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About the Series
The deepest questions about God may have less to do with what we can prove than with what calls to us.
In Jerry & Jonathan: Four Dialogues on Radically Personal, philosophers Jerry L. Martin and Jonathan Weidenbaum explore the ideas at the heart of Jerry's latest book, Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial Age. Their conversation begins with the notion of true north: not merely what is ultimately real, but what gives our lives direction and draws us toward what matters most.
A drop of water seen with sudden clarity. A moment when time seems to stand still. A voice answering a prayer. Jerry recalls experiences that have shaped his understanding of reality, while Jonathan draws connections to Buddhist teachings on suchness, Martin Buber's philosophy of relationship, and the religious insights of different traditions.
But not every experience points toward a reassuring picture of reality. Jonathan recalls a student facing cancer who felt that something had gone terribly wrong with the world. Her conviction leads them to consider suffering, the problem of evil, and the difficulty of reconciling experiences that seem to reveal very different truths.
Must every truth fit into a single system?
Their discussion moves between personal experience and philosophical inquiry, questioning the assumptions we bring to religious life and the ways different traditions interpret encounters with the divine. Rather than settling these questions, Jerry and Jonathan explore what becomes possible when experiences that challenge our existing beliefs are given serious consideration.
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About Jerry and Jonathan
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Dr. Jerry L. Martin is a philosopher, author, founding chairman of Theology Without Walls, and former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities. His book, God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher, recounts his unexpected conversations with God. His latest book, Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial Age, examines what personal spiritual experiences can reveal about divine reality.
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Dr. Jonathan Weidenbaum teaches philosophy, world religions, ethics, and bioethics at Berkeley College in New York City and St. John's University in Queens. His writing explores the philosophy of religion, religious experience, and the philosophy of humor. A contributor to Theology Without Walls, Jonathan has previously appeared on God: An Autobiography, The Podcast, sharing his perspectives on spiritual experience, religious traditions, and his own spiritual journey. In Jerry & Jonathan: Four Dialogues on Radically Personal, he returns for an extended conversation with Jerry L. Martin about philosophy, theology, and the insights that emerge from personal encounters with the divine.
More from Dr. Jonathan Weidenbaum: Clowns in the Woods: An Interview with Jonathan Weidenbaum
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