# Why Read Poetry? with Stephen Witmer Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer.md Podcast: [Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin](https://stenobird.com/podcast/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832) Published: 2026-02-10T06:00:03+00:00 Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer--69897873 Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69897873/stephen_witmer_audio.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832/episodes/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer Duration seconds: 2733 ## Resource Rebecca talks with pastor and author Dr. Stephen Witmer about why poetry—especially the work of 17th-century priest George Herbert—can deepen our understanding of the gospel. Through Herbert’s poems, they explore themes of inadequacy, priesthood, and the imputed righteousness of Christ. Along the way, they discuss why Scripture itself uses poetry and why beauty, metaphor, and imagination matter for Christian faith. Buy Stephen's Book: In All Things Thee to See : A Devotional Guide to Selected Poems of George Herbert Use code WORSHIP for 30% off "All of Me" by Cheryl Marshall at thegoodbook.com —and download your free study guide today. Find Battling Unbelief wherever books are sold, or visit crossway.org/battlingunbelief to get 30% off with a free Crossway+ account. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832/episodes/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/confronting-christianity-with-rebecca-mclaughlin-5609832/why-read-poetry-with-stephen-witmer.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.