Honest to God: From the spotlight, to the pulpit, to the wilderness

John Hamilton is a non-theist pastor whose lifelong search for transcendence has taken him from altar boy to rock-and-roll musician, from preaching with certainty into embracing the unknowable nature of God. In this episode, John and I discuss his upcoming memoir, Honest to God, which comes out September 15. Get book info at Wildhouse Publishing here.

Click here for an episode transcript.

Content warning: alcohol & addiction (from 19:00-24:35).

Talking Points:

• (0:00) Introducing John Hamilton’s memoir Honest to God
• (5:00) The inspiration and publication process
• (11:00) Reaching ego death through transcendence; transcendence in Catholic worship
• (16:13) Finding transcendence as a rock-and-roll musician
• (19:00) Years of keeping a panic disorder secret; getting in and out of alcohol dependence
• (24:35) Becoming a pastor, coming to understand that God is unknowable
• (36:10) Looking to humanity's future — more divisions, dying churches; what do we hold onto?
• (44:00) Finding "hard hope" while pastoring dying churches
• (47:30) Hoping for deeper and more honest conversations; wrapping up

Where to find John:

• therealjohnhamilton.com
• John's substack
• John's music on Spotify
• John's playlist for Honest to God

____

This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also made use of "At Home," "Sunrise, St. Chapelle," and "Closing Time" by John Hamilton, with permission.