About

Welcome to Samsara Diagnostics, a place for finding the freedom in finitude through dialogue with theology, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. I aim to support your religious and philosophical practice through my writing, research, and reflections which I share for free here at Samsara Diagnostics.

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Follow my podcast Samsara Audio where I host conversations you won't hear anywhere else. I bring on quality guests to delve into the intersections of religion, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. You can listen to Samsara Audio in your favorite podcast app, watch the videos on YouTube, or subscribe directly on Substack.

Who are you?

I'm Matthew – I grew up and studied theology in a Reformed Christian micro-denomination before I went off to Wheaton College and studied philosophy.

I stumbled into a career in software right after college, and have continued my research outside of an institutional university setting, all while having supported operations at three different tech startups.

In spring of 2024, I'll be starting a part-time online masters degree in philosophy and religion with the University of Wales Trinity St. David, marking a strategic foray back into a more institutional context for my scholarship.

My work at Samsara Diagnostics focuses primarily on developing a Christian perspective which takes finitude as a positive starting point for theory and practice rather than as a prison to be escaped.

My work is robustly Protestant and Reformed in its orientation, but moves across a range of surprising topics and interlocutors, especially in the fields of 20th century continental philosophy, psychoanalysis, and Japanese philosophy.

I'm constantly acting as a bridge amongst theological conversations, philosophical discourses, and psychoanalytic theory to foster a dialogue which takes finitude seriously in the journey of Christian discipleship on the way towards becoming fully human in Christ Jesus.

The front page of this website displays my essays sorted by three primary topics – psychoanalysis, theology, and philosophy. Feel free to check out my archive, and please send me a message if you'd like to offer comments or interact further.

How can I support Samsara Diagnostics?

This is not my day job, so I'm grateful for any support that you'd be willing to generously provide to keep Samsara Diagnostics running. There are a few ways that you can help support my work:

You can purchase a premium subscription for Samsara Diagnostics. This supports my ongoing writing and research, and will also give you a voice in developing the direction of Samsara Diagnostics.

You can purchase a premium subscription for Samsara Audio on Substack. This supports my podcasting efforts, helps me cover costs, and will also gain you access to transcripts of every podcast episode once they are released.

You can purchase my forthcoming book Ideology and Christian Universality, which looks at the historical, theological, and philosophical conflicts in Endo Shusaku's novel Silence, including their relevance for a contemporary theology of liberation and practice of emancipation.

You can shop for books through my Bookshop.org affiliate store so I can receive a small commission on any book purchases you make (they also support local bookstores!). You will find affiliate links for books in my blog posts as well.

If you'd like to interact with anything I've written, please don't hesitate to use the Contact page to reach out, or tweet at my on Twitter. I'd love to connect with you.