. Having it out with God comes with some fear and trepidation, not just because of who God is, but because of the culture we live in. However, within the first ten pages, it was as if I had found a new friend. The word that came to mind was “genuine.” As if Moon knew me and truly wanted the best for me, without ever having met me. It was like taking a break from the “real world” and entering into a safe space where questions were allowed, even welcomed.
Conversational and honest
Moon’s writing style is inviting, honest, academic and thought-provoking. She invites you into her thoughts while also encouraging your own, maybe vastly different, thoughts. She is true to who she is while welcoming you to be true to who you are. Some may find the constant parenthetical remarks and footnotes of her side notes interruptive. However, for me they add to the genuine nature of the book. It’s as if you’re in conversation with Moon herself, walking through some of the loneliest questions that come up, and she can’t help but give you the honest, hard and comforting truths.
A similar aspect of the book is the ongoing interjections of “Religion Cop.” Religion Cop is the voice we hear in our head when we start to question some of the things we’ve been told. While some readers may find this distracting, I enjoyed this feature. I’m sure we can all imagine the face, the voice and the words of somebody who has tried to shame us for asking questions or believing something different. By naming “Religion Cop” in her book, Moon acknowledges the constant back talk you can hear as you walk through a journey of questioning and rebuilding. The voice that tries to get you back in line, or “shame [you] back into the former wineskins.” Yet, following each interjection by the “Religion Cop,” Moon is there cheering you on and making space for the questions and pushing back on the voice, while also acknowledging where it’s coming from.
A guided journal journey
I’ve Got Questions Guided Journal: Prompts and Practices for Rewilding Your Faith
Erin Hicks Moon
Baker Books, 2025.
Along with the book, Moon recently published a guided journal that matches the journey of her book. The journal is a no rush, no expectations, completely-up-to-you format that allows the reader to determine how to have it out with God. Similar to the book, Moon asks that you be honest, not only in the work you do, but with the pace you can handle. If it’s too fast, too much or too hard, she urges you to slow it down. Care for yourself. Find support. In both the book and the guided journal, the genuine care Moon takes for her reader shows a deep desire for the reader to rebuild their relationship with God. She walks through this journey in the hopes that you rebuild in a way that works for you. Somehow, she writes in a way that is so deeply personal, while also acknowledging that everybody’s journey is vastly different, and that’s okay.
The goal isn’t to have a perfectly tended faith at the end, after burning it all down. The goal is to be free in how you grow your faith. Maybe your faith and relationship with God look the same at the end as they did in the beginning, or maybe everything you thought you believed is gone and your faith looks radically different. No matter where the journey takes you, Moon reminds you that not once do you walk that journey alone. That in every question, angry remark and doubt, Jesus loved, and continues to love, you.
