Graceful Atheist Podcast

Mathew Taylor, co-host of Still Unbelievable!, returns to the podcast to discuss why we podcast.LinksMatthew on Twitter:https://twitter.com/vteclimeyConfessions of a YEC blog:https://confessionsofayec.wordpress.com/"God takes the good people early” post:https://confessionsofayec.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/god-takes-the-good-people-early/Reason Press:https://reasonpress.net/"Still Unbelievable!” the book:https://reasonpress.net/SU1EPodcasts:Still Unbelievable!https://anchor.fm/still-unbelievableAsk An Atheist Anythinghttps://anchor.fm/reasonpressPrevious episodehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2019/06/20/matthew-taylor-confessions-of-a-young-earth-creationist/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/12/30/matthew-taylor-why-we-podcast/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Sara. Sara grew up in a Canadian Mennonite community and embraced it wholeheartedly. She was surrounded by evangelical Christianity and she thrived.As a young adult, she married and followed her husband into ministry. While he led, she helped as was expected of her. It didn't occur to her until years later how little her own leadership skills had to be set aside.Sara's husband started deconstructing his beliefs before she did, but as he was learning, she was also learning. Years later, she knew he'd become an atheist before he did.It wasn't easy, but they made space for one another to learn and grow and move down their own paths. Today, Sara is a spiritual director for others and doesn't have a specific label for herself, and it works just fine.“There's a whole host of ways of being in the world…”LinksSara's websitehttps://prairiethistle.ca/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/prairiethistleInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/12/17/sara-christian-humanism/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Beth. Beth grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home that revered James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and all those who created the “Moral Majority.” Her father was a pastor whose sermons centered on the End Times and protecting their families from the “shifting culture,” (read: all the movements happening in the 60's and 70's).As a teen, she lived a double life, keeping plenty of secrets from her parents. However, as a young adult, followed all the rules with the expectation that the “umbrella of God's protection” would take care of her. It didn't.It took decades of trying to do what was “right” and watching the promises of the Church come to naught before she finally took the leap out of Christianity. She now identifies as SBNR—spiritual but not religious. Beth is now able to trust her own judgment and make decisions that are best for her. No “umbrella of protection” needed.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/12/10/beth-deconstruction-from-the-moral-majority/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Arline interviews this week's guest, Andrew. Andrew is a self-named atheist “paleo-nerd.” He grew up home-schooled in a fundamentalist church in southern California. His whole schooling was religious and that included Young Earth Creationism.In high school, Andrew struggled with his shy nature and some depressive episodes. The church didn't seem to have room for people like him. As a young adult, finally making his own decisions and living a life without fundamentalism everywhere, Andrew saw how much he could accomplish on his own. He had had the resources inside him but hadn't known it.Now, as an atheist, he's figuring out what life looks like for himself. It includes a wife and kids, online friends, lots of dinosaurs, and a happiness that isn't perfect or perpetual but is enough.LinksDino Dad Reviewshttps://dinodadreviews.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/dinodadreviews/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/12/03/andrew-dino-dad-reviews/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Arline interviews this week's guest, Racquelle. Racquelle grew up in Canada in the Seventh Day Adventist church. Conspiracy theories were common in her household. Some of them she bought into.Throughout her life she went through periods of doubt but something kept bringing her back to Church. A sense of obligation and expectation never left her.Eventually, Racquelle deconverted from her faith and deconstructed the conspiracy theories. She now has an interesting perspective on the deconstruction process.LinksFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/racquelle.pilonInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/racquelle_p/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/11/26/racquelle-deconversion-from-sda-and-conspiracy-theories/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Arline interviews this week's guest, Andy Neal of Andy Films And Hikes fame. He is self described as a "plus size hiking influencer."Andy tells his story of deconstruction, acceptance of his body and his joy in nature. He is an inspiration to all to get outdoors and experience nature.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/andyfilmsandhikes/Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/AndyNeal InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/11/19/andy-neal-andy-films-and-hikes/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Natalie from New Zealand tells Arlene here story. She grew up Pentecostal participating in church. In her young adulthood she converted to Mormonism.She saw that as woman her role was limited and was finding it difficult to accept the church's perspective on LGBQT issues. Eventually Natalie deconverted. She is thankful for her kids' sake who later came out as queer. Natalie now finds time in nature and the forest life giving.