Mike McHargue, aka Science Mike, is the cofounder of The Liturgists podcast and host of the podcast Ask Science Mike. In this episode he shares the story of his own faith journey, which involves leaving the church and eventually finding his way back after a mystical experience. Since then, he has made an effort through his podcast and writing to help others going through faith transitions.
In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss the trends of faith transitions in the United States and how science can be both fallible and trustworthy at the same time. Near the end of the episode Mike shares a powerful personal story of how he has found a personal God in a world of scientific explanations.
Very meaningful episode, well worth listening to. Jim does a great job of bringing thoughtful and insightful questions to the discussion. Mikeās thoughts on mysticism were particularly helpful to me, as that is an area I have difficulty with understanding and accepting.
Iām really enjoying this - but only about 40 minutes in so far ā¦
It appears that about 39 - 40 minutes in, ābackgroundā music cues up as if the discussion is about to fade out, but then endures to overwhelm some interesting content!
But anyway - despite that little quirk - thank you for this interview, Jim and Mike! I canāt wait to finish listening to it.
Thanks for the feedback! We tried something new with the music this time, but getting mixing just right can sometimes be tough! We will keep an ear out for it next time.
This episode actually made me cry. Science Mike literally does Godās work-who knew a podcast can actually save people? I probably needed to hear things like this so thank you and BTW music in this episode was greatš I didnāt even mind it being over 1h although I listened in 2 instalments
This is worth listening to multiple times (and my 2nd time through, the music was perfect - either you all fixed something, or else the particular PC I listened on last time may have had different settings somehow).
One notable observation that caught my attention for discussion (about 27 minutes in) ā¦ paraphrased: āI wonāt say the church shouldnāt care where you end up theologically ā¦ but I will say the reason Iām in a church is because a Methodist church told me they didnāt care where I ended up theologicallyā¦ā
āā¦inviting people into a āwe donāt care what you believeā community actually influences what you believeā¦ā
Starting at about 35:10, Mike speaks of how he now reads the Bible in contrast to how he used to read it - which really resonated with my own experience too.
He observed that he used to be on a quest - seeing the Bible as a memo dictated by God to a bunch of āreceptionistsā. Now he still sees the Bible as about God and inspired but now he is fascinated by ā¦ āwatching the authors of the text wrestle with their own understanding of God in the same way that I do. No longer does it call me to stumble or be confused - now it is the greatest source of solidarity and peace ā¦ it is the primary way I find myself in Godās presence again.ā
Thanks for all the kind comments and gentle critique! Iām hoping this episode gets shared widely and might draw some new people into the BioLogos orbit. There are so many who have given up on the church, and it is important to hear that even someone like Science Mike ā who has the reputation of being a critic of the church ā finds enormous importance in the church for his own spiritual life and for the well-being of others. Even though his work is not conducted from within the traditional church, he admits that we lose a lot when our spiritual lives attempt to take place outside of the institution.
Jim, I have really enjoyed the podcast and I think this might be one of the better episodes! Mike is such a tender-hearted soul and it really came through in this discussion. These types of conversations can be really life-giving to those with similar journeys. That was certainly the case for me.