#62: Losing Your Faith and Finding It Again

This episode’s conversation is especially important if you’ve ever felt like your faith was unraveling—or if you’ve watched someone you care about go through that.

I’m joined by Dr. Peter Schuurman, a sociologist, pastor, and co-author of Blessed Are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada. It’s a book full of real-life stories from people who have struggled with their faith — and it addresses themes well beyond the Canadian context.

Whether you’re deconstructing, reconstructing, or just trying to hang on to your faith—this conversation is for you. 

In this podcast we discuss:

• Why Peter wrote Blessed Are The Undone for this moment
• What surprised him most when interviewing believers who are “deconstructing” their faith
• Why it is so important to know why Christianity is true before going to college
• The role parents, pastors, and Christian communities can have in helping students doubting their faith
• Discerning the difference between healthy doubt and losing one’s faith
• Why “inerrancy” and LGBTQ are often stumbling blocks leading students (and others) to deconstruct their faith
• How to rebuild a sustainable faith after deconstruction
• Advice on finding a healthy church
• The importance of also deconstructing our atheistic, hedonistic culture and universities
• The value of listening to others’ stories of their journey to faith

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Peter Schuurman and Angela Reitsma Bick, Blessed Are The Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada
• Keith Campbell, “Filter-Free Praying When Things Get Tough,” College Faith Podcast #57
• Stan Wallace and J.P. Moreland, “An Introduction to Have We Lost Our Minds?,” Thinking Christianly Podcast #33
• Stan Wallace, Have We Lost Our Minds? Neuroscience, Neurotheology, the Soul, and Human Flourishing
• Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth
• Rick Mattson, “Finding the ‘Middle Way’ in the LGBTQ+ Conversation,” College Faith Podcast #40
• Ross Douthat, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious
• Justin Brierly, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old And Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again
• Larry Sanger, “How a Skeptical Philosopher Becomes a Christian”(see also The Gospel Coalition’s “Wikipedia Founder Embraces Christianity: Larry Sanger’s Testimony Highlights”)
• Joseph A. Scimecca, The Not So Outrageous Idea of a Christian Sociology