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/11/12/natalie-pentecostal-to-mormon-to-atheist/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Jeff grew up in his words “a very religious household.” He attended a large Southern Baptist church.In college he fell in love with the seriousness of Calvinism after reading John Piper's Desiring God. He left seminary early to become a minster because he felt time pressure to be “on mission” for God.After three pastors he knew committed suicide in one year, Jeff began to deconstruct.Today he is agnostic and finds therapy and mindfulness helpful in his life.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/BackwoodspiperInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/11/05/jeff-deconstruction-of-a-southern-baptist-minister/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Megan. Megan grew up in a fundamentalist Catholic home with an irrationally religious mother and an absent father. As a teen, she was invited to an evangelical bible study after school and after some serious “love bombing” by the youth group, she was a part of a community. “You get ‘loved bombed' when you walk into a new church or into a new youth group, and they make you feel like you are the most welcome you will ever be and that your community is so indeed of you and your specific experience…”Evangelical Christianity worked well for Megan for years. She had questions and concerns but nothing that made her leave for good until she knew one of her kids was possibly LGBTQ. That was when she knew she'd have to figure out the religious future of her family.Now, she is an atheist and has never been more free. She's living out secular grace, sealing up her boundaries, and being the whole person she 's always needed to be. InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/29/megan-catholic-to-evangelical-to-atheist/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Kris. Kris grew up in a home with much wounding and suffering, an irreligious home that would shape her desire for God as a young adult. She became a christian when she was 22—a “poor, broken young mom.”For years, Christianity worked well for her. She found community, built a family, made friends. Church gave her a place to use her abilities and passions, but there was always a glass ceiling. In 2017, she and a friend went to a “biblical archeology” seminar. For the first time, Kris was learning from professors, not pastors, and the questions started coming. It wasn't long before Kris realized she couldn't go to church or be in a home group. She didn't have the language for what was happening, but now she knows it was the beginning of her deconstruction. A strong leader with a kind and compassionate heart—and a love for Ozzy Osbourne—Kris is enjoying the life she's found beyond religion.InteractDavid's intevew on Harmonic Atheisthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKNwVRzlJkFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/22/kris-former-christian-leader-to-the-least-of-these/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Jeremy Schumacher. Jeremy's story begins in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and it was as culty as it sounds. He started questioning the beliefs when he was ten, but it took twenty more years before he was able to leave.“Two things really kept me in [Christianity] longer than I needed to stay or wanted to stay: fear of hell…and everyone I knew and interacted with was Lutheran, just not having any sense of community outside of the church…”Jeremy is currently a “licensed marriage & family therapist with additional specialties in religious trauma and sports performance.” See his complete bio here.LinksWellness With Jerhttps://wellnesswithjer.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithjer/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/15/jeremy-schumacher-wellness-with-jer/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week is a solo episode with David talking about the state of the podcast.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/08/graceful-atheist-solo-october-2023/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Mandi. Mandi grew up in a mixed Jewish and Christian home, attending a Messianic temple. She loved every minute of it as a kid and cherishes her memories. In high school and as a young adult, though, she began to ask questions, and as we've seen in religion time and time again, her questions were dismissed. After incredible and full years of life—moving to Israel, returning to Georgia, joining an Orthodox Jewish community, getting married, and having children—she identifies as an agnostic atheist.“It's been so good for my mental health, to not believe, to stop praying.”InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/01/mandi-deconversion-from-messianic-judaism/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Jordon. Jordon comes from a long family line of Mennonites but Jordon was bookish and musical and never quite fit in.He grew up in the church, but with two older brothers already having left the church, by 21 he was also out. He'd never had a television, gone to public school, or really knew anything beyond the small bubble he was in. University changed all of that.