Give and Take

Episode 119: Learning To Speak God From Scratch, with Jonathan Merritt


Listen Later

My guest is Jonathan Merritt. His newest book is Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing--and How We Can Revive Them.

As America rapidly becomes a pluralistic, postmodern society, many of us struggle to talk about faith. We can no longer assume our friends understand words such as grace or gospel. Others, like lost and sin, have become so negative they are nearly conversation-enders.

Jonathan Merritt knows this frustration well. After Jonathan moved from the Bible Belt to New York City, he discovered that whenever conversations turned to spirituality, the words he'd used for decades didn't connect with listeners anymore. In a search for answers and understanding, Jonathan uncovered a spiritual crisis affecting tens of millions.

In this groundbreaking book, one of America's premier religion writers revives ancient expressions through cultural commentary, vulnerable personal narratives, and surprising biblical insights. Both provocative and liberating, Learning to Speak God from Scratch will breathe new life into your spiritual conversations and lure you into the embrace of the God who inhabits them.

Special Guest: Jonathan Merritt.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Give and TakeBy Scott Jones

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

101 ratings


More shows like Give and Take

View all
The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

The Bill Simmons Podcast

30,269 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,479 Listeners

The Gist by Peach Fish Productions

The Gist

3,637 Listeners

Conversations with Tyler by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Conversations with Tyler

2,458 Listeners

New Persuasive Words by Scott Jones & Bill Borror

New Persuasive Words

45 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

113,207 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

7,258 Listeners

The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios

The Journal.

6,099 Listeners

Consider This from NPR by NPR

Consider This from NPR

6,466 Listeners

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp by Tokens Media

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

561 Listeners

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing by The Times of Israel

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

1,083 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,291 Listeners

Trinity Forum Conversations by The Trinity Forum

Trinity Forum Conversations

217 Listeners

Honestly with Bari Weiss by The Free Press

Honestly with Bari Weiss

8,747 Listeners

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man by Higher Ground

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man

760 Listeners