Catherine Toon

Do you believe God loves you, yet secretly fear that He's angry, disappointed, or ready to punish you when you fail? Have unanswered prayers, painful experiences, religious teachings, or past trauma left you feeling distant from God? In Episode 344 of Perspectives with Catherine Toon, Dr. Catherine Toon explores how to heal a distorted view of God and rediscover the Father's true heart of unconditional love, compassion, and acceptance. Many Christians intellectually believe that God is love, yet emotionally struggle with fear of God's punishment, rejection, or abandonment. These distorted perceptions of God can develop through painful childhood experiences, controlling religious environments, spiritual performance, trauma, and disappointed expectations. Catherine explains why these deeply rooted beliefs are not evidence of weak faith but areas where God's love can bring healing and restoration. In this episode, you'll discover: • How to recognize the hidden signs of a distorted view of God, including fear, shame, spiritual striving, and expecting rejection. • Why religious trauma, painful relationships, and unanswered prayers can influence how you experience God's character. • How Jesus reveals the Father's true nature and challenges false beliefs about God's anger, disappointment. • Why God invites you to run toward Him in your struggles rather than hide in shame. • A practical guided prayer and reflection exercise to identify painful beliefs, trace their origins, and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal a clearer picture of God's love. If you've ever wondered, "Is God disappointed in me?" "Is God punishing me?" or "Why does God feel so distant?" this teaching offers biblical encouragement, spiritual reflection, and practical steps toward experiencing His love more deeply.

If God is all-powerful, why doesn't He stop evil? Why does a loving God allow suffering, injustice, and destruction to continue? In this episode of Perspectives with Catherine Toon, Dr. Catherine Toon explores the problem of evil through a powerful biblical perspective on God's omnipotence, His unchanging nature of love, and the revelation of Jesus Christ. Rather than defining God's power through domination, punishment, or retaliation, Catherine invites us to look at Jesus, who forgave His enemies, washed the feet of His betrayer, and overcame evil through sacrificial love. Discover why God's patience is not weakness or indifference, how mercy transforms those who do harm, and why overcoming evil with good reflects the true authority of God's kingdom. Through Scripture and compelling stories of redemption, this teaching explores God's ultimate purpose to heal, redeem, and restore creation. Even when suffering remains and answers seem delayed, God's love is actively working toward the restoration of all things. You'll also discover how you can partner with God through love, justice, protection, truth, and mercy in your own sphere of influence.  To support the ministry with tax-deductible donations: https://catherinetoon.com/support/ Marked by Love, Revised & Expanded Edition is here:
#1 Best Seller & #1 New Release in our category! Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3K2J9ZV God, Male & Female?: https://amzn.to/49hzCIM CONNECT WITH CATHERINE: ► Website: https://catherinetoon.com/ ► Facebook: @catherinetoonmd ► Instagram: @catherinetoon ► Twitter: @catherinetoonmd ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatherineToonMD FREE RESOURCES: ► Podcast: https://catherinetoon.com/perspectives-podcast/ ► Free eBooks: https://catherinetoon.com/free-downloads/ ► Blog: https://catherinetoon.com/blog/ ► Free chapter of Marked by Love: https://catherinetoon.com/mblfreechapter/ ABOUT CATHERINE: Encouraging you to experience God and discover who you truly are!
Catherine has been in the business of changing lives for decades as an author, speaker, and prophetic coach. She is incredibly gifted at calling forth personal destiny and has helped thousands of individuals who are on that journey.

Why does God allow evil and suffering if He is all-powerful and loving? Why doesn't He stop abuse, injustice, and tragedy? In this second episode of the God and Evil series, Dr. Catherine Toon explores how God's love responds to human suffering without controlling human free will. Through Scripture and her personal testimony of healing from childhood trauma, she reveals that God is not the author of evil, nor is He absent from our pain. Discover how God's presence brings healing, why forgiveness doesn't mean tolerating abuse, and how His love confronts evil through truth, justice, healthy boundaries, and restoration. Even when circumstances don't immediately change, God is working to heal wounded hearts and make all things new. Perspectives with Catherine Toon explores conversations that invite deeper encounters with God, spiritual transformation, love, truth, beauty, and what it means to live fully awake to His presence.  To support the ministry with tax-deductible donations: https://catherinetoon.com/support/ Marked by Love, Revised & Expanded Edition is here:
#1 Best Seller & #1 New Release in our category! Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3K2J9ZV God, Male & Female?: https://amzn.to/49hzCIM CONNECT WITH CATHERINE: ► Website: https://catherinetoon.com/ ► Facebook: @catherinetoonmd ► Instagram: @catherinetoon ► Twitter: @catherinetoonmd ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatherineToonMD FREE RESOURCES: ► Podcast: https://catherinetoon.com/perspectives-podcast/ ► Free eBooks: https://catherinetoon.com/free-downloads/ ► Blog: https://catherinetoon.com/blog/ ► Free chapter of Marked by Love: https://catherinetoon.com/mblfreechapter/ ABOUT CATHERINE: Encouraging you to experience God and discover who you truly are!
Catherine has been in the business of changing lives for decades as an author, speaker, and prophetic coach. She is incredibly gifted at calling forth personal destiny and has helped thousands of individuals who are on that journey.

