John Marriott
7 min read ⭑
“In deconversion story after deconversion story, people claim that picking up the Bible and reading it for themselves resulted in a faith crisis that ended in faith loss. But when you look carefully at the stories, many have one thing in common — mistaken assumptions about the Bible.”
Christians with doubts about their faith won’t find judgment from John Marriott — because he’s wrestled with many of those same doubts, too. As someone who’s spent much of his career in ministry and Christian academia, John has found that the Church all too often glosses over deep, complicated questions people have about God and the Bible. That’s why he offers hope and thoughtful answers in his books on deconversion, such as The Anatomy of Deconversion or his latest, Is It Really the Good Book?: Restoring Your Faith in the Bible by Challenging Your Assumptions About It.
Today, you’ll learn what most deconversion stories have in common and how addressing key misconceptions can help more people hold onto their faith. You’ll also discover the spiritual reason John delights in baking and the book that set his faith ablaze at 14 years old.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
I grew up in northern Ontario, Canada, in a city with lots of European immigrants. One of the largest groups are Ukrainians. Every year, the Ukrainian church in my neighborhood would make and sell cabbage rolls and pierogi. My mom would buy a bunch and freeze them, and we would eat them throughout the year. Pierogi are like dumplings, but instead of rice and vegetables inside, they have a cheese-and-potato filling. They’re panfried with butter until golden brown. Pierogi and cabbage rolls were a classic meal not only in my community but in my own home. My mom now makes her own pierogi and cabbage rolls, and when she comes to visit us in California, she brings some with her so I can have a taste of home!
Markus Spiske; Pexels
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
Recently, I have come to really enjoy baking! I have started with pies, specifically apple, and I am branching out to make butter tarts, a favorite of Canadians everywhere. Baking refreshes my soul because it takes me away from sitting in front of a computer or TV and allows me to do something productive with my hands. Baking scratches my itch to create something. I love taking all the ingredients and combining them to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. Combined, the ingredients don’t just make a pie; they bring enjoyment to everyone who eats the warm, sweet, finished product.
Baking is spiritual in that it fulfills the cultural mandate given by God to reflect him by creating new things from the latent potential that he placed in the created order. God made apples, wheat, eggs, etc., and humans reflect him and bring him glory when we, as his image bearers, combine those things to create things of our own, such as cookies, bread and most importantly, apple pies.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
Procrastination is my kryptonite. If it can wait and it’s not something I want to do, I’ll put it off for as long as possible. Which, unfortunately, means some things never get done. Three years ago, I replaced the flooring in our living room. That also required replacing the baseboard. I managed to do all the boards in the living room, where people would see them, but the small section in the hallway, which is outside the view of anyone but my family, was left undone.
I fully intended to finish off that section, but since it wasn’t urgent, I told myself I’d do it next week. That was about 150 weeks ago! Every time I walk from the living room to the bedroom and look down at the floor, I feel a twinge of shame at my inability to finish a task I started so long ago. And don’t get me started on how long I wait to put up Christmas lights!
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
For the last two years, I’ve been working on the book, “Is It Really the Good Book?: Restoring Your Faith in the Bible by Questioning Your Assumptions About It.” My co-author, Shawn Wicks, and I wrote it because we both recognized the role the Bible plays in the deconversion process for so many former Christians. In deconversion story after deconversion story, people claim that picking up the Bible and reading it for themselves resulted in a faith crisis that ended in faith loss. But when you look carefully at the stories, many have one thing in common — mistaken assumptions about the Bible.
Our book seeks to address those mistaken assumptions. Interestingly, as I worked on the book, I recognized that I, too, had a number of mistaken assumptions that needed to be corrected — not only about the Bible but about how a relationship with God works. For example, I had to face how deeply the reciprocity principle had taken root in my life as it related to God. On a surface level, I affirmed that God didn’t owe me anything. However, when difficulty came into my life, I realized that, at a very deep level, I believed that God owed me for my “faithfulness” to him. When he didn’t repay me how I thought he should, I had to face the hard question: “What can I trust God for?” The process of wrestling through that wasn’t easy, but it was immensely valuable.
QUESTION #5: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what’s the top resource that stands out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
There are so many books and people who have influenced me, it’s a challenge to narrow them down. But I would start with a little book I received when I was 14 years old called “True Discipleship” by William MacDonald. Reading that book at such a formative age deeply impacted me by telling what being a follower of Jesus really meant. It outlined Jesus’ terms of discipleship and explained that all Christians were disciples. Discipleship wasn’t only for Christians who were really serious, but the duty of everyone who identified as a Christian. I found in Jesus’ call to radical obedience a person worth committing to and a cause worth living for. I saw in it an opportunity to live a life of true meaning and purpose. It felt exciting to be all in on the only thing that really mattered in life, knowing and following God.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
I try really hard to avoid technology and social media as much as possible. I have found a great sense of freedom from uncoupling from all social media and using technology as little as I can. I am not against the use of apps or technology for spiritual development, but because of my work, I spend so much time online and in front of a computer that when it comes to my non-work life, I want to spend as little time as possible connected to a device — even if it is to read or listen to the Bible or a good podcast.
QUESTION #6: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Nothing right now. I always say that my current writing project is my last one because I want to spend more time being involved in my local church or with my high school students. But something always comes up, and I find myself with a new project. As of now, I don’t have any plans to write anything else.
The Bible makes it clear: salvation is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t pay for it. And that means we owe God everything we are and everything we have. It’s an infinite exchange of love, where we keep following and serving him — always receiving more than we could ever give back.
And yet we have an enemy who doesn’t want us to see it that way. He wants us to think that, somehow, all our giving and serving and following means we deserve certain things from God.
That he owes us.
Reader, may we never fall into that trap. May we always remember who we are in comparison to our Creator and Everlasting Father. And may we always remember how deeply he loves us.
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:34-36, ESV).
John Marriott, Ph.D., is the former coordinator of the Biola Center for Christian Thought and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard University Human Flourishing Program. He is the author of several books on deconversion, including Is It Really the Good Book?: Restoring Your Faith in the Bible by Challenging Your Assumptions About It. He currently teaches at Talbot School of Theology and Whittier Christian High School.