EPISODE · Feb 19, 2026 · 1H 40M
The Religiously Unaffiliated Did Not Reject God — They Rejected Western Christianity
from The Nathan Jacobs Podcast · host Nathan Jacobs
This is part 2 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. In this talk, Nathan Jacobs argues that many who leave are not rejecting God, per se, but a particular vision of God shaped by Western theological developments. Exploring themes like grace, freedom, divine goodness, fatalism, and anthropology, he contrasts key Western trajectories with the vision of the Eastern Church Fathers. The result is a compelling case that Orthodoxy does not suppress the moral and spiritual intuitions of today’s seekers — it fulfills them.Watch part 1: The Modern Religious Debate Lost Its Audience: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: http://theeastwestseries.com/Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up next01:28 - East West series02:36 - Introduction05:18 - What the nones believe10:39 - Rejecting Western Christianity14:12 - Augustine18:40 - The nature/Grace divide25:42 - Protestantism & predestination31:48 - God's will39:36 - Competing goods46:17 - Our world is spiritual59:02 - Return to talk59:51 - Man as microcosm01:01:51 - Was man made mortal or immortal?01:06:11 - Energies01:15:02 - What happens after death01:18:06 - The remedy for divine hiddenness01:24:34 - Q&A: On trusting your intuitions about God01:29:21 - Q: Anxiety of the participants01:30:58 - Q: What about Jesus?01:33:11 - Q: Discussions about the Trinity01:36:07 - Q: Using the halo in the documentary01:40:06 - Q: Do nones go to other religions?======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast
What this episode covers
This is part 2 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. In this talk, Nathan Jacobs argues that many who leave are not rejecting God, per se, but a particular vision of God shaped by Western theological developments. Exploring themes like grace, freedom, divine goodness, fatalism, and anthropology, he contrasts key Western trajectories with the vision of the Eastern Church Fathers. The result is a compelling case that Orthodoxy does not suppress the moral and spiritual intuitions of today’s seekers — it fulfills them.Watch part 1: The Modern Religious Debate Lost Its Audience: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: http://theeastwestseries.com/Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up next01:28 - East West series02:36 - Introduction05:18 - What the nones believe10:39 - Rejecting Western Christianity14:12 - Augustine18:40 - The nature/Grace divide25:42 - Protestantism & predestination31:48 - God's will39:36 - Competing goods46:17 - Our world is spiritual59:02 - Return to talk59:51 - Man as microcosm01:01:51 - Was man made mortal or immortal?01:06:11 - Energies01:15:02 - What happens after death01:18:06 - The remedy for divine hiddenness01:24:34 - Q&A: On trusting your intuitions about God01:29:21 - Q: Anxiety of the participants01:30:58 - Q: What about Jesus?01:33:11 - Q: Discussions about the Trinity01:36:07 - Q: Using the halo in the documentary01:40:06 - Q: Do nones go to other religions?======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast
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The Religiously Unaffiliated Did Not Reject God — They Rejected Western Christianity
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