Suffering's Transformative Power in Faith and Mental Health

What if suffering isn't the enemy—but the doorway to beauty, connection, and hope? Psychiatrist Dr. Curt Thompson joins host Curtis Chang for a raw and redemptive conversation on how pain, anxiety, and fear of abandonment shape our lives and our faith. Grounded in both Scripture and neuroscience, this episode challenges the myths we carry about control and invites us into deeper attachment with God and others.

(00:01) - Exploring Suffering and Transformation

(11:30) - Exploring Suffering and Connection

(12:45) - The Object of God's Glory and the Object of God's Wrath

(25:09) - Embracing Suffering With Community and Compassion

(36:57) - Inviting Healing and Transformation Through Suffering

Drawing upon material from a past conversation, this episode provides ideas about emotional resilience and spiritual formation through suffering.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Thompson's The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope
Dr. Thompson's Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections Between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships
C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis's The Weight of Glory

Scripture mentioned in this episode:

Read Mark 10:35-40 (ESV) - Jesus' question to James and John
Read Genesis 2:16-18 (ESV) - God tells the man He will surely die
Read Genesis 1-3 (ESV) - The narrative of creation and fall, as the origins of suffering
Read John 1:14 (ESV) - Jesus is God's glory
Read Psalm 22 (ESV) - The Psalm quoted by Jesus in the Gethsemane

More from Dr. Curt Thompson:

Dr. Thompson's website
Dr. Thompson's The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves
Dr. Thompson's The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community

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