The Road Away from God: How Love Finds Us Even as We Walk Away - Paperback

by Jonathan Martin (Author)

It's no easy journey disentangling the good news of the gospel from the toxic theologies that have rendered Jesus unrecognizable. It's no wonder the church has sent many walking.

In The Road Away from God, Jonathan Martin reimagines Luke's story of two disillusioned disciples walking the Emmaus road away from the holy city where they had watched their hope die a gruesome death right before their eyes.

For anyone who is feeling their faith unravel, reckoning with religious trauma, or walking the long road of deconstruction, Martin speaks compassionate hope into the journey of today's disillusioned disciples, revealing that the resurrected Christ is profoundly present with them--even on what seems to be the road away from God.

With "a pastor's heart and poet's touch," as Rachel Held Evans once wrote of Martin, this is a book to help you feel seen in your spiritual journey and all its complexities, and to find resurrection even where you least expect it.

Back Jacket

Honest words for those who feel the ache of leaving home

It's no easy journey disentangling the good news of the gospel from the toxic theologies that have rendered Jesus unrecognizable to so many of us. The road is long, painful, and often lonely as we grapple with our disillusionment and look for healing and something to hold on to. But it is not one we need walk alone.

In The Road Away from God, Jonathan Martin reimagines Luke's story of two disillusioned disciples walking the Emmaus road away from the holy city where they had watched their hope die a gruesome death right before their eyes. With compassion born from his own experience, Martin reveals that the resurrected Christ is profoundly present with us--even as walk away.

This is a book to help you feel seen in your spiritual journey and all its complexities . . . and to find resurrection where you least expect it.


"This book feels like a walk in the woods with an encouraging friend. One of those walks you take after a delicious meal, where you're walking but still carrying your wine glass. As you walk, you open up your heart to really listen, and your friend is brutally honest without being hurtful. And your friend tells you the truth about themselves, which is almost exactly the truth about yourself, and it sets you both free. Jonathan Martin took me on such a walk in The Road Away from God. His words, his stories, his journey are a true gift. And even though the book's title might contradict this . . . while reading, I think I found Jesus again. I think you will too."--Carlos A. Rodriguez, founder of The Happy Givers and author of Drop the Stones

Author Biography

Jonathan Martin is a writer, poet, and speaker who has undergone his own experience of finding God on the underside of life. Wherever he goes, his message is always the same: no matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, God is at work to bring beauty out of your brokenness. He has a ThM from Duke University and MA from The Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Currently he lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he serves as pastor of The Table and host of The Zeitcast.