GOD: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher - The Podcast

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What shapes a person's spiritual story? Can childhood experiences, faith, and the practice of preaching become the foundation for a lifetime of spiritual transformation? In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , philosopher Jerry L. Martin welcomes theologian and Episcopal priest John Thatamanil for a deeply personal conversation about the experienc...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What if the goal of spiritual life is not to merge with God? What if sin is not a debt to be paid, but a condition to be healed? And what if suffering is not an accident of existence, but part of what makes love, freedom, and relationship possible? In this episode of Radically Personal, Jerry Martin explores some of the most surprising insights from his dialogues with...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! How do we know when something is merely a coincidence—and when it may be something more? In this episode of Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue, Jerry Martin and Abigail Rosenthal explore spiritual discernment, divine guidance, and the challenge of recognizing meaning in ordinary life. From Sherlock Holmes and the art of observation to unexpected events that see...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What if God is speaking, but not in the way you expected? In this episode, Jerry L. Martin reflects on how God may guide us through everyday life, through prayer, intuition, conscience, spiritual experience, and through other people . When Jerry first heard God ask him to “tell My story,” he was surprised by the idea that God could have a story at all. But as he was l...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What is the spiritual meaning of suffering, and why is suffering such a real part of human life?  In this What’s On Our Mind conversation, Jerry L. Martin and Scott Langdon explore suffering, grief, compassion, spiritual growth, and the ways reality discloses itself personally to each of us. Drawing from God: An Autobiography, Radically Personal, Christianity, Buddhis...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In this deeply personal installment of What’s Your Spiritual Story , Jerry L. Martin speaks with Dr. Stephen Spector, professor of English, scholar of religion and literature, and author, for a profound conversation about spiritual experience, suffering, miracles, the Bible, and the changing nature of God. Spector recounts the moment that transformed his life forever....

Questions? Comments? Text Us! Jerry L. Martin explores the idea that humanity may be entering a New Axial Age: a new era of spiritual transformation shaped by globalization, interreligious encounter, and expanding spiritual consciousness. Drawing from philosopher Karl Jaspers, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Robert Bellah, and Theology Without Walls, he reflects on whether the world’s religions represent...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What happens when suffering enters a new season of life? How do we face aging, grief, limitation, and uncertainty without surrendering our sense of purpose? In the latest Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue, the married philosophers return for another stimulating dialogue exploring suffering, aging, calling, and the search for meaning.  Beginning with the Sereni...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In Episode 283 of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , Jerry L. Martin reflects on a striking idea given in prayer: “Suffering is the law of growth in the universe.” Through personal experience and philosophical insight, he explores what this means in everyday life in this From God to Jerry to You. Drawing on Stoic Philosophy and the Serenity Prayer, this episode asks...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In Episode 282, Jerry L. Martin and Scott Langdon explore moral ambiguity and how we make decisions when the right answer isn’t clear.  What replaces fixed rules in a complex world? The conversation also turns to at-homeness, whether it’s something we seek or something we already are, connecting action, faith, and calling.  Listen to the full episode and explore the q...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What does it mean to be spiritual but not religious, and can that way of life be taken seriously, both intellectually and spiritually? In this episode, Hans le Grand shares his journey from physicist to theologian, and the question that shaped his work: what do religious seekers actually have in common?  Drawing on his book Life Seeking Understanding , Hans explores t...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What if the most important decisions in your life don’t feel like choices at all? In this episode of Radically Personal , Jerry L. Martin explores calling not as something we choose, but something we recognize—something that can feel required—even when it is unclear or difficult. Beginning with an epistemology of trust, he challenges the idea that knowledge starts wit...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What if doing the “right thing” isn’t always right? In this episode of Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue , a deceptively simple question opens into one of the most difficult problems in moral philosophy: moral ambiguity .  Can we ever act with complete moral certainty, or is every meaningful choice marked by tension, compromise, and consequence? Drawing from G...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What do you do when doing the right thing still carries a cost? In this From God to Jerry to You episode, Jerry explores moral ambiguity through real situations where decisions cannot be separated from their consequences. Opening with the reality of war and targeted killing, Jerry reflects on the removal of a dangerous leader and the question it raises: can an action...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! Scott Langdon and Dr. Jerry L. Martin explore what it means to trust your spiritual senses and practice discernment in everyday life. How do we recognize genuine spiritual guidance—and how do we test it? Drawing on God: An Autobiography and Radically Personal , this conversation examines intuition, experience, and reflection in navigating calling, purpose, and trust....

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , Jerry L. Martin speaks with philosopher and world religions scholar Jonathan Weidenbaum in the series “What’s Your Spiritual Story.” Jonathan shares how his early fascination with Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and Eastern philosophy led to a lifelong exploration of world religions. Through study, travel, and teaching,...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What if spiritual experiences are real — but deeply personal? In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , philosopher Jerry L. Martin explores one of the most difficult questions in religion: how do we discern whether a spiritual experience is genuine? Drawing on William James and the long philosophical tradition of spiritual discernment, Jerry examines wh...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! How do you know when an inner prompting is truly guidance — and when it is illusion?  In this intimate dialogue, Jerry L. Martin and Abigail L. Rosenthal explore the challenge of spiritual discernment: learning to trust your spiritual senses without abandoning realism, reason, or common sense.  What does it mean to follow an inner call responsibly? How do you test int...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! The newest From God to Jerry to You is a reflection on divine guidance, spiritual discernment, and the discovery of your calling. Jerry L. Martin shares prayer encounters from the podcast's early days and from more recent experiences.  These moments reveal what it means to trust your spiritual senses, and how to recognize when guidance may be coming from beyond y...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In Episode 272 of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , Jerry Martin and Scott Langdon ask a deceptively simple question: What is experience? Is it just a stream of sensations passing through us — or is it the unfolding of meaning across a lifetime? When we look back at our lives, do we merely remember events, or do we discover layers of significance we couldn’t see be...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In Episode 271 of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , host Scott Langdon shares his personal spiritual journey — from Lutheran liturgy and evangelical certainty to faith deconstruction, mental health challenges, and a renewed understanding of God as love. Raised in the church and later immersed in evangelical Christianity, Scott’s faith was shaped by music, scripture...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! What do we mean when we speak of human experience? In this fourth installment of the Radically Personal series, Jerry Martin takes up that question and follows it carefully. Modern philosophy and science often frame experience in terms of sensations, data, or brain activity. Yet the way we actually live and perceive suggests something more expansive. Drawing on Willia...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! Can multiple religions be true at the same time? Married philosophers, Jerry L. Martin and Abigail L. Rosenthal, explore one of the most challenging questions about God and ultimate reality. They reflect on the idea that different cultures are given different spiritual tasks. The Hebrew focus on history and covenant stands alongside India’s inward contemplative tradit...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! Can God speak through more than one religion? In this episode of From God to Jerry to You , philosopher Jerry L. Martin explores a central insight from God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher : that divine wisdom may be working through many religious traditions across history, not just one. Drawing from his recorded conversations with God, Jerry reflects on th...

Questions? Comments? Text Us! In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast , Jerry L. Martin and Scott Langdon reflect on what it means to live in partnership with God in a world where evil persists and meaning is still unfolding. Drawing on biblical scholar John D. Levinson, they explore order and chaos, the idea of a developing God, and how discernment shows up in lived experience. Refe...