The Importance of Curiosity (#183)

Religion on the Mind

Religion & Spirituality, Religion, Spirituality

4.7 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In an episode topic that should surprise no listeners of this show (ha!), Lore Ferguson Wilbert joins me today to discuss her book "A Curious Faith: The Questions God Asks, We Ask, and We Wish Someone Would Ask Us." Lore (pronounced “Lori”) aims to champion curiosity, especially in faith settings where doubt and asking questions aren't often encouraged or even allowed. She says, “Curiosity is kindness because it leads to healing". We cover some mechanisms that inhibit curiosity, like cultural taboos, technology, fear of the unknown, and partisanship. Lore’s Website: lorewilbert.com “A Curious Faith” Book: https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Faith-Questions-Someone-Would/dp/1587435691/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQjwk7ugBhDIARIsAGuvgPb7dL_cCO8JxkMAIU4xl6iCOT-H8I0yCBrUmUWNgTqNfiP1JJ4lr_EaAgNmEALw_wcB&hvadid=241626459542&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9019667&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15548315582689857757&hvtargid=kwd-201740026612&hydadcr=22532_10353775&keywords=curious+faith&qid=1678723641&sr=8-1 “My Grandmother's Hand” Book by Resmaa Menakem: https://www.amazon.com/My-Grandmothers-Hands-Racialized-Pathway/dp/B08SFP773T/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQjwk7ugBhDIARIsAGuvgPZSNJZdNgegub-QmDMXcLJC3vrtUzZ0Q1ygDrwPv4jrk4qfyKwpNEsaAl6rEALw_wcB&hvadid=321911793981&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9019667&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15550108997234900723&hvtargid=kwd-605848025420&hydadcr=22561_10346245&keywords=my+grandmother%27s+hand&qid=1678723580&sr=8-1 Northwind Seminary: www.northwindseminary.org/center-for-open-relational-theology ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	My name is Dan Koch. Like many of you, I've been on a complicated faith journey for a number of years now.
0:10.8	And while I tend to find myself on the progressive side of Christianity, my goal is not to make liberal converts.
0:18.0	I want this show to be a resource for Christians to my right and to my left, as well as
0:23.0	former Christians and non-religious folks, anyone who finds themselves asking difficult questions
0:29.2	about God, science, prayer, fate, suffering, evangelism, and more. So many of us have been given bad answers to those good questions, often by people with
0:42.6	pure intentions.
0:44.1	I want to say that you have permission to take both Christianity and the modern world very
0:50.5	seriously.
0:51.7	And I hope to facilitate that by introducing you to people seeking God across
0:56.5	the Christian spectrum, engaging hard questions in a multitude of ways. Thanks for listening.
1:06.6	Lori Ferguson, Wilbert, thank you so much for joining us today.
1:10.2	Thanks for having me today.
1:11.9	You asked me before we got on why I wanted to have you on the show with your book, A Curious Faith, and I just played you the intro of the podcast rather than trying to answer it.
1:24.4	I just said, listen to this. This is what everybody hears at the beginning of an episode. And the sort of alignment with the mission statement of you have permission
1:32.6	and the mission statement of your book is kind of unmistakable. I think specifically about
1:38.3	everybody who's asked these questions and then sometimes we're given bad answers to those
1:43.2	questions. One thing that I think your book also adds to that discussion sometimes we're given bad answers to those questions. One thing that I think
1:45.1	your book also adds to that discussion is we're actually encouraged not to ask them. So even before
1:51.4	we can get bad answers, we might not even be allowed to ask those questions. And I think,
1:57.7	you know, correct me if I'm wrong, but sort of the central argument you're making with the book is curiosity is good.
2:03.7	Curiosity can even be godly and can facilitate faith. Am I getting that right?
2:09.8	You are. Yeah. I say in the book that the Bible is a permission slip to ask questions. I think too often we think of the Bible as this sort of list of
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