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What shapes a person's spiritual story? Can childhood experiences, faith, and the practice of preaching become the foundation for a lifetime of spiritual transformation?

In this episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast, philosopher Jerry L. Martin welcomes theologian and Episcopal priest John Thatamanil for a deeply personal conversation about the experiences that shaped his faith and vocation. From his childhood in India's ancient Mar Thoma Christian tradition to immigrating to the United States, John reflects on the moments that led him toward theology, ordination, and a life devoted to preaching.

Together, Jerry and John explore the surprising ways our earliest experiences influence our understanding of God. Their conversation moves through prayer, trauma, memory, spiritual formation, religious experience, and the search for truth, revealing how a life of faith is formed not only by belief, but by the people, traditions, and encounters that transform us over time.

Drawing from Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, John shares how multiple religious traditions have deepened rather than diminished his understanding of the divine. Along the way, he discusses nonduality, contemplative practice, and the role of preaching as a path of both personal and communal transformation.

Whether you are exploring your own spiritual journey, interested in comparative theology, or simply asking deeper questions about faith, this conversation offers a thoughtful and deeply human reflection on what it means to seek God across a lifetime.

Join the conversation on the Ultimate Questions Substack: Does each of us have a personal calling that responds to something beyond ourselves?

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. 

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