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