I Don’t Believe in the Sacred | Doubt, Reading and Muddling Through with Stig Abell

We spoke to Stig Abell on how to live if nothing is ultimately sacred. Elizabeth Oldfield and Stig explore detective fiction and our longing for justice, the consolations of books in an age of infinite scroll, the quiet crises many of us are living through, and whether “muddling along” might be the most honest way live. This is a conversation about meaning and what remains when you’re not sure there is any.We talk about:• Why Stig feels more profane than sacred• Books as portals out of panic• Detective fiction and our longing for resolution• The exhausting, competitive condition of modern life---🎙️Listen to The Sacred: linktr.ee/sacredpodcast 📖 Follow Elizabeth Oldfield: www.elizabetholdfield.com/ 💡Produced by Theos Think Tank: www.theosthinktank.co.uk/👉 Check out Stig’s work: https://www.instagram.com/thestigabell/?hl=enChapters:00:00 Intro01:28 What is Sacred to You? Stig Abell Answers02:48 Questioning the Concept of the Sacred04:32 Suspicion of Institutions and Freedom in Randomness06:13 The Principles of Fairness and Kindness08:56 Work ethics, Loughborough roots, and the story behind “Stig"12:11 Reading and the Pre-internet childhood14:35 Reading as Empathy and Sacred Practice15:58 The Nature of Doubt and Certainty17:42 Evolution, Randomness, and Meaning Without Agency19:59 Do “holy” moments require God?23:54 The Press and Public Appetite For Bad News29:56 Navigating the Complexities of Journalism32:02 Navigating the Media Landscape36:05 Being unboxable, tribal politics, and scepticism as a way of life37:58 Highbrow, Lowbrow, and the Freedom to Read Widely39:32 Imposter Syndrome and Self-Perception43:17 The Comfort of Genre Fiction46:42 The Search for Justice in Storytelling49:24 The Human Need for Narrative54:03 The Crisis of Modern Existence56:41 Quiet Struggles and the Fear of Being Useless58:51 Recognising Flaws in Ourselves and OthersKeywords:A wide-ranging conversation with Stig Abell on doubt, belief, meaning, secularism, faith and scepticism, fairness and kindness, journalism and media ethics, detective fiction and crime novels, books and reading as refuge, panic attacks and anxiety, modern life and burnout, human rights and Christianity’s cultural legacy, tribalism and political identity, institutions and individual conscience, and how to live well - or at least muddle through - in an age of uncertainty and infinite scroll.