189. Choosing Faith in College (with Dr. Carolyn Weber)

Guest Bio: An award-winning author, popular professor, and international speaker on the intersections of faith, literature, and culture, Dr. Carolyn Weber, a Commonwealth Scholar, holds her BA Hon. from Huron University College, Canada and her MPhil and DPhil from Oxford University, England. She has taught students across continents and now enjoys teaching at New College Franklin and working with the creative community in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. Her book Surprised by Oxford, which won the Grace Irwin Award, the largest prize for best Christian writing in Canada, was made into a feature film. She resides in the country with her husband, four spirited children, and animal menagerie. 

 

Show Summary: Did you go to college and experience a complete change in your faith? Are you preparing to send a beloved child or children to college? During this God Hears Her conversation, guest Dr. Carolyn Weber relives her time of choosing faith at Oxford University while she prepares to send her daughter off to college. Join hosts Eryn Eddy Adkins and Vivian Mabuni as they dig into Dr. Carolyn’s faith and her current feelings about sending her daughter off. 

 

Notes and Quotes:  

“We have to doubt as wisely as we have to believe.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

“What I was drawn to in some ways with the Christian faith was that it was not fair-weather. There wasn’t a sense of only loving people when you’re in the mood. Love was a verb and a decision. There isn’t a grace that can be earned.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

“[On the image of Christians] It’s not a personality; it’s just a glow of a surrendered life.” –Vivian Mabuni 

“There is so much messaging about self-worth and women, objectifying women and them not having a voice—which is completely the opposite of how Jesus treated women in the Bible, and that is all the more radical given the timeframe.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

“Take and eat—not take and think—take and eat in remembrance of me. Put your body back together that'’s been pulled apart by so many things, remember in me and undo the first lie in the garden that you’re not good enough.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

“There’s something deeper [with fellowship] because you know that you can go to them with repentance, truth, pain, sorrow, joy, questions, and they are called to walk with you and you with them.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

“You are a daughter of the King. He is the lifter of your head and your shield. There are going to be times in life when you think you have to follow someone, but you have to follow Jesus.” —Dr. Carolyn Weber 

 

Verses:  

Women being the first to witness the resurrection: Luke 24:1-12 

The woman at the well: John 4 

Eve in the garden (the lie of not being good enough): Genesis 3 

 

Related Episodes: 

• GHH Ep 26 – Big Decisions and Crossroads: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/big-decisions-and-crossroads/ 

• GHH Ep 66 – Dreams and Fears with Jade Gustafson: https://godhearsher.org/podcast/dreams-and-fears/ 

• GHH Ep 147 – Mentoring