Episode Details

🎙️ 17. Pastor Kristian A. Smith (Liberation Theology) – The Courage to Question Your Answers

Alexis Rice sits down with Pastor Kristian A. Smith — pastor, author, educator, public theologian, and host of Holy Smokes: Cigars and Spirituality — for a deeply honest and pastoral conversation about doctrine, certainty, doubt, and what it means to rebuild faith with integrity.

Kristian leads The Faith Community, a digital church centered around curiosity, justice, and what he calls Greatest Commandment Theology — the idea that Jesus’ call to love God, love neighbor, and love self should guide how we interpret everything else in our Christian tradition.

Together Alexis and Kristian explore why doctrine is not the same thing as scripture, how the Bible has historically been used to justify radically different moral positions, and why losing religious certainty can feel like grief. Kristian shares why doubt is not the enemy of faith and why love must remain the center of theology.

Kristian closes the episode with a powerful pastoral prayer for listeners who may not have been prayed over in a long time.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Doctrine often reflects interpretation, not absolute certainty
 • “The Bible says” is often shorthand for “my tradition interprets it this way”
 • Losing religious certainty can bring real grief
 • Doubt is not the opposite of faith - it is part of faith

About Our Guest

Pastor Kristian A. Smith is a pastor, author, educator, and public theologian.
 He is the founding pastor of The Faith Community and host of Holy Smokes: Cigars and Spirituality.

IG: @thekristianasmith

📚 Books, People & Resources Mentioned

Kristian A. Smith — IG: @thekristianasmith
The Faith Community — IG: @tfc.virtual
Holy Smokes: Cigars & Spirituality — IG: @holysmokesmovement

Books: Breaking All the Rules – An Ancient Framework for Modern Faith & Question your answers: https://www.kristianasmith.com

Dan McClellan — IG: @maklelan
Pete Enns — IG: @peteenns
Rachel Held Evans — IG: @rachelheldevans

Frederick Buechner — theologian and author
 https://www.frederickbuechner.com

Martin Luther King Jr. — pastor and civil rights leader
 https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu

#Christianity #deconstruction #OpenAndAffirming #LiberationTheology #FaithAfterEvangelicalism #ProgressiveChristianity #TheSacredSlope

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

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