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What if spiritual experiences are real — but deeply personal?

In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast, philosopher Jerry L. Martin explores one of the most difficult questions in religion: how do we discern whether a spiritual experience is genuine?

Drawing on William James and the long philosophical tradition of spiritual discernment, Jerry examines why religious experience varies from person to person.

Different temperaments, histories, and cultures shape how individuals encounter ultimate reality. But if spiritual experiences differ so widely, how can they be evaluated?

Can one religion judge another? Is there a neutral standpoint from which competing belief systems can be assessed?

Jerry explores the philosophical challenge of spiritual discernment beyond the boundaries of any single tradition. Along the way he discusses thinkers such as Ignatius of Loyola, Jonathan Edwards, and William James.

The episode also introduces the idea of the “clarified soul,” the cultivated inner capacity that allows us to perceive spiritual truth with greater clarity and depth.

In a world of many religions and worldviews, the question remains: how do we responsibly seek what is ultimately true?

Get the books: Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial Age | God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher

Other Series:

The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:

• Radically Personal: Reflections on lived experience, divine encounter, and personal vocation, drawing on a seeker-centered approach to spirituality in a new Axial Age.
• From God to Jerry to You: Divine messages and breakthroughs for seekers.
• Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue: Love, faith, and divine presence in partnership.
• What’s Your Spiritual Story: Real stories of people changed by encounters with God.
• What’s On Our Mind: Reflections from Jerry and Scott on recent episodes.
• Two Philosophers Wrestle With God: A dialogue on God, truth, and reason.
• The Life Wisdom Project: Spiritual insights on living a wiser, more meaningful life.
• What’s On Your Mind: Listener questions, divine answers, and open dialogue.

Stay Connected

• Share: questions@godanautobiography.com
• Ultimate Questions Substack
• Get the books: God: An Autobiography, Radically Personal

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Questions? Comments? Text Us!

How do you know when an inner prompting is truly guidance — and when it is illusion?

In this intimate dialogue, Jerry L. Martin and Abigail L. Rosenthal explore the challenge of spiritual discernment: learning to trust your spiritual senses without abandoning realism, reason, or common sense.

What does it mean to follow an inner call responsibly? How do you test intuition against experience, wisdom, and the counsel of others?

Drawing from lived experience — including Jerry’s hearing of the “God voice,” their shared leap into marriage, and Abigail’s reflections in A Good Look at Evil and Confessions of a Young Philosopher — they consider how faith and practical wisdom must work together.

Faith is not unrealism. It is not a shortcut. Nor is it blind emotion. Instead, it is a disciplined attentiveness to the deeper currents of your life, guided by both sincerity and discernment.

The conversation widens into a larger question: What story are you living? And what is your ideal story?

Abigail reflects on the idea that God is not a distant abstraction but a Player — with a capital P — in the unfolding drama of your life. To live spiritually is not to withdraw from reality but to engage it more fully, with courage, humility, and intellectual honesty.

If you have ever wondered how to distinguish true guidance from impulse, how to balance faith and reason, or how to bring your actual life closer to your ideal life, this episode offers a thoughtful and grounded exploration of divine guidance, inner calling, and life as a story.

Other Series:

The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:

The Life Wisdom Project – Spiritual insights on living a wiser, more meaningful life.

From God to Jerry to You – Divine messages and breakthroughs for seekers.

Two Philosophers Wrestle With God – A dialogue on God, truth, and reason.

Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue – Love, faith, and divine presence in partnership.

What’s Your Spiritual Story – Real stories of people changed by encounters with God.

What’s On Our Mind – Reflections from Jerry and Scott on recent episodes.

What’s On Your Mind – Listener questions, divine answers, and open dialogue.

Stay Connected

• Share: questions@godanautobiography.com
• Get the books: God: An Autobiography, Radically Personal, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, A Good Look at Evil

Share Your Story | Site | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Questions? Comments? Text Us!

The newest From God to Jerry to You is a reflection on divine guidance, spiritual discernment, and the discovery of your calling. Jerry L. Martin shares prayer encounters from the podcast's early days and from more recent experiences.

These moments reveal what it means to trust your spiritual senses, and how to recognize when guidance may be coming from beyond yourself.

What does it mean to discern God’s voice? How do we know when an inner prompting is truly divine?

Drawing from Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial Age, Jerry explores an “epistemics of trust”—a philosophical framework for understanding how we know what we know. Just as we trust perception, memory, and reason, we may also learn to trust spiritual intuition.

This radically personal center is not arbitrary. It is, Jerry suggests, the instrument of revelation.

The episode also traces the vision behind Theology Without Walls and the birth of the Ultimate Questions Substack—a public forum inviting reflection on life’s deepest questions.

At the heart of this conversation is a simple but profound question: What does a calling feel like?

If you’ve ever wondered how to discern divine guidance, respond to the inner voice, or understand where faith and philosophy meet, this episode offers both depth and clarity. Listen now—and consider where you might be called.

Other Series:

The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:

The Life Wisdom Project – Spiritual insights on living a wiser, more meaningful life.

From God to Jerry to You – Divine messages and breakthroughs for seekers.

Two Philosophers Wrestle With God – A dialogue on God, truth, and reason.

Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue – Love, faith, and divine presence in partnership.

What’s Your Spiritual Story – Real stories of people changed by encounters with God.

What’s On Our Mind – Reflections from Jerry and Scott on recent episodes.

What’s On Your Mind – Listener questions, divine answers, and open dialogue.

Stay Connected

• Share: questions@godanautobiography.com
• Ultimate Questions Substack
• Get the books: God: An Autobiography, Radically Personal

Share Your Story | Site | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube