Peter Richardson Part 1 "Why?"

Peter Richardson, a 19-year veteran career officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, shares his faith journey on the DP1 Podcast. Raised in a Christian home and having prayed the sinner's prayer as a young child after watching a Jesus film, he later drifted into skepticism and materialism during his teens and early adulthood, influenced by secular education, unanswered questions about science and faith, and a lack of satisfying answers from churches. Over time, especially amid the social divisions, institutional distrust, and moral upheavals of the early 2020s—including Canada's pandemic response and the trucker convoy—he lost faith in people, systems, and traditional anchors like family and country. Reaching a personal low point of isolation and despair, he began noticing what appeared to be a pervasive spiritual conflict in the world, marked by seemingly gratuitous evil and an inversion of biblical values in culture and media. Exposure to C.S. Lewis's *The Screwtape Letters* via YouTube proved pivotal, as its depiction of unseen malevolent forces aligned strikingly with his observations, ultimately dismantling his materialist worldview. Late one night, he knelt, confessed his sins, surrendered to Christ, and sought forgiveness as the prodigal son. He later reconnected with a longtime Christian friend who had prayed for his salvation daily for over a decade, confirming his return to faith amid subsequent trials.