Finding Christ in the Shadows: Doubt, Deconstruction, and Faithful Allegiance - w/ Austin Fischer

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2018

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How can we embrace faith when certainty feels impossible? Pastor and author Austin Fisher joins Mike Erre for a vulnerable, wisdom-packed conversation about navigating doubt, deconstruction, and rediscovering the beauty of Jesus. Drawing from his book "Faith in the Shadows: Finding Christ in the Midst of Doubt," Austin shares his personal journey of nearly walking away from faith, how the church often mishandles doubt, and why cultivating allegiance to Jesus matters more than achieving airtight certainty.

This episode challenges intellectualized faith, critiques superficial apologetics, and redefines what it means to doubt faithfully—making space for honest questions, messy wrestling, and recommitment to the transformative way of Jesus.

Key Takeaways:
• Doubt as Faithful Engagement – Doubt isn’t the enemy of faith but an inevitable human response to mystery. How we doubt matters more than whether we do.
• Reframing Faith as Allegiance – Faith isn't about intellectual certainty; it’s about relational allegiance that leads to love and discipleship, even through struggle.
• Scripture Beyond Inerrancy – Why inflexible views on biblical inerrancy often lead to unnecessary faith crises—and how to trust the Bible without treating it like a flawless instruction manual.
• Deconstruction Isn’t Destruction – Honest exploration of the Christian subculture's flaws can actually draw us closer to Jesus if we don’t confuse institutional failures with Christ himself.
• Desire and Belief – People don't just think their way into or out of faith; they often desire their way there. Beauty and goodness can be more persuasive than arguments.

Guest Highlight:
Austin Fisher – Lead pastor and author of "Faith in the Shadows," Austin vulnerably shares how he struggled through near-deconversion while pastoring. He offers a deeply pastoral and theological lens for wrestling with big questions on God, doubt, church hurt, and the role of Scripture in a post-certainty world.

Resources Mentioned:
• Faith in the Shadows by Austin Fisher – [Link]
• James K.A. Smith – Philosophical insights on desire and decision making
• The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt – [Link]
• Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew Bates – [Link]
• The Crucifixion by Fleming Rutledge – [Link]
• Unbelievable Podcast by Justin Brierley – [Link]

Join the Voxology community as we continue to examine what it means to follow Jesus in an age of questions, contradictions, and complexity. Subscribe to the podcast, leave us a review, and let's keep talking.

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

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Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

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The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody, Mike here. Welcome to the Vox podcast. I am privileged to be joined from the great
0:28.2	state of Texas from my new friend Austin Fisher. Austin, hello. How are you? I'm doing very well,
0:36.3	man. Thanks so much for having me on the podcast.
0:38.7	Absolutely.
0:39.4	Now, how did we get connected?
0:41.2	Was it through the Young, Restless, and No Longer Reform Book?
0:44.7	Is that what happened?
0:45.9	Yeah, I think I was cheering you on.
0:47.5	We connected on Twitter, yeah, through that first book.
0:50.1	And so I've been a fan from a distance for a while, and so I'm grateful to finally get some screen to screen.
0:58.4	And you see now why I don't video podcast.
1:01.0	Now you can see.
1:01.9	Come on.
1:03.0	Okay, Austin.
1:03.9	Well, thank you.
1:04.9	I have very much enjoyed your work.
1:07.4	And this book, I want to talk about a new book you have out called
1:13.1	Faith in the Shadows, Finding Christ in the midst of Doubt, which for our audience is a very
1:19.0	timely, relevant, big topic, as many of us are undergoing something that has been called
1:24.9	re or deconstruction, which is, hey, you know, the Christianity
1:29.2	we were handed either isn't right or doesn't fit the world that we're seeing around us.
1:36.3	And so, anyway, I thought your book was fantastic.
	...

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