Who I am

I didn’t come to theology through safety.

I grew up carrying depression long before I had language for it. Long before faith felt coherent. Long before anyone expected me to become “someone.” At one point, a teacher made that expectation explicit and told me I wouldn’t be anything. That verdict stayed with me longer than it should have.

I didn’t disappear.

I earned a Master of Divinity not to prove them wrong, but because shallow faith would not survive what I was living. I needed a theology that could endure pressure—a doctrine that didn’t collapse under suffering, doubt, or anger. Theology, for me, was never abstract. It was survival work.

I belong to the hardcore community because it values honesty, endurance, and standing your ground without pretense. That ethic shaped me as much as any classroom did. So did marriage—learning to remain, to be known, to choose fidelity when walking away would be easier.

The Altar / The Pit exists because I was formed in both places.
The altar taught me reverence, discipline, and submission to truth.
The pit taught me what survives when comfort is gone.

This site is for those who need theology that can take a hit. Not inspirational slogans. Not sanitized spirituality. Theology that has been tested and stayed.

If you’re looking for certainty without cost, this isn’t it.
If you’re looking for faith that endured collision, you’re in the right place.

— Rev. Daniel Figueroa-Rubio, M.Div.