An Atheist's Conversion

06/13/19 • 50 min

The podcast of the Sacred Inclusion Network

When he was young, Jess Lederman was an atheist and thought people who believed in God were fools. But one day, his wife heard a radio interview with Francis Collins, the eminent geneticist and devout Christian who like the Ledermans spent the earlier part of his life as a nonbeliever.

Lederman in some respects followed the same path that Collins walked by reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. He delved deeper by reading and the works of George MacDonald, the 19th century Scottish author, who was one of Lewis' mentors. MacDonald's writings had the same effect on Lederman as they had on Lewis. They formed the groundwork for his conversion to Christianity.

In this podcast, Lederman traces his religious journey and the factors that led him to write his new book, Hearts Set Free. The characters in the book wrestle with many of the issues that he's wrestled with: the reconciliation of science and religion, the journey from doubt to faith, and the practical implications of living life as Christians.

Links:

Jess Lederman's site
The works of George MacDonald
Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
Provoked by this episode? Record a response!
Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!

Links:

Jess Lederman's site
The works of George MacDonald
Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
Provoked by this episode? Record a response!
Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!

Previous Episode

Religion in an Increasingly Secular World

What does society lose when religion no longer is a safe topic for discussion in public spaces? How has the role of religion changed in parts of the world that are increasingly secular? What are the unexpected consequences of laws designed to prevent discrimination based on religious preferences?

These questions are explored by Coreene Archer and Mark Argent, two UK-based organizational development consultants with deep roots in faith traditions. Although they both understand why governments feel compelled to pass religious nondiscriminatory laws, they believe such laws have unexpected consequences.

"Faith for me and lots of people is a core value," says Archer, Principal Leadership Coach and Organisational Development Consultant at the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations. "To have to have a work face and a private face is a bit of a shame. It damages all of us if we're hidden and can't speak to who and what we are."

"Carl Jung came up with the very useful idea that progress in the West has come about at the expense of our ability to feel," says Argent, a spiritual director, organization development consultant, and Elder in the UK's United Reformed Church. "If you compare the West with bits of the world that are often described as underdeveloped, you see something very rich going on (in these less developed countries) that we've sort of lost sight of. There's a price we're paying for our technological progress."

In this podcast, Archer and Argent talk about their faith traditions, challenges of working both in secular and faith organizations, and their sense as how religion plays out in the public sphere.

Links:

Mark Argent's site
Coreene Archer at the Tavistock Institute
"Religion: Hard to Talk About" event
Diversity and Spirituality Network's site
Provoked by this episode? Record a response!
Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!

Next Episode

Healer, playwright and activist

Peruvian Miguel Angel Pimentel is a theater director, a playwright and human writes activist, who is also a traditional Andean healer, or “paco.” In this podcast, he shares the thread that unites these pursuits, explains how he views play and creativity as part of his spiritual path and expands on the importance of theater as a means of creating community. Pimentel's current project is the creation of a forum to bring these threads together in his native city of Cuzco, Peru. The community forum he envisions will include both indigenous and non-indigenous people.

Links: