In this deeply personal and spiritually rich episode, philosopher Jerry L. Martin is joined by Abigail L. Rosenthal on his podcast God An Autobiography for an intimate conversation about divine encounters, spiritual awakening, and what it means to experience a radically personal God.

Drawing from Jerry’s new book Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial Age, the discussion explores how spiritual truth is not one-size-fits-all and why each individual’s connection to the divine can look entirely unique.

Jerry reflects on being called to tell God’s story across different cultures and religious traditions, while Abigail shares a powerful mystical experience that sustained her through a long and painful chapter in her life.

Together, they discuss Jewish philosophy, personal spirituality, the rejection of Original Sin, and how trusting one’s inner spiritual compass can lead to deep transformation.

This episode speaks directly to seekers, skeptics, and anyone exploring their own spiritual path. It is a thoughtful and emotional journey into faith and doubt, divine presence, mystical experience, and the call to live with spiritual purpose.

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Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly online column, "Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column" along with "Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Podcast," where she explains why women's lives are highly interesting. Many of her articles are accessible at https://brooklyn-cuny.academia.edu/AbigailMartin. She edited The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way by her father, the late Henry M. Rosenthal. She is married to Jerry L. Martin, also a philosopher. They live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She can be reached a dearabbiesilvousplait@gmail.com.We live under the sheltering umbrellas of our worldviews. To the point where we would feel naked if we were caught in the street without them.

In this episode, Dr. Abigail L. Rosenthal joins her husband Dr. Jerry L. Martin on his podcast God An Autobiography to ask a question deeply human and spiritually profound:

What is love and what does it reveal about the nature of the world we live in?

Jerry and Abigail remind us that truth is not always found in the dominant worldview. Often, it comes from moments that break through: a glance, a conversation, a shared fight for something that matters.

This intimate dialogue speaks to those who live at the edge of conventional categories, those who are spiritual but not religious, seekers of meaning, lovers of wisdom.

If you’ve ever felt there must be more to love than psychology, more to life than surface logic, this is your episode.

Begin here. With feeling. With thought. With two philosophers, in love.

"God is not fooled. Everybody else could be fooled, but in that respect—just as you can’t fool a child by pretending to be benevolent and love the cute little number when you don’t—the child is not fooled. The dog is not fooled. You know, there are humble creatures in life who are simply not fooled by grown-up pretenses, and God seems to be in that number."