In this episode of “Knowledge for Breakfast”, we discuss the relationship between faith, knowing and believing. What role does knowledge play in faith. Can we consider religious experiences and beliefs knowledge? What we consider in this episode is, more than anything, what it’s like to have such religious and spiritual experiences from a qualitative perspective. We chat with Sister Mary Magdalene, who, until 2019, was an academic in Belgium with a background in science and philosophy before turning to the monastic life. God knows where this episode will go!
Episode 3: Faith, Knowing, and Believing
Hosts: Fabien Medvecky and Michiel van Oudheusden
List of Segments
❧ Welcome: 0.12 s
❧ Introducing faith, knowing and believing: 1.24
❧ Guest, Sister Mary Magdalene, joins us: 9.03
❧ A day in the life: 14.26
❧ Career switch: from science to faith: 22.03
❧ Experiential knowledge, faith and academic knowledge: 27.59
❧ The Statement: “Faith is the foundation of knowledge” a for and against debate: 40.26
Speaker’s Background
Sister Mary Magdalene is a scientist and philosopher by training. She worked for the research group Programme for the Integration of Social Aspects into Nuclear Research (PISA) at a SCK/CEN, the Belgium Nuclear Research Centre. In 2019 she left the academic research world to pursue monastic life. She joined the Abdij Onze Lieve Vrouw van Nazareth Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in Brecht, near the Belgian-Dutch border), a Catholic order of nuns and monks that branched off from the Cistercians, who themselves branched off from the Benedictines, and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Main Topics
Knowing and religious faith; Experiential ‘epistemic’ moments; Belief and knowledge.

Knowledge for Breakfast (KFB): A Podcast
Categories: Knowledge for Breakfast
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