“The sense of community I was getting from the friendships I was making outside of these church communities…was really kind of gratifying.”Over years of therapy and some world-traveling, Jordon has come to terms with his upbringing. He's found fulfillment as a professor, discussing philosophy with students and continuing to learn and grow. InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/09/24/jordon-mennonite-to-philosopher/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Nora. Nora grew up in Argentina, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, and Argentina still has her heart.When Nora was in middle school, her father believed God wanted him to become a missionary to the US. The family's move to California was all loss, culture shock, and homesickness for Nora.Between church doctrine on divorce, enduring an abusive marriage, Christian Nationalism, and questions that kept coming, Nora stayed in Christianity as long as she could stand it. She truly tried to make it all work.“I did it on my own…I can say, for sure, God was not there for me, not emotionally, not spiritually, obviously not practically.”Nora is now “allergic to spirituality.”She's an atheist, no longer needing any god or religion to dictate her life. She lives out secular grace, aligning her life with her deepest values.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/09/17/nora-mk-to-the-usa/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Tracey. Tracey spent her childhood in a white American Christian home where Focus on the Family reigned and “Obey right away” was the expectation.She was a believer as an adolescent but began asking hard questions in high school. As a young adult, she saw how prideful the leaders were and how easily Christians were pulled in.“That's a theme through my whole experience of Christianity…Christians are actually attracted to narcissists…People are drawn to or encouraged to seek answers from narcissists.”As an adult, Tracey became Catholic, only to see the same threads running through—narcissism, misogyny, racism, abuse and more. In the past few years, Tracey's found solace in yoga, meditation and nature. She's grown and been changed, not through the religiousInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/09/10/tracey-focus-on-the-family-to-none/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Mary Justice, the heart behind the delightful Instagram account, @maryfairyboberry.Mary is an international adoptee who grew up in an emotionally and verbally abusive Seventh-Day Adventist home. Between home and church, there were rules that dictated her entire life.“It's just so much fanaticism.”As an adult, she has a family she cares for without the abuse or micro-managing from high-control religion.She's been through a lot, but she's choosing to laugh and enjoy her present life. Check out her Instagram account @maryfairyboberry for her own personal journey, cute kid videos, information on autism, and hilarious tweets about parenting. InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/09/02/mary-justice-deconstruction-from-sda/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Amanda. Amanda comes from a rather surprising brand of Christianity she refers to as the “Serpent Seed Pentecostal Cult.” She goes into detail, and it's quite a ride.Various things happened throughout her adolescence that made her wonder if Christianity was true, but her mother would violently put a quick stop to those doubts. By 17, Amanda left home to live with a friend, but that couldn't last long.Amanda spent a decade trying out every religion under the sun but never found the one that could give real, solid answers.“Everybody thinks that they have the answer but nobody does.”Today, she knows she doesn't need the gods to dictate her life. She's living it to the fullest and always moving forward. InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/08/27/amanda-deconversion-from-an-unnamed-cult/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is MJ, the heart and mind behind the Instagram account, @dissident_daughtersMJ grew up in a conservative evangelical home where Focus on the Family reigned and her whole world consisted of family, church friends, and a few Christian homeschooling families. She believed wholeheartedly, feeling all the existential pressure as a child to “save” everyone around her.As a young woman, MJ was surrounded by social workers while in college, and these colleagues were curious. They didn't ask theological questions; they asked political questions, but for MJ it was all connected. She went to her pastor and was dismissed again and again.“I started asking myself, What are the criteria? What are [church leaders] really looking for? They're looking for somebody who doesn't question, doesn't challenge the status quo, doesn't have a viewpoint that encompasses anything that includes the world along with Christianity.”Now MJ uses her love of books and art to encourage others to hear different perspectives—one's inner life, relationships, systemic injustices, religion, and spirituality. Besides lengthening Arline's personal To-Be-Read list, MJ's Instagram has shown her that whatever one is convinced is true, there are other possible ways to view it.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/dissident_daughtersInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/08/20/mj-dissident-daughters/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Dr. Darrel Ray is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of Recovering from Religion and the founder and project leader of the Secular Therapy Project. See his full bio here.Dr. Ray grew up in a Christian home but was already skeptical of certain claims at the age of twelve. He stayed in church—singing and teaching—but was relieved to finally leave the church as an adult.He has decades of experience in psychology and has helped countless people who've been harmed by religion.“I'm guessing there are more people throughout history that have been traumatized by religion than any other single thing. Religion has built-in abuse.”LinksRecovering From Religionhttps://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/Secular Therapy Projecthttps://www.seculartherapy.org/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/08/06/darrel-ray-recovering-from-religion/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

