Soil and Roots

Brian Fisher continues his series on our unconscious “ideas of God” by exploring how living in deeply partial cultures may shape the way we relate to Him. From first-class airline seating to celebrity pastors and donor culture, he argues that modern life constantly reinforces the message that some people are simply more valuable, more connected, and more worthy of access than others. Over time, those experiences can quietly lead us to assume God operates the same way.

The article challenges the transactional spirituality many Christians unknowingly adopt — treating prayer, discipline, and church involvement as ways to earn greater intimacy with God. Brian suggests that if we believe God is partial, vulnerability becomes frightening because we fear rejection and disapproval. But he closes with a hopeful invitation: what if God does not relate to us the way our systems do? What if His love and presence are just as available to ordinary, wounded, unnoticed people as to the spiritually impressive?

Read the full version of "No Soup for You" on the Soil and Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/54upk

No Soup for You How Partial Cultures Shape Our Ideas of God

Brian Fisher takes the conversation a step deeper by naming one of the most powerful hidden ideas many of us carry: the quiet suspicion that God isn’t actually good. He explains that this isn’t primarily an intellectual issue—it’s an experiential one. Our hearts form conclusions about God based on suffering, loss, and lived experience, even when our theology says otherwise. Through the story of a former missionary who walked away from faith after witnessing immense suffering, Brian shows how pain can reshape our inner world, leaving us not just doubting God’s goodness, but feeling anger toward Him.

Instead of offering quick theological fixes, Brian invites us into a deeper, more honest path. The first step is uncovering whether this idea is actually operating in us. The second is recognizing that healing doesn’t come through more information alone, but through relational experience—especially what he calls “withness,” the power of presence. In the middle of suffering, God’s goodness may be less about changing circumstances and more about His willingness to be with us through them. And often, that presence is mediated through others who simply show up, sit with us, and embody the kind of love that slowly restores trust in God’s heart.

Read "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" on the Soil and Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/53cxw

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Spiritual Formation and the Hidden Idea That God Isn’t Actually Good