S1 Ep. 4 | Reality in Ruins: Truth, Disreality, and the Cost of Conspiracy
Meet At The Well is a podcast and writing space by Mariana Herrera Mosli—writer, poet, and seminary scholar whose work lives at the intersection of theology, storytelling, and lived experience.
An ESL learner turned English Literature graduate, Mariana explores faith, healing, and becoming through biblical literature and story. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology with an emphasis in Women and Ministry, and is working on her first poetry collection, Thorns & Honey (forthcoming Spring 2027).
An Invitation to Meet In Person
This summer, I’ll be gathering with a community of writers, artists, and thoughtful voices at Cultivate 2026 [https://www.thewayback2ourselves.com/store/p/cultivate-2026-retreat-rooted-greenville-sc-june-19-21] in Greenville (June 19–21), and I would love for you to join me.
If you’ve found yourself drawn to the kinds of conversations we hold here—honest, nuanced, rooted in faith but open to the hard middle—this space will feel like coming to the table in real life.
We’ll be joined by voices like Amanda Held Opelt [https://substack.com/profile/36493747-amanda-held-opelt], Stephen Roach [https://substack.com/profile/129035499-stephen-roach] (of The Breath and the Clay and Makers and Mystics Podcast), Ben Palpant [https://substack.com/profile/164935489-ben-palpant] of The Rabbit Room [https://substack.com/profile/149781501-the-rabbit-room], alongside communities like Solum Literary Press [https://substack.com/profile/153514448-solum-literary-press] and The Clayjar Review [https://substack.com/profile/199579530-the-clayjar-review]— Deidre Braley [https://substack.com/profile/102225952-deidre-braley], Matthew Nash [https://substack.com/profile/114132290-matthew-nash], The Village Poet [https://open.substack.com/pub/thevillagepoet], Edward Holmes [https://substack.com/profile/56531309-edward-holmes], Rosa Lía Gilbert [https://substack.com/profile/19977251-rosa-lia-gilbert], Allana Walker [https://substack.com/profile/159535514-allana-walker], Kimberly Phinney [https://substack.com/profile/122923004-kimberly-phinney] and so many others shaping thoughtful, creative, and faithful work in the world.
I’ll also be there, hosting conversations rooted in Meet At The Well—creating space for the kinds of encounters we talk about here.
There are fewer than 30 tickets remaining.
If this resonates, I’d love for you to be part of it:
Click here to learn more! [https://www.thewayback2ourselves.com/store/p/cultivate-2026-retreat-rooted-greenville-sc-june-19-21]
When Faith Feels Unrecognizable
For many of us, the faith we inherited no longer feels like the faith we recognize.
What once felt like good news has, at times, been entangled with power, fear, and a kind of certainty that leaves little room for others to belong.
And if you’re anything like me—or like many of you who gather here at Meet At The Well—you might be asking:
How did we get here?And how do we stay rooted in Jesus without losing each other?
Recently, I had a conversation on the podcast with historian, theologian, and author of Reality in Ruins, Dr. Jared Stacy, PhD [https://substack.com/profile/9333836-jared-stacy-phd], that helped name what many of us have been sensing—but didn’t quite have language for.
Because naming something is not the same as tearing it down.
Sometimes, it’s the first step toward healing it.
When Stories Shape What We Believe
In our conversation, we explore how storytelling shapes belief—how the stories we inherit, repeat, and protect can either open us toward truth… or close us off from it.
We talk about:
* why certainty can feel so compelling (especially in uncertain times)
* how faith can get tangled with identity, politics, and fear
* what it costs to hold onto belief—and what it costs to question it
* and how we might begin to move toward a more honest, grounded, and human faith… into the great unknowing.
The Cost of Living in the “Hard Middle”
I know conversations like this can feel heavy.
Especially if you’ve:
* lost relationships over political or theological differences
* felt disoriented by what’s being said or done in the name of Jesus
* struggled to reconcile the love of Christ with the exclusion you’ve witnessed
* or found yourself somewhere in the “hard middle”—not fully at home anywhere
If that’s you, you’re not alone.
Naming Without Abandoning
There has also been critique around this kind of work—suggesting that naming these realities is somehow an attack on evangelicals.
But I want to say this with care, especially as someone who was formed in the outskirts of these spaces:
In many of these communities, naming dysfunction is often experienced as betrayal.
And that makes conversations like this costly.
And yet—
naming a problem is not the same as abandoning a people.
In fact, it can be an act of love.
Because you don’t name what’s broken if you don’t still believe healing is possible.
Healing make look a lot more like bringing uncertainty back to the table.
A Different Way Forward
At Meet At The Well, we’re not here to draw harder lines.
We’re here to break barriers, not people.
To make space for:
* honest questions
* complicated stories
* and a faith that doesn’t require certainty to remain rooted in Christ
A faith that can sit at the table with difference.A faith that resists the urge to reduce people to categories.A faith that still believes transformation is possible—on all sides.
If you’re trying to make sense of all of this…If you’re holding both grief and hope…If you’re learning to follow Jesus without needing to have everything figured out—
This conversation is for you.
Watch the Episode
Meet At The Well — featuring Dr. Jared Stacy
Episode Highlights
* Why conspiracy theories function more like stories than arguments
* How identity and belonging shape belief
* What “disreality” means and why it matters
* The cost of leaving deeply held beliefs
* Why truth must be encountered, not enforced
* How the Church can recover discernment in a fragmented world
* The invitation to live faithfully in uncertainty
Thanks for reading Meet At The Well! This post is public so feel free to share it.
About Dr. Jared Stacy & Reality in Ruins
Dr. Jared Stacy is a theologian, ethicist, and former evangelical pastor. He received his Ph.D. in moral and practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His work focuses on the intersection of theology, politics, extremism, and conspiracy theory within American evangelicalism.
His book, Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis [https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Ruins-Conspiracy-American-Evangelical/dp/0063453754], examines how conspiracy thinking has shaped modern evangelical identity—and how it has contributed to a fractured sense of truth, community, and witness.
His work has been featured in Time, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today [https://substack.com/profile/235020034-christianity-today].
Book Giveaway + Invitation to the Conversation
I have one extra copy of Reality in Ruins by Dr. Jared Stacy—and I’d love to place it in the hands of someone who wants to sit with this conversation more deeply.
Not to win an argument.Not to prove a point.But to stay at the table a little longer.
To enter:
* Listen to the latest episode of Meet At The Well
* Rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
* Leave a comment below sharing:
* what challenged you
* what gave you a new perspective
* or what you’re still wrestling with
I’ll choose one winner and send you a copy.
Giveaway closes: May 10th, 2026Winner announced: May 11, 2026
Final Thought
Conspiracy thinking promises secret knowledge—a way to separate insiders from outsiders.
But the Gospel tells a different story.
As Jared reminds us, truth is slow. It is weird.
It is received, rather than possessed.
Truth is not something we control.
It’s Someone we encounter.
And that encounter doesn’t draw harder lines.
It draws us back to the well—where we are known,and still invited to become.
Let’s keep the conversation going—together.
From the well,
Mariana
Meet At The Well is a reader-supported space—built slowly, honestly, together. If this work matters to you, consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5/month. Your support makes it possible to keep writing, challenging dehumanizing rhetoric, and holding space for others.
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