A Difficult Relationship with Christianity (#266)

You Have Permission

Today’s episode is a thoughtful conversation with my friend Josh Patterson of the (Re)Thinking Faith Podcast about his evolving relationship with Christianity. No longer a pastor, he sometimes struggles to articulate theological concepts that once came easily. Practices that used to nourish his soul now give him pause, and he wonders if his reduced engagement with Christian community and spiritual disciplines has contributed to this sense of distance.

Despite this, Josh still experiences spontaneous moments of prayer, gratitude, and spiritual connection. He values embodied spiritual experiences over mere intellectual agreement with doctrines. The theological issues that once consumed him, such as Hell and atonement theories, have been overshadowed by more fundamental metaphysical and philosophical questions. He resonates with poetic and metaphorical approaches to theology (AKA “theopoetics”) that allow religious language to gesture toward profound truths and experiences without collapsing into rigid literalism.

Watch this Episode on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/BuySOBvUOhY

Josh's Podcast "Rethinking Faith":

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rethinking-faith/id1438696524

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Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia.com -- he is accepting more work!)

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