Faith after Faith

Katie Langston
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Christianity

Faith After Faith is a weekly podcast from Pastor Katie Langston exploring the terrain between losing your faith and finding it again. Through honest conversations, theological reflection, and storytelling, Faith After Faith creates space for deconstructors, reconstructors, and spiritual seekers to explore Christian faith in ways that are intellectually curious, scripturally grounded, and rooted in grace. Whether you’re healing from a high-demand religious tradition, rebuilding after doubt, or just looking for something deeper, this podcast meets you where you are—no pressure, no pretense, period.

  1. 13h ago

    The Bible: Not As Bad As You Think (Part 1) — Kathryn Schifferdecker

    Kathryn Schifferdecker is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. She taught Katie's year-long Intro to Bible class, and she is the reason Katie can read the book at all. This is the first half of a two-part conversation: what the Bible even is, and why the Old Testament, of all things, might be worth going back for. The conversation covers an organist's kid in the balcony at St. Paul Lutheran in Farmington, Missouri, being too scared to take religion classes at St. Olaf, a call to ministry in a church that doesn't ordain women, the Bible as a library of sixty-six books written over more than a thousand years by mostly anonymous people, why the Psalms made no sense to Katie before seminary, Jonah as a comedy, and holding on to God with one hand while you shake your fist with the other. This is part one of two. Part two — Joshua, Judges, the texts with the violence in them, and what "the word of God" can honestly mean — airs Tuesday, October 13. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Bible and Faith Deconstruction 01:03 Katie's Journey with the Bible and Kathryn's Role 02:16 The Two-Part Conversation: What the Bible Is 03:14 Growing Up in a Conservative Lutheran Context 04:34 The Impact of Biblical Scholarship and Faith 05:58 Different Lutheran Denominations and Beliefs 09:13 Literal Beliefs and College Challenges 10:27 Faith and Academic Study of the Bible 12:20 Resilience and Personal Stories in Faith Journey 17:48 The Culture Surrounding the Bible 18:33 What is the Bible? A Collection and Library 22:21 The Number of Books and Different Canons 23:26 Genres of Biblical Literature 28:42 Understanding the Genre of Jonah 31:44 The Mercy of God in the Old Testament Resources Kathryn Schifferdecker, Luther Seminary faculty pageKathryn Schifferdecker, Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job (Harvard Theological Studies 61, 2008)Kathryn Schifferdecker, Enter the Bible (Luther Seminary)Faith After Faith, How and Why You Should Yell at God: The Practice of Lament

  2. 4d ago

    How and Why You Should Yell at God: The Practice of Lament

    In a church narthex in St. Paul, somebody set out a box with a sign on it that said: Laments Welcome. The instruction was to write your complaints to God, and to call God to account for not having fixed things already. Katie had never seen anything like it. She didn't know it was allowed. She didn't put a lament in the box—she didn't know what to do with the option—but she thought about it for weeks. This solo episode covers the box in the narthex, what messages about avoiding anger do to us, a chapel sermon on forgiveness, why or whether Job's questions went permanently unanswered, and a practice of lament you can do at your kitchen table. Content note: this episode discusses sexual abuse at a church institution. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Resources Katie Langston, How to Yell at GodFaith After Faith, It's Okay to Be Angry with God — Nikki HendrixFaith After Faith, Am I Even Allowed to Think This? — Jana RiessEugene H. Peterson, *Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer* (HarperOne, 1991)Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Practice of Lament 01:58 Biblical Roots and Examples of Lament 03:58 Cultural Conditioning Against Anger at God 06:02 The Story of Job and Honest Questioning 07:59 Lament in the Psalms and Its Significance 10:03 The Brutality and Honesty of Lament Psalms 12:08 Lament as a Path to Healing and Presence 13:54 The Cross and Jesus' Lament 15:51 Practical Steps to Incorporate Lament in Your Faith 19:55 The Power of Praying Through Anger and Grief 30:00 Conclusion: Lament as a Journey to Praise