Why does God allow suffering and evil if He is so good? Why doesn't God simply stop the wars, injustice, heartbreak, and brokenness in our world? And if God is sovereign, does that mean He controls everything that happens? In this episode of Perspectives with Catherine Toon, we explore one of Christianity's most difficult questions: Why does God allow suffering? Catherine challenges common assumptions about God's sovereignty, explains the relationship between free will and divine love, and shares a biblical perspective on how Jesus Christ's victory on the cross addresses the problem of evil. Discover why God's sovereignty doesn't necessarily mean He controls every event, why genuine love requires freedom, and how trauma, addiction, and spiritual bondage can affect our ability to choose freely. Catherine also explains how God lovingly heals and restores our wills, empowering us to walk in greater freedom without shame or condemnation. Through Scripture, including 2 Timothy 2:24–26, Ephesians 2:1–3, Colossians 1:13, Romans 5:10, and Philippians 2:10–11, Catherine presents a hope-filled understanding of God's character and His commitment to redeeming creation. In this episode, you'll discover: - Why God's sovereignty is not the same as controlling everything. - How free will makes genuine love possible. - Why suffering and evil do not mean God has abandoned us. - How spiritual bondage, trauma, and brokenness affect our choices. - What it means to have a healed and freed will. - How the cross of Jesus Christ defeated evil and death. - Why God's ultimate purpose is restoration and reconciliation rather than manipulation or coercion. If you've ever questioned God's goodness because of what you've experienced or witnessed in the world, this conversation offers a compassionate space to wrestle with difficult questions, discover a deeper understanding of divine love, and find hope in the middle of suffering. Perspectives with Catherine Toon explores conversations that invite deeper encounters with God, spiritual transformation, love, truth, beauty, and what it means to live fully awake to His presence.  To support the ministry with tax-deductible donations: https://catherinetoon.com/support/ Marked by Love, Revised & Expanded Edition is here:
#1 Best Seller & #1 New Release in our category! Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3K2J9ZV God, Male & Female?: https://amzn.to/49hzCIM CONNECT WITH CATHERINE: ► Website: https://catherinetoon.com/ ► Facebook: @catherinetoonmd ► Instagram: @catherinetoon ► Twitter: @catherinetoonmd ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatherineToonMD FREE RESOURCES: ► Podcast: https://catherinetoon.com/perspectives-podcast/ ► Free eBooks: https://catherinetoon.com/free-downloads/ ► Blog: https://catherinetoon.com/blog/ ► Free chapter of Marked by Love: https://catherinetoon.com/mblfreechapter/ ABOUT CATHERINE: Encouraging you to experience God and discover who you truly are!
Catherine has been in the business of changing lives for decades as an author, speaker, and prophetic coach. She is incredibly gifted at calling forth personal destiny and has helped thousands of individuals who are on that journey.

What if the Christian conversation about heaven has become too escapist, sensationalized, or sentimental? In this episode of Perspectives with Catherine Toon, author and pastor Brian Zahnd joins Catherine to explore themes from his book “Unseen Existences” and recover a deeper understanding of heaven, the unseen realm, spiritual formation, and our pilgrimage toward union with God. Brian describes heaven not simply as a distant location but as an eternal, unseen reality—and explores how our lives in this present world form us for deeper participation in God. Together, Catherine and Brian discuss the “already and not yet,” the spiritual significance of our everyday journey, and why there are no shortcuts in genuine spiritual formation. They also explore wonder and beauty as powerful ways of becoming more awake to God. From watching stars and bats in the backyard to intentionally noticing beauty on an ordinary drive through suburbia, Brian explains how wonder can awaken gratitude and reconnect us with realities we often overlook. The conversation moves into Christian aesthetics, spiritual experiences, prayer, imagination, technology, the false self, and the mystery of becoming who God created us to be. In this conversation, you’ll discover: • Why Brian believes Christians need a renewed theology of heaven • How this life functions as a pilgrimage toward union with God • Why wonder can become a spiritual practice • How beauty can point us toward the divine • Why ordinary spiritual experiences deserve meaningful conversation • How our humanity connects the physical and spiritual worlds • Why technology cannot replace our relationship with God • How imagination can help us become attentive to the unseen realm • Why holy awe—the “mysterium tremendum”—matters in spiritual formation Perspectives with Catherine Toon explores conversations that invite deeper encounters with God, spiritual transformation, love, truth, beauty, and what it means to live fully awake to His presence.  To support the ministry with tax-deductible donations: https://catherinetoon.com/support/ Marked by Love, Revised & Expanded Edition is here:
#1 Best Seller & #1 New Release in our category! Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3K2J9ZV God, Male & Female?: https://amzn.to/49hzCIM CONNECT WITH CATHERINE: ► Website: https://catherinetoon.com/ ► Facebook: @catherinetoonmd ► Instagram: @catherinetoon ► Twitter: @catherinetoonmd ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatherineToonMD FREE RESOURCES: ► Podcast: https://catherinetoon.com/perspectives-podcast/ ► Free eBooks: https://catherinetoon.com/free-downloads/ ► Blog: https://catherinetoon.com/blog/ ► Free chapter of Marked by Love: https://catherinetoon.com/mblfreechapter/ ABOUT CATHERINE: Encouraging you to experience God and discover who you truly are!
Catherine has been in the business of changing lives for decades as an author, speaker, and prophetic coach. She is incredibly gifted at calling forth personal destiny and has helped thousands of individuals who are on that journey.