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Holy Runaways

By: Matthias Roberts, Jen Hatmaker - foreword
Narrated by: Matthias Roberts
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Publisher's Summary

In the past decade, church attendance among US adults has decreased by more than 25 percent. Americans report leaving religious communities because of the institutions' hypocrisy and resistance to change or because of trauma they have experienced in those spaces. Instead of safe havens for people of faith, many churches have become sites of harm—places people feel the need to escape at all costs.

In Holy Runaways, psychotherapist Matthias Roberts reaches out to those who, like him, want to understand the religion they've run from and erect a new faith on firmer foundations. He concludes that the best blueprint for a new spiritual home requires reimagining ourselves, God, and our very definition of faith.

Roberts blends deeply personal stories, new interpretations of familiar Christian parables, and recent scholarship about the dynamics of trauma to offer a way forward—and a warm, helpful companion—for listeners on their own journeys. He calls out people who perpetuate systems of violence and oppression and suggests ways we can all contribute to a new system built on love—and a new home we can inhabit together.

©2023 Matthias Roberts (P)2023 eChristian

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  • RMH
  • 10-10-2023

A powerful and compelling listen

Matthias writes very powerfully of his experiences growing up in a church that never learnt to love. It's raw and honest and vulnerable. The trauma is real. He shares what he's learnt at the feet of prophetic voices like Brene Brown (aka Jesus), James Alison, René Girard among many others. Well worth a listen if you want to engage in real faith and real questions.
The audio could use a little more editing. Cutting out or muting his breathing would make it a better listen.

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