A fundamental assumption of modern American life is that you are your own and you belong to yourself.  IF we are our own, it follows that it’s up to each of us to forge our own identities and assure our lives are significant and even noteworthy.

This sounds empowering, right? But it turns out to be a crushing responsibility, Dr. Alan Noble contends, one that never actually delivers on its promise of a free and fulfilled life. For many of us, this mindset is a burden and source of stress. Rather than feeling free or full, we might feel hemmed in, burned out, depressed, anxious, and alone. This phenomenon is mapped onto the very structures of our society, and helps explain our society’s underlying disorder.

The Christian gospel offers a strikingly different vision. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, “I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” In You Are Not Your Own (2021, InterVarsity Press), Alan explores how this simple truth reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God. Contrasting these two visions of life, he invites us to move beyond the sickness of contemporary life into a fuller understanding of who we are and to Whom we belong.

Please join us for this mind-shifting virtual event. A compelling speaker, Dr. Alan Noble will present from his new book, You Are Not Your Own and engage with audience members during a time of Q&A.

About Dr. Alan Noble

Alan Noble (Ph.D., Baylor University) is an associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for the Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of the award-winning Disruptive Witness (2018, InterVarsity Press).