CW: sexual abuse; suicidal ideationThis week's guest is Religious Trauma Life Coach, Mary Burkhart. See her full bio here.Mary grew up in the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, and her family's devotion goes back generations.When she was little, unspeakable things happened to Mary, but their church self-righteously dismissed the situation, forcing her mom and her to move. They found different churches; Mary hoped these would be different.Between working behind the scenes in another church and seeing the “same ugliness,” she'd seen before and a silly question asked by a college friend, Mary's uncertainties started to pile up. She was still a believer but she needed sturdier answers than Christianity was giving her.“It's not about being hurt or about hurt feelings. You leave [the Church] because things keep compiling, things keep compounding. That's why.”After more than fifteen years out of religion, Mary coaches others through their own journeys of religious deconstruction with Religion In Remission. Her work is a grand example of secular grace. LinksSitehttps://religioninremission.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/religion_in_remission/Facebookhttps://m.facebook.com/RiRLifeCoachhttps://m.facebook.com/religioninremissionYouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE0BqfCB0iPQT2zmxbj66RwReligion In Remission Podcasthttps://religioninremissionpodcast.buzzsprout.com/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/07/30/mary-burkhart-religion-in-remission/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

You're going to want to grab a cozy drink and pull up your favorite note-taking app because this episode is jam-packed!Former guest, Daniel shared his deconversion story here, and now he returns with a lesson on the psychology of modern—and often, predatory—apologetics. He knows his stuff, so prepare to learn a few things.“The target audience of apologetics is actually believers, and the purpose of apologetics is to reduce cognitive dissonance.”LinksDaniel's first episodehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2022/10/09/daniel-office-of-the-skeptic/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/07/16/daniel-psychology-of-apologetics/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is artist Stephanie Stalvey. You can see her full bio here. She is the artist behind Instagram's @stephanie.stalvey.artist.Stephanie was a “90's church kid” attending various evangelical churches when she was young. She took her beliefs seriously, and it wasn't until her twenties that a sudden loss forced her to question whether life was as simple as she'd been taught.When Stephanie became a mother, she truly left fundamentalist religion. “I needed to let God expand into whatever God might be."Now she lives without a label, allowing her values and beliefs about humanity and divinity to change as she changes.Her art speaks to those of us who've left religion, reminding us that “…we are, in our hearts and in our inner essence, good and pure and sacred and not depraved.”LinksWebsitehttps://stephaniestalvey.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/stephanie.stalvey.artist/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/07/09/stephanie-stalvey-artist/Graceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastJoin the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Benoit Kim. He is a “Veteran, Penn-educated Policymaker turned Psychotherapist, & Podcaster at Discover More.” Benoit is a Christian, creating space for deep and meaningful conversations and stories. The Discover More podcast is a show for independent thinkers with an emphasis on mental health. Benoit is currently a forensic clinician at Project 180.LinksDiscover More Podcasthttps://www.discovermorepodcast.com/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@DiscoverMorePodcastLinkTreehttps://kite.link/DiscoverMore133InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/07/02/benoit-kim-discover-more/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionGraceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Content Warning: Sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, severe mental health disordersKyler's story is one of “beauty from ashes”. He lives with dissociative identity disorder, a category of CPTSD. Kyler is one distinct personality in the “system”. The adults in his life abused him as a child—would not keep him safe—and so his brain stepped in and made a way to survive.Kyler watched the church fail him and his family over and over, refusing to help or even acknowledge the abuse and trauma.“This person who has PTSD has no clue where it's from, has all this trauma, pain, and hurt…and the church just wants to throw Bible verses and actually doesn't want to help you.”Today, Kyler is a completely different person than when he was young. He's free to embrace his whole self without shame and fear, and the future is radiant.Links988https://988lifeline.org/Recovering From Religionhttps://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/Secular Therapy Projecthttps://www.seculartherapy.org/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/06/25/kyler-cptsd/Graceful Atheist Podcast Merch!https://www.teepublic.com/user/gracefulatheistpodcastJoin the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Christian Lomsdalen. Christian is the current president of the Norwegian Humanist Association and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bergen studying the didactics (science) of religion.Christian grew up in an ordinary Christian Norwegian family as “Christmas Christians”. He went to church for Christmas and other holidays, and that was about it.