David Brooks' "Shock of Faith" : A Beautiful Example of Embracing Spiritual Complexity (with Adam Swenson)

What happens to your faith when authority figures stop answering your questions? Pat Kahnke and Adam work through Stage Two of Brian McLaren's stages of faith — a conversation for everyone navigating the space between certainty and collapse. Whether you're deconstructing Christianity, wrestling with faith and doubt, or just trying to stay sane in the age of MAGA theology, this is for you. We're working through two essays: Adam's "Complexity Is What Happens When Authority Figures Stop Answering Your Questions" and David Brooks' New York Times piece "The Shock of Faith" — possibly the most honest account of faith deconstruction written by a public intellectual in years. Brooks describes himself as "a wandering Jew and a very confused Christian." He told a room full of conservatives "you're supposed to boo" — and kept going. That's Stage Two in real time.