  3. Sep 29

    It's Okay to Be Angry with God — Nikki Hendrix

    Nikki Hendrix has more reasons than most people to be done with church: nuns who hit her left hand with a yardstick, a youth pastor who told her at seventeen that she couldn't come back after a stranger assaulted her, and, one Labor Day weekend, a wrong-way driver who killed her parents. Yet she never stopped believing in God, even as she remains furious with him. Katie wanted to know how both of those are true at the same time. The conversation covers a wake in the living room when she was five, a pamphlet she hid in her backpack in fourth grade, an atheist father who says an angel named Michael kept him from dying, a sermon in which her pastor called Job whiny, and what it means to her to call God Father. Content note: this episode includes mention of a sexual assault and a fatal car crash. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Nikki's story of faith and trauma 02:06 Nikki's childhood in two households with different faith backgrounds 04:30 Experiences with death and grief in her family 07:42 Discovery of faith through a youth pamphlet and church attendance 11:14 Trauma of sexual assault and its impact on her faith journey 17:13 Moving to Utah and cultural challenges with faith communities 21:02 The tragic death of her parents and her anger at God 25:55 Expressing anger to God and the process of spiritual honesty 30:42 Understanding God as Father and the importance of authentic relationship 33:52 The dinner church and alternative community for faith and connection 36:15 What faith after faith looks like for Nikki Resources Promise Studio, Sunday Supper (2nd and 4th Sundays, 5:00 pm, Promise House, St. George)Katie Langston, Support Faith After FaithFaith After Faith, Garments, Sex, and Purity Culture — Nancy Ross

  4. Sep 22

    Garments, Sex, and Purity Culture — Nancy Ross

    Register for All That Remains, a support group for deconstructors and doubters, at katielangston.com/all-that-remains For many people leaving high-demand traditions, the sexual shame left by purity culture is one of the most lingering effects. In this conversation, Katie and Nancy Ross use Mormon garments as a lens through which to explore purity culture more broadly. Nancy Ross is an associate professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at Utah Tech University and co-author of Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret, a book built on a survey of more than 4,500 people who wear or used to wear them. She is a former Mormon, now ordained in Community of Christ, and one of Katie's dear friends. The conversation covers what happens in the temple the first time you receive your garments, a survey that went Mormon Facebook viral in 2014, sexual shame, licked cupcakes and chewed gum, a chance encounter with a woman on a plane, and the night Nancy's husband ripped his garments off and jumped into bed. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Nancy Ross and the episode's focus 02:04 What are Mormon garments and their significance 04:07 The ceremony of receiving garments and their symbolism 05:47 The history of garments and their connection to purity culture 09:01 The survey on garments and its viral spread in Mormon communities 11:58 Personal stories and emotional experiences with garments 15:02 The role of garments in regulating sexual behavior 18:00 Overlap between Mormon and evangelical purity teachings 21:00 Gendered experiences and perceptions of garments 23:59 The impact of purity culture on body image and sexuality 26:57 Healing, reclaiming pleasure, and body positivity 29:58 Leaving garments and the emotional process of detachment 45:01 Nancy’s personal story of taking off her garments 51:59 Reflections on faith after leaving Mormonism 55:03 Final thoughts and resources for healing and growth Resources Nancy Ross, Jessica Finnigan, and Larissa Kanno Kindred, Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret (University of Illinois Press, 2026)Katie Langston, All That RemainsFaith After Faith, Letting Go of Shame

  5. Sep 18

    Letting Go of Cosmic Child Abuse

    On her LDS mission in Bulgaria, Katie taught people that every sin debits a cosmic bank account, that Jesus paid it, and that he set the terms for paying him back. It worked for her for a long time. Until it didn't. In this solo episode she walks through many of the motifs the church has used to describe the atonement. For each one, she reflects on what's lovely about it...and what's less than lovely. Ultimately, the New Testament never explains exactly how it works; you have permission to do the same. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:27 Atonement motifs in the New Testament 05:04 Ransom 11:56 Christus Victor 16:20 Satisfaction 20:21 Moral influence 23:00 Penal substitution 36:48 Happy exchange Resources Faith After Faith, Jesus, the Devil, and Hell — Sarah Hinlicky WilsonGregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism, ch. 24Augustine, Sermon 263 Origen, Commentary on MatthewGregory of Nazianzus, Oration 45Gustaf Aulén, Christus Victor Anselm of Canterbury, Cur Deus Homo Peter Abelard, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian

  6. Sep 15

    Jesus, the Devil, and Hell — Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

    Sarah Hinlicky Wilson has never doubted that God loves her. (She's doubted whether God exists at all—but she's always assumed that if there is a God, God is loving and kind.) So what does she do with the devil and hell? How does she understand what the atonement is all about? Spoiler alert: she says don't start with any of those questions. Sarah is a Lutheran pastor and theologian, founder of Thornbush Press, and co-host of Queen of the Sciences, a podcast she makes with her dad, theologian Paul Hinlicky. She is also one of Katie's closest friends. The conversation covers "aura salve," why high-demand religion is frivolous about sin, what Paul actually means by justification, how little the Bible says about the afterlife, and a Japanese convert who explained hell better than any theologian. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the episode and guest Sarah Wilson 01:53 The difference between threat-based and grace-based faith 04:00 Understanding sin, death, and the devil as conditions, not caricatures 06:52 The evolution of Lutheran beliefs and the center of the gospel 10:01 The atonement: from cosmic debt to healing and restoration 18:11 Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as the core of Christian hope 21:51 Reframing salvation: from getting in to being healed 29:57 The nature of heaven and the life to come 34:59 The concept of the devil and evil spirits in scripture 39:50 Hell: a place of refusal of healing and estrangement from God 50:13 Trusting in God's love and the sturdiness of the gospel 56:02 Faith after faith: testing, loss, and renewal 57:00 Conclusion: God's grip, not ours, sustains faith Resources Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, sarahhinlickywilson.comSarah Hinlicky Wilson and Paul R. Hinlicky, Queen of the SciencesSarah Hinlicky Wilson, Pearly Gates: Parables from the Final Threshold (Thornbush Press)John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667)

