The Evolution of My Faith

Issue #43

Hello! I’m Aaron Kardell. In my newsletter, I pick one random topic to go deep on and have some disparate quick hits at the end.

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There was a period in my early childhood when I was thoroughly convinced I would be a pastor when I grew up.

As I got older, it became clear that that wasn’t for me. Software entrepreneurship was my calling. The ability to create something from nothing and find a unique way to serve a market brought me joy and excitement. And I don’t think I had the gift of preaching, anyway.

Nevertheless, I still felt compelled to lean in more and study. I dual-majored in Computer Science and Biblical and Theological Studies in college. My lame joke has always been that I only did it because there was so much overlap between the two.

Now, in my mid-40s, I occasionally get a little cognitive dissonance thinking about how I still worship the same God I did in my youth, and yet how I view God, religion, and the world seem remarkably different than when I was younger.

This morning, I was reflecting on the fact that three inflection points have substantially impacted my faith journey during my adult life. All came in the form of teachings from others.

For my own benefit, I’m going to start writing more on the topic of those inflection points in my faith journey. I understand that’s not for everyone, and that’s not why you subscribed to this newsletter.

In the coming weeks, I will set up a private Substack where I occasionally write about topics surrounding faith. It will allow me to write and reflect on these topics for only those who want to opt in. And, selfishly, I will be able to write without worry of having my thoughts immediately attached to my name through a Google index.

The goal of the new newsletter won’t be to proselytize or convert. Instead, I want the opportunity to think out loud, wrestle, and get feedback from others who may have wrestled with similar issues. I hope it can provide a forum to engage with others who want to discuss such matters.

If that interests you, let me know by filling out this brief form. I’d be honored if you want to follow along. No worries if it’s not your jam.

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This Week’s Quick Hits

• Check out this video where Jeff Bezos shares his management style and philosophy. This tweet storm had a good write up of the core things shared. Favorite quote: “Anyone who doesn’t change their mind a lot is dramatically underestimating the complexity of the world we live in.”

• I listen to a lot of podcasts. Some day, I’ll write about how I got really close to buying an established podcast app. One of the biggest reasons I didn’t buy that app? I discovered a different app, Snipd, which basically had all the features I had wanted in a podcast app. It uses AI to help you take notes on what you’re learning. There is a free version, but to really make the most use of it, it costs ~$80/year. IMHO, it’s worth it for avid podcast listeners.

• This last February, a podcast episode hit me at just the right time: “This Must Be the Void.” In it, Rob Bell talks through navigating periods of lacking in motivation and creativity. For anyone going through such a season, I recommend taking a listen.

• There are so many new AI tools I could write about, since I haven’t posted in a while. If you haven’t seen them, check out Cursor (for coding) and Suno (for song generation). And although I’ve mentioned it before, I can’t say enough just how good Perplexity is at getting you solid answers to your questions, backed with citations.

Photo generated with OpenAI’s Dall-E Model