Truth seeking is a life and death matter in this era of official lies and deadly disinformation.  But Christians don't own truth-seeking and the faith it leads to. In this episode Owen interviews Hank Lentfer, a writer and philosopher who has written two books that we discuss in the podcast... Faith of Cranes and Raven's Witness -- the Alaska Life of Richard K. Nelson.

Hank tells the story of his journeys as an advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the Arctic. He describes his personal realization that his bitterness toward humans for habitat destruction was going to rob him of the gratitude and joy he needed to share with his unborn child. He had nine months to find that joy and faith, and he found it in the wilderness of their home in Gustavus, Alaska.

The Sandhill Crane is a major part of the story. Every spring and fall they fly over his land, and their 60 million years of unchanging consistency speak volumes of the reliability of the Universe. Even without confidence in a written revelation, faith in the principles of goodness is possible. In a letter Hank writes to his daughter before she is born, he says "A prayer for gratitude. Gratitude is the pool in which all good things gather. It is the combined state of acceptance and humility, awareness and faith, joy and sorrow, compassion and caring. It resonates through an open heart like a finely tuned guitar."