  7. Sep 12

    Letting Go of Certainty

    Katie Langston grew up in a tradition where certainty was the point—where a missionary lesson literally stacked paper cups, prophets on the bottom and Jesus on top, and showed you that pulling any one of them brings the whole thing down. In this solo episode, she makes a case that a lot of what people describe as losing their faith is something more specific: a loss of certainty. The episode traces where the demand for certainty came from; why fundamentalism is a modern movement in anti-modern clothes; and why so few people still claim to have it. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com/support. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters 00:00 Cold open: fast and testimony meeting 02:35 Jenga towers, Christmas lights, and a stack of paper cups 04:45 Pope, king, God: where the questions came from 06:45 Establishment, association, authenticity 08:40 Fundamentalism is a modern movement 12:55 Postmodernity in one sentence 14:45 A nine-year-old asks the postmodern question 17:15 What the Pew numbers actually show 18:50 Cross-pressure: Charles Taylor and C. S. Lewis 20:25 "I just miss being able to say I know" 22:20 Brueggemann: orientation, disorientation, reorientation 25:30 Embrace the questions, grieve, find people who can hold them 27:15 Scrupulosity, OCD, and accepting the risk 31:20 Hope and trust, not knowledge Resources "God Invites Your Questions" — katielangston.com/podcast/god-invites-your-questions-grace-duddy-pomroy. "Am I Even Allowed to Think This?" — katielangston.com/podcast/am-i-even-allowed-to-think-this-jana-riess. "Were We Better Off Believing in Charms?" — katielangston.com/podcast/were-we-better-off-believing-in-charms-cristina-gagliano. "Who Gets to Tell You What's True?" — katielangston.com/podcast/who-gets-to-tell-you-whats-true. "Where Have All the Women Gone?" — katielangston.com/podcast/where-have-all-the-women-gone.Charles Taylor, A Secular Age*** (Belknap/Harvard, 2007) C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity*** (1952), Book III, ch. 11, "Faith"Walter Brueggemann (1933–2025), The Message of the Psalms** (Augsburg, 1984) and Spirituality of the Psalms* (Fortress, 2002)Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition*** (1979)Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace — Katie Langston. Second edition, 2026. katielangston.com/books/sealed-an-unexpected-journey-into-the-heart-of-graceThirteen Lives (2022).

  8. Sep 8

    God Invites Your Questions — Grace Duddy Pomroy

    When Grace Duddy Pomroy was in high school, she asked a Bible-quiz volunteer why two verses seemed to contradict each other. The answer she received: "That's not something we ask here." To her credit, Grace didn't let that stop her from asking hard questions about her faith. This conversation covers competitive Bible quiz, why a pastor's wife kicked Grace out of church over her mom's job history, Luther's word for the things Christians are allowed to disagree about, and how learning to sit with ambiguity can be a powerful spiritual practice. To support Faith After Faith, visit faithafterfaith.com. A recurring donation of any amount will give you access to exclusive bonus content and full, unedited conversations. Chapters00:00 Cold open: "God was right there in the middle of it" 00:23 Welcome + the solvent theory of doubt 02:02 Growing up Assemblies of God 13:13 St. Olaf, and clinging to her old identity 13:54 Thrown out by the pastor's wife 18:08 Get curious, not certain: what Lutheran camp taught her 19:15 What makes a faith that can hold a question 21:04 Professors, friends, and no hidden agenda 25:34 Allowing different answers to live at the same time 33:17 What does faith after faith look like for you? ResourcesGrace Pomroy, Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models for Ministry (Fortress Press, 2024, ISBN 9781506493336).

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5
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About

Faith After Faith is a weekly podcast from Pastor Katie Langston exploring the terrain between losing your faith and finding it again. Through honest conversations, theological reflection, and storytelling, Faith After Faith creates space for deconstructors, reconstructors, and spiritual seekers to explore Christian faith in ways that are intellectually curious, scripturally grounded, and rooted in grace. Whether you’re healing from a high-demand religious tradition, rebuilding after doubt, or just looking for something deeper, this podcast meets you where you are—no pressure, no pretense, period.

Information

  • Creator
    Katie Langston
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Katie Langston

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