“I identified as a Christian…a quiet liberal Christian, probably. I guess a lot of the evangelicals in the United States probably wouldn't have recognized me as a Christian.”Around eighteen, Christian realized he didn't believe in God, though he read the Bible and liked the stories. Since then, however, he has lived a humanist life.Christian shares many of the differences between Norway and the US, tackling religion and politics. The Norwegian Humanist Association is doing great work, and it's a good model for other countries moving forward.LinksNorwegian Humanist Associationhttps://www.human.no/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/06/18/christian-lomsdalen-norwegian-humanist-association/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Benjamin Faye, also known as @heytherebenji.Benji was adopted when he was young and during middle school, his adoptive parents suddenly “wanted a spiritual life” and started going to church.His life as an adoptee was difficult. Benji questioned whether he belonged in the family and things only got worse as he got older. His adoptive parent became abusive and in his early twenties, he had to leave.He hoped the church could be the place he could question and process his grief and uncertainty but it wasn't.“…on some level, I knew that…there would be no room for me to process [my questions]. It would just begin and end with Jesus, and it's very, very difficult to have a conversation when there's a preset ending to it.”Benji and his partner moved from church to church, hoping to find where they could fully belong. Skip ahead to 2020 and all the covert racism that has always been in the background of white evangelicalism became blindingly obvious. They both had to get out.Today, Benji is using his online platform to share his own story and to be a place of find empathy and compassion. His work is a great example of living out secular grace.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/heytherebenji/TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@heytherebenjiImportant Things with Ben and Carolehttps://pod.link/1497773808Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/important_thingsInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/06/11/heytherebenji/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Ben Reed. Ben grew up in the Church of Christ with a cappella music, no clapping, no raised hands, no prophecies, no miracles, but also no demons.“Compared to the more charismatic denominations, the Church of Christ is pretty boring…I think that's kind of why I stayed so long because it wasn't that exhausting.”Ben's years in the church were good—no cognitive dissonance or serious trauma—until 2020.“It wasn't until Covid hit that I really started waking up, and I saw how Christians were acting about the masking and the vaccines, and I was thinking, Do you not see the moral implications and the examples that we are supposed to set here?”By 2022 and a chance encounter with some Mormons, too many questions were surfacing. Cheekily thanking “the gods of atheism,” Ben is now able to ask questions and expect serious evidence before he can be convinced of something.It seems that “the promises of Christianity are found outside of it”.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/06/04/ben-reed-deconversion-from-church-of-christ/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Shifra Lowen. Shifra grew up in a small, well-controlled Hasidic community in Canada. As a girl, Shifra wanted to do everything according to the rules of their village. At the same, she desperately wanted forbidden things, like a kitten or a pet bird.At 17, her marriage was arranged to someone she knew and even liked, and Shifra was on Cloud 9 for a while, though suspicious of her own happiness. Then her husband did something unthinkable.“…Imagine my shock and fear when I found out that my husband visited a library.”Visiting a Jewish library was only the beginning of Shifra's world coming apart, but slowly she would realize it was all for good—for the good of their whole family.Years later, after much learning and growing, Shifra and her family are thriving, living in accordance with their own values and not someone else's rules.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/yiddishe_/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@shifralowenPatreonhttp://www.patreon.com/ClaraWassersteinInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/05/27/shifra-out-of-hasidic-orthodoxy/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is comedian and writer, Holly Laurent. See her full bio and work here.Holly tells a bit of her story, growing up in a fundamentalist evangelical household. From the fear of demons to eternal conscious torment, Holly is still dismantling the indoctrination. In comedy, she's found a way to express her “voice that always got [her] in trouble” as well as an accepting community, something she struggled to find in the church.Her podcast Mega has a new five-part mini-series parodying the downfall of an infamous Mars Hill pastor. Episode 1 of “The Rise and Fall of Twin Hills” drops May 21. It sounds like it's going to be great fun!LinksHolly's sitehttps://www.hollylaurent.com/Mega the Podcasthttps://www.megathepodcast.