Holy Heretics: Losing Religion & Finding Jesus
The EXvangelical podcast that addresses your questions about faith, politics, how we got here, and how to move forward. No topic is off-limits as we have conversations with scholars, spiritual seekers, and activists in our quest to uncover the heart of faith.
Ep. 26: Rejecting Patriarchy, Finding Deeper Faith w/ Kelly Lamb
Women of the Christian faith eventually have to confront one really big question: Why stay in a system that actively works to silence women and keep them from following their…
Ep. 25: Finding God in Wild Places w/ Dr. Belden C. Lane
Can God only be experienced through the Church? Or is God revealed and able to be experienced elsewhere? Dr. Belden C. Lane, professor emeritus of theological studies, believes…
Ep. 24: Liberation, Belonging, & Coming Out w/ Flamy Grant & Ben Grace (Heathen Podcast)
What happens when you realize your religion does everything except foster wholeness, flourishing, and love? For Flamy Grant and Ben Grace, two of the four hosts of…
Ep. 23: Bad Religion, Shame, & Community w/ Anissa & Karyn (Heathen Podcast)
As one half of the hosting team at Heathen Podcast, Anissa Nishira and Karyn Thurston are done with shame. Despite their vastly different upbringings, they each were…
Ep. 22: Nourishing Your Soul with Reina Rose
Fed up with superficial religion but also feeling empty from pursuing pleasure as the highest virtue, Reina Rose (host of the Roku TV show Soul Nutrition) began searching…
Ep. 21: Should I Stay in Church? with Dismantle Pod
To church or not to church, that is the question—at least for those of us who no longer claim the evangelical label. And if we do decide to stay, what do we do when we disagree…
Ep. 20: What Is the Bible? with Dr. Pete Enns
Most of us who are raised evangelical are taught 3 things about the Bible: 1. that it’s the Word of God; 2. that it’s inerrant (i.e., without error); and 3. that a “plain and simple”…
BONUS: “I Just Want Real Friends”: Finding Community Post-Deconstruction (Roundtable Discussion)
Everyone’s experience with “deconstruction” or “leaving the faith” is different, but one thing that so many have in common is a loss of community. Whether it was by choice…
Ep. 19: How Complementarianism Feeds Sex Trafficking with Meghan Tschanz
Meghan Tschanz was a good Christian girl her whole life: She went to church, she stayed “pure,” she submitted to male authority, and she dedicated many years of her life…
Ep. 18: Is Christianity Harmful? with Will Thorpe (Heretical Theology)
How sure are you about what you believe? How do you know it’s true? Will Thorpe (aka @hereticaltheology) has made it his mission to ask the difficult questions about faith and God…
Ep. 17: From Fundamentalism to Nuance: Rediscovering Ancient Spiritual Practices w/ Travis Wade Zinn
From his fundamentalist, homeschooled (Bill Gothard style) upbringing to finding himself addicted to alcohol and homeless in France, Travis Wade Zinn has been through a lot…
Ep. 16: Recognizing and Healing from Religious Trauma with Jess Hugenberg of Welcome to the Process
“Other people have it worse.” “This really wasn’t that bad.” “Stop making mountains out of molehills.”
If you’ve ever said these things to yourself when thinking about your religious upbringing, or if other people…
Ep. 15: Who’s on Top & Why It Matters: Rethinking Christian Sex Advice (with Sheila Wray Gregoire)
If what U.S. evangelicalism teaches about sex before marriage (i.e. purity culture) is harmful, is it any surprise that what it teaches about sex after marriage is just as damaging?
Ep. 14: Gaining a Deeper Understanding of God from Muslim Friends with Rachel Pieh Jones
You’re either right or you’re wrong, there is no in between. At least, that’s what most versions of Christianity in the U.S. have taught for decades, saying that if a spiritual…
Ep. 13: Moving beyond Biblical Literalism with Fr. Brendan Ellis Williams
Biblical literalism—i.e. reading the Bible literally and historically—has become synonymous with the Christian faith. But what if we told you that it’s not the original (nor most…
Ep. 12: Deconstructing Toxic Christianity One Joke at a Time with Kristina Harutoonian (The DTR Blog)
When our journeys take us to unexpected places, sometimes all we can do is cry…and make jokes about it. For Kristina Harutoonian, the personality behind @thedtrblog, when…
Ep. 11: ChurchToo: What’s Purity Culture Got to Do with It? with Emily Joy Allison
Is it possible that most of what our evangelical churches teach about sex and purity actually prime us for abuse? In this episode, we chat with Emily Joy Allison, author of…
Ep. 10: What happened to Joshua Harris? The I Kissed Dating Goodbye author shares about purity culture and deconstructing his faith
Why did Joshua Harris, the original face of purity culture, eventually recant everything he once believed? What does he believe now? And what does that mean for the millions…
Ep. 9: How “Christian Values” Gave Rise to Toxic Masculinity with Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Those of us who were raised evangelical are well acquainted with the terms “family values” and “Christian values.” But do we know where they came from, what came before…
Ep. 7: Loving Your Enemies with Dr. Russell Johnson
What does it look like to actually love our enemies? We sit down with Dr. Russell Johnson, a professor at the University of Chicago, to talk about his personal…
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