John Inman's Journey In Cold Mountain

On the surface, Cold Mountain is the tale of a man trying to find his way home. However, once looked at in more detail, it is seen as a story of a man looking for faith. From the very first step, Inman’s journey is one of faith, a faith that he has lost in the Civil War and is on the road to recovering. We know little of Inman's life prior to his journey, but what we do learn tells us that he was at one point a Christian. In his youth he had been taught, and he believed in, the basics of the Christian faith. Specifically, he believed in heaven, the immortality of soul, and that we are all children of God. Cold Mountain is the story of a man who has undergone a traumatic experience, the likes of which has stolen away from him all optimism and hope for a better tomorrow.
The horrors of what he has experienced in the war have "burned away" (page 36) his Christian faith. He no longer believes in the easy answers to the problems of life given by Christians. His faith is further questioned when he meets Veasey, the preacher who has impregnated his lover and who attempts to murder her in order to cover it up. Even after Veasey is discovered and thrown out of town, claiming to be a changed man through God, his life does not show evidence of this. He goes on to rob a store and sleep with a prostitute. Upon these activities, Inman states that many preachers are just like Veasey. They claim to be able to save the worst of sinners, and yet can’t save themselves. This hypocritical lifestyle was a major contributing factor to Inman losing his