Show notes
Join Zach and Zoe for an incredibly powerful and deeply moving conversation with Graham Tomlin, theologian, author, and former Bishop, as he shares his journey from teenage atheism and reading Nietzsche in rebellion against his Christian upbringing, to rediscovering faith through the witness of Christian friends and the peace they embodied, to becoming a scholar who sees theology not as optional intellectual exercise but as spiritual discipline and a form of prayer that helps us love God with our minds. Together, they explore the profound insights of Blaise Pascal, the 17th century mathematician and theologian who invented the computer, probability theory, and the bus system, and who understood that our hearts are stronger than our heads, that we only believe what we want to believe, and that the key to evangelism is making faith attractive by helping people wish it was true before showing them that it is.
This episode dives deep into why we don't need all the answers to share our faith effectively, how living as if Christianity is true helps us try on faith like a coat to see if it fits, why the problem of suffering doesn't have a neat answer but Christianity offers hope that evil is temporary and will be overcome, how studying theology matures our faith and expands our vision of how big and beautiful God truly is, why all Christians are theologians because we all speak words about God, and how the journey of knowing God is never finished because even in eternity there will always be more to discover about His love, creativity, and character.
BISHOP GRAHAM TOMLIN ON FAITH, DOUBT, AND WHY THEOLOGY MATTERS
FROM ATHEIST TO BISHOP | GRAHAM TOMLIN'S REMARKABLE FAITH JOURNEY
MAKING CHRISTIANITY ATTRACTIVE | CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM TOMLIN
00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:35 Growing Up Christian: Graham's Early Faith Journey
02:30 Teenage Rebellion: Reading Nietzsche and Becoming an Atheist
03:34 The Journey Back to Faith: Drawn by Christian Community
04:55 Discovering Theology: Making Sense of Faith
06:03 From English Degree to Bishop: Graham's Ministry Path
06:57 Loving God With Your Mind: Theology as Spiritual Discipline
08:38 The Mystery of God: Never Getting to the Bottom of It
11:01 Blaise Pascal: The Genius Who Loved Jesus
13:19 Pascal's Transformation: A Profound Encounter With God
15:17 Hearts Stronger Than Heads: Pascal's Approach to Faith
16:39 Make It Attractive: Helping People Want Faith to Be True
18:02 Recognizing Our Need: The Emptiness Inside
20:11 The Pursuit of Happiness: Why Joy Is So Fleeting
21:09 Living a Jesus-Shaped Life: Pascal's Radical Simplicity
23:04 Do We Need All the Answers? The Role of Apologetics
25:23 We Are All Theologians: Speaking Good Words About God
26:07 Questions in the Classroom: A Bishop Answers Students
27:46 The Problem of Suffering: Questions Without Easy Answers
29:20 Evil Is Not a Thing: Understanding Brokenness
31:44 Hope in the Face of Evil: Why Faith Matters
33:02 Not Winning Arguments: The Goal of Theology
34:16 Try It On: Living as If It's True
35:21 Seen and Unseen: Making Sense of the World Through Faith
36:06 First Steps Into Theology: Practical Advice for Young People
39:43 Building the Habit: Reading Theology Every Day
40:29 Zach's Testimony: How Theology Matured His Faith
42:07 More Questions Than Answers: The Journey of Discovery
42:50 Theology as Prayer: The Eastern Church Perspective
43:31 Closing Reflections and Goodbye
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