A Difficult Relationship with Christianity (#266)

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

___________________________________________

Get Tickets for Theology Beer Camp 2024

Use Code ReturnofYHP for $50 off your ticket!

___________________________________________

Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/

Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch

Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/

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

Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch

Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com

YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98

Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html

Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/

Artwork by sprungle.co/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices