Elizabeth Oldfield: The Christian apologist on why she’s not afraid to quote poetry to the philosophers

The podcaster and former director of Theos opens up about her unconventional faith journey, what living in Christian community has taught her about discipleship and why she’s writing about sex

Elizabeth Oldfield’s is a curious, provocative faith. 

In her teens, she converted to Christianity after an encounter with the Holy Spirit at the popular Christian youth festival, Soul Survivor. Then, almost a decade later, she changed her mind.

She discarded the “emotional, experiential faith” of her younger years after completing a master’s in theology and starting work at the BBC on a programme about the Old Testament. “It was reading the Bible that made it all fall apart for me,” she says, explaining how grappling with the “strange, spiky, complex” stuff, rather than just the encouraging verses Christians like to put on fridge magnets rocked her faith.

She felt like a fool for building her life “on something for stupid people”, but even in her attempts at atheism, Oldfield couldn’t seem to stop talking to God anyway. “I remember trying to say to myself: I don’t believe in God, and instead finding myself saying: I don’t believe in you. Everything that was renunciation turned into conversation. I was like: I’m not talking to you. I mean, you’re not there, obviously. And also, I’m not talking to you,” she smiles wryly. 

In time, Oldfield realised she wasn’t the first person to experience the dark night of the soul. She’s beyond grateful for the…