Help My Unbelief

Basil and Nicole finally break the silence on Help My Unbelief. What is discouraging and encouraging them right now in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic? Find out in today's episode.

Christmas is a time for giving and we are giving our listeners three fun Christmas gifts. We’re deeply thankful to all who have listened to or written us about Help My Unbelief in this first season. Though the holidays can be a difficult time for folks, we wish you all the hope of Christ’s entrance into this world. P.S. This is our last episode of 2019! We’ll see you back here in January 2020. Links: Find the Official Help My Unbelief Soundtrack and other relevant playlists on our new YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCddut5-qGiCaKynBDXH8j7Q/playlists?view_as=subscriber Enter the “Time and Despondency” audiobook giveaway on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/helpmyunbeliefpodcast/ Give a Podcast for Christmas! Find the free gift card here: https://www.nicoleroccas.com/give-a-podcast/

Does God grant us personal callings? If our overarching calling as Christians is to learn to live to Christ and die to the world, is it silly to try to discern our individual vocations? In this second half of Basil and Nicole’s conversation about calling and doubt, they explore the tensions between our “Capital-C” Calling and little-c “callings” in the New Testament and in life. Plus, a Greek Lesson for all the Lisas out there! References and further resources: Luke 14:25-35 Acts 13:1-3 Acts 16:9-10 Ephesians 4:4-11 Matthew 28:16-17 1 Peter 2:18-21 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 1 Peter 3:9 “Becoming Human in Christ,” A lecture by Fr. John Behr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG191o60cIA&t=1021s Becoming Human (book) by Fr. John Behr https://store.ancientfaith.com/becoming-human/ “How My Crisis Can Help You Find Meaning In Your Life,” a conversation with Ravi Zacharias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8bD7ovxIuc

One of the things that has caused Basil the most doubt over the years is what to do with the calling to the priesthood he's felt for most of his life. Does God even grant personal callings? If so, how can we be sure of our own calling? This episode is the first of several devoted to the intersection between vocations and doubts. Resources mentioned in this episode: κλήση (klisi) and πρόσκληση (prosklisi), Greek terms for "calling," are found roughly 148 times in the New Testament. They can be translated as to name, to invite, to ask to come, to call out. Matthew 22:1-14 (Parable of the wedding feast) "Paradox of Choice," a talk by Barry Schwartz Paradox of Choice (book) by Barry Schwartz Luke 14:25-35 (Cost of discipleship)

Basil talks with Nicole about the subject of her newest book, grieving infertility in the context of marriage. Infertility has been a part of their faith (and doubt) life for over five years. The episode ends with an excerpt of the book: Under the Laurel Tree: Grieving Infertility with Saints Joachim and Anna (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019). You can find the book on the Ancient Faith Publishing website, on Audible.com, or wherever you order books from. Available in hardcopy, paperback, and audio formats.

It's our tenth (episode) anniversary! To celebrate, Basil and Nicole invite you over for dinner and a few rounds of a beloved Roccas ritual: Chat Pack. This short and sweet episode is just for fun and has nothing to do with doubt . . . or does it?

Basil and Nicole duke it out (again) over James van Praagh's book, Talking to Heaven, in this week's On Second Thought. Questions that surface: whose side is Basil on? Is atheism an attracting or repelling force? Also, should we get burritos? Shout out to Steven Christoforou and Christian Gonzales and their podcast, We Are Orthodoxy. Check out the episode Basil mentions, "It's Complicated."

Last week, Basil and Nicole concluded that how we understand what faith is affects how we lose faith. On second thought, why even believe in the first place? In this episode we return to points made last week and re-examine them from a new perspective. Questions raised include: is Christianity a religion, worldview, or none of the above? What is a calling? And more... Listeners are invited to share with us what they think a "calling" is. What do you think a calling or vocation is? What do you feel called to in this life? Record a brief answer and send it to Basil and Nicole at [email protected] and we might feature it in an future episode! Resources mentioned in the episode: Definition of calling: "a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence." (Merriam Webster Dictionary) Definition of vocation: "a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action."(Merriam Webster Dictionary) Two Greek words that sound similar but have different spellings and meanings: Κλήση (klisi, n.) = call (ex. see Romans 11:29) Κλίση (klisi, n.) = inclination

This summer, two prominent Evangelical figures, Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson, announced that they had lost (or were losing) their faith. Their statements, and the way they describe faith, raise an important question: do Evangelicals lose their faith in a way that is unique from folks of other Christian backgrounds? We address this question by exploring four concepts: Salvation, Conversion, Faith, and Mystery. Plus, a listener, Jamey William Bennett, shares a struggle about the problem of suffering. "We can all agree we don't want to follow a small God, a limited God, a finite God. But the reality, then, is that there are going to be times when God is way bigger than our faith and sometimes our faith has to die. At a certain point in our life, we have to come to the point where we can say that 'I don't have faith to contain that.'" —Nicole "What is the biggest gift that doubt gives us? It helps answer a question a lot of us should ask ourselves: are we following what we believe because it expresses truth, or are we following Christ just so we can get a reward out of it?" —Basil Resources relevant to this episode: Joshua Harris's announcement on July 26 A transcript of Marty Sampson's announcement Brews, Beards, and Shipwrecks podcast Royal Ruckus rap by Jamey William Bennett Pprosopolatria" (προσωπολατρία): Greek term for worship of the person, personality cult Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, doubt and questioning series (transcript) Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, doubt and questioning series (video)

One of the pitfalls of Holy Tradition is that it can turn into just another "sola," something singular we misrepresent without context. In this episode, Basil and Nicole return to the questions raised in last week's episode. Resources that pertain to this episode: Dunning-Kruger effect Matthew 16:17-18 A note from Basil on Orthodox catechitical texts: The Orthodox Churches (most likely because of the risk of misuse) does not have an Ecumenically approved “Catechism” for the entire church (as opposed to the Roman Catholic’s book “CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH"). Instead, what you will find in Orthodoxy are of variety of smaller expositions. However, these catechisms are often short and simple and sometimes raise more questions than they answer (one example is the Catechism of Archbishop Sotirios's "Orthodox Catechism: Basic Teachings of the Faith"). Having said that, one book to consider if you have the zeal for a more systematic exposition of what all Orthodox believe is St. John of Damascus’s "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith—a summary of the dogmatic writings of the Early Church Fathers." This writing was the first work of systematic theology in Eastern Christianity and an important influence on later Scholastic works.