Sacred Conversations
Some years back a key person in our faith community revealed he was struggling with his own faith in God and that he found himself leaning toward the conclusion of atheism or agnosticism. It was a frightful conversation for two friends and neither had any idea what to do next, except love each other and remain deeply connected relationally.
In the years that followed, the two embarked on a beautiful and imperfect journey of discovery and invited the rest the church in along the way. A number of things happened, one of those being Sacred Conversations: monthly gathering of friends who meet up to discuss doubt, disbelief, and the mysteries of God. It’s never a debate, nor an apologetic. It IS sacred space held together with generosity and curiosity, believing that if God is real and at work in the world, he will be present as we talk.
We still gather monthly for these discussions and we invite you to check those out over on our events page, but we’ve also put together a small and growing catalog of reading and podcasts that have been helpful to many in their journey of trying to find their way back to God or simply discern how to live with doubt and disbelief. We hope you find these helpful.
Doubt as a Doorway
A chapter from Brian McLaren’s book Faith After Doubt.
Faith, Beliefs, and Revolutionary Love
A chapter from Brian McLaren’s book Faith After Doubt.
Worship and Doubt – Can They Co-Exist?
An article by Ray Hollenbach.
Can I Continue to Attend Worship if I’m Doubting God?
An article by Mark Ryan.
The Christmas When I Almost Lost My Faith
An article by Derek Demars.
An atheist at Christmas: Oh come all ye faithless
An article by Alain De Botton.
Holy Week for Doubters
A blog post by Rachel Held Evans.
C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell
An article by Stephen Eyre.
Evil is still a four letter word: The new problem of evil
A chapter from NT Wright’s book Evil and the Justice of God, dealing with the problem of evil as a help to understanding God’s justice.
Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith
A TIME magazine article on how Mother Teresa continued in her faith amidst ongoing, and never-ending doubts about God.
What Hearing God is Not
A session from Dallas Willard’s series “Hearing God” taught at the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. In this session, Dallas makes important distinctions about what hearing God is not about and explains how God relates to us.