Description:

The surgeon delivers the words that shatter everything: "Sorry, Peter didn't make it."

In this devastating final chapter, we witness the raw reality of grief. We watch Thomas flee the hospital in a state of dissociation and end up at a lake, screaming his rage at a God he isn't sure exists. We explore the "Intrusion of the Cross"—how the image of a suffering God forces its way into our darkest moments—and the heroic choice to reject the poison of resentment.

Finally, Thomas opens Peter’s last letter, revealing the question that defines the entire journey: "Is it because of Jesus?"

In this episode:

• The Trauma Response: Why we shut down or run away when tragedy strikes.
• The Primal Scream: When rage at God is actually a sign of love.
• The Intrusion of the Cross: Why sacrificial love cannot be explained, only demonstrated.
• The Choice Against Resentment: Honoring the dead by refusing to become bitter.
• The Centurion: Finding the Son of God in the moment of ultimate defeat.

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Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Description:

The day before Peter's surgery, his hospital room is filled with an unlikely mix: believers, atheists, skeptics, and family. It is a testament to a life lived with radical inclusivity.

In this pivotal episode, we witness the "Existential Surrender" of a man facing death who has found peace not by fighting, but by letting go. We also uncover a secret act of love—Thomas, despite his deconstruction, has been working behind the scenes to help his friend. This proves that character is often more stable than belief.

Finally, Thomas reaches the bottom of his doubts and asks the most famous question in history: "What is truth?" We compare this to Pilate's cynical question and Jesus's radical answer: that Truth is not a concept, but a Person.

In this episode:

• The Unlikely Community: Why the strongest friendships aren't built on agreement.
• Existential Surrender: Finding peace by relinquishing control.
• Love as Action: Thomas’s quiet sacrifice for Peter.
• Epistemological Humility: Admitting that, ultimately, "no one knows."
• "I Am the Way": Jesus redefining the search for truth.

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Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Description:

"Christianity is too much, but the world offers too little. One is outrageous, and the other one is too empty."

In this heartbreaking episode, Thomas and Sofía finally confront the chasm between them. It begins with a profound apology—Sofía admits that her reaction was driven by trauma, not theology. But even in this safe space, Thomas finds himself trapped in the "Agnostic's Lament," stuck between the apathy of lost faith and the crushing emptiness of a godless universe.

We witness the collision of two realities: the Empirical vs. the Transcendent. And finally, we hear Sofía’s devastating declaration of love—a sacrifice that values Thomas's eternity more than their marriage.

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Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Website: isitbecauseofjesus.com

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Description:

Thomas drops a heavy critique: “It sounds like you don’t have an actual relationship with Jesus. You are just following an ideal.”

In this deeply personal episode, we face the possibility that our faith has become nothing more than a "moral self-improvement project." Peter counters with a radical claim: You can't see God through the lens of pride; you can only see Him through the filter of repentance. We explore the anxiety of a "Striving-Based Identity" versus the freedom of a "Received Identity."

Finally, the intellectual defenses crumble not with an argument, but with an action. A group hug brings Thomas to tears, proving that sometimes the only answer to existential doubt is embodied grace.

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Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Description:

The roles are finally reversed. Peter, the steadfast guide, is helpless and unable to move. Thomas, the doubter, must become the caregiver.

In this pivotal episode, the intellectual debate stops and real life takes over. Thomas announces he is leaving—not just the church, but the city itself. We face Peter’s piercing question: “Are you moving away, or are you escaping?” We also confront the dangerous resentment Thomas is building toward Sofía, learning why trying to kill your love for someone is actually a poison that kills you.

As Peter is taken away in an ambulance, he leaves Thomas with one final, haunting question: “Who can I become away from Jesus?”

In this episode:

• Role Reversal: When the strong believer becomes the helpless patient.
• The Geography of Identity: The difference between finding yourself and fleeing your pain.
• The Poison of Resentment: Why hating those who hurt you is an emotional prison.
• Ontology vs. Epistemology: Moving from "What is true?" to "Who am I?"
• Jesus Wept: A God who cries with us before He saves us.

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Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Website: isitbecauseofjesus.com

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Description:

Thomas finally sends the text message that changes everything: "I don't believe anymore."

In this heartbreaking episode, we sit in the empty space left behind when a friend walks away from the faith. We explore the psychology of deconversion as a "Death of a Worldview"—a loss that must be mourned, not argued with. We witness Peter’s raw "Wilderness Prayer," where he moves from anguish to surrender, and hear an unexpected lesson from Jim, the atheist, on why we need a "vertical connection" to survive a "horizontal life."

Finally, we look at Peter's response—a masterclass in unconditional love—and find hope in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, reminding us that sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is wait and watch the horizon.

In this episode:

• The Raindrop Meditation: Confronting the fragility of life.
• Grief vs. Argument: Why Thomas needs to mourn his old life.
• Vertical vs. Horizontal Living: Finding stability in a chaotic world.
• Love Beyond Agreement: How to stay friends when faith fades.
• The Prodigal Father: The power of waiting without condemning.

Connect with me:

Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

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Website: isitbecauseofjesus.com

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Description:

Karl doesn't offer comfort; he offers a diagnosis. When he accuses Thomas of "suppressing the truth," the gloves come off. But is Karl fighting for God, or is he fighting for himself?

In this intense episode, we analyze the "Weaponization of Theology"—how insecure people use doctrine to control others. We witness a brutal confrontation where the debate about truth is unmasked as a proxy war for jealousy and resentment. But the real twist comes from Lourdes, who reveals the tragic backstory that turns the villain into a victim.

Join us as we learn to spot the "Idol of Correctness" and discover why some people build theological prisons to protect their own terrified hearts.

In this episode:

• Weaponized Theology: Using the Bible to manage your own anxiety.
• The Idol of Correctness: Worshipping your theology instead of God.
• The Proxy War: When "heresy hunting" is actually just jealousy.
• The Ribcage: Understanding arrogance as a defense mechanism against abandonment.
• Father Forgive Them: Jesus’s radical empathy for his own tormentors.

Connect with me:

Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

Buy the book.

Website: isitbecauseofjesus.com

Support the show on Patreon.

Description:

Edward was a genius who taught himself Greek and Hebrew, yet he was one of the loneliest men alive. Why? Because he became a "Slave to Knowledge."

In this deep dive, we explore the danger of using intellect as a fortress against vulnerability. We distinguish between knowing about love and actually doing it. The journey takes a heartbreaking turn as Peter breaks down on the way to the hospital, crying out, "Why again?" This honest lament introduces us to the "Peace of Paradox"—the outstanding Christian ability to find joy in suffering and peace in uncertainty.

Finally, we tackle Thomas’s brilliant question: If God exists, why is He so hidden? The answer reframes the entire universe from a courtroom of evidence to a space of invitation.

In this episode:

• The Slavery of Knowledge: When being smart leaves you alone.
• Declarative vs. Procedural: Why you can't learn love from a book.
• The Honest Cry: Peter’s raw moment of fear in the car.
• Divine Hiddenness: Why God gives us space to choose Him.
• The Paralytic Man: Jesus meeting our deepest need first.

Connect with me:

Email me: isitbecauseofjesus@gmail.com

Buy the book.

Website: isitbecauseofjesus.com

Support the show on Patreon.