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/hollylaurent/https://www.instagram.com/megathepodcast/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/05/21/holly-laurent-the-rise-and-fall-of-twin-hills/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Josh de Keijzer, PhD. Josh writes at After God's End: Fragments of a Post-Christian narrativeJosh grew up in an evangelical home in the Netherlands. He knew his family was “set apart,” different from the mainstream Dutch culture.“I realized…I had been brought up as an evangelical…We were always part of a minority.”As a teenager, Josh took his faith seriously, so he had a hard time with the adults in the church. Their actions did not line up with what they believed, and the hypocrisy was rampant.Josh always wanted to visit the US and was able to attend university and seminary in the States. In seminary, the questions really began. “[I was at] a solidly evangelical seminary but there were plenty of people who did a lot of questioning. I have to credit them for opening my eyes…”Josh's questions led him out of the Christian church, but he hasn't given up on spirituality. He gives meaning to his life by living with compassion and love for others, and what a beautiful thing to behold.LinksSubstackhttps://joshdekeyzer.substack.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/aftergodsend/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/05/14/josh-de-keijzer-after-gods-end/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is author Jo Lloyd Johnson. Jo grew up in a “non-denominational charismatic commune”. She spent her adolescence in various churches, but they weren't as “Spirit-filled” as she was taught they could be.She married young and the first years of marriage were difficult. There was alcohol abuse, church shopping, and the difficulties that come with having young children.She and her husband needed the church to be a place of deep and meaningful relationships, but it wasn't.“When we started seeing church as a social club [with no depth], we were like, ‘No. This is not what we thought it was…'”By 2018, Jo realized the Church was steeped in Patriarchy. She had been fine with “a woman's place” until she wasn't.Now Jo has used writing as a way to process the trauma and emotions she's experienced and her book, Silenced in Eden, is helping others along their own journeys.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jolloydjohnson/Silenced In Edenhttps://amzn.to/3nBRBYyInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/05/07/joanna-johnson-silenced-in-eden/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Cat Delmar. Cat grew up in a nominally Seventh-day Adventist family. The SDA churches, however, were anything but nominal. They had all the rules, from no caffeine to no pierced ears. “There's a lot of control of the body [in Seventh-Day Adventism].”At sixteen, Cat took ownership of her faith and started going to church on her own, but she never quite fit in. By her twenties, she realized that the difficult questions in adulthood don't have easy “Biblical” answers. Before she knew it, she's figured out that the SDA church doesn't have the answers and that perhaps no one does.Today, Cat doesn't need solid answers. She finds peace within herself and in her connection with nature. Cat's story is one you'll want to hear!LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/catmangrove/Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/catdelmarInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/30/cat-delmar-former-seventh-day-adventist/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Stephanie, a Deconversion Anonymous group member. Stephanie grew up in the Assemblies of God church as a Missionary Kid for most of her childhood. Her younger years held all the trappings of white American evangelicalism, from conservative Christian school curricula to a paralyzing fear of going to hell forever.“The ‘hell belief'? It's a sticky one.”Stephanie's beliefs, however, had been set on precarious foundations: Christians are good and everyone else is bad; the Bible is true and inerrant; the Earth may look old, but it is only thousands of years old. Stephanie made friends outside the church as a young adult, and these new relationships plus great documentaries and books cracked open the bedrocks of her faith.It's been a long time since she deconverted, and she is living a life she loves by loving others without reservation. This is true secular grace, Humanism 2.0InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/23/stephanie-deconversion-of-an-mk/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Kelly. Kelly was raised as a daughter in a traditional evangelical household, “indoctrinated from diaperhood.”They grew up perfectionistic, depressed, timid, and anxious, given Christian cliches about ‘God always being with them' through their depression. Who they really needed were queer, whole, mentally healthy adult mentors.“There was a dizzying array of mental exercises I had to engage in to keep the faith.” Today, Kelly is living their truest life with wisdom and compassion. It's been said that we become the person we would have felt safe with as a child, and Kelly has done that beautifully. InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/16/kelly-you-are-enough/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Bart D. Ehrman, the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His new book is Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End.Is the book of Revelation a prophecy of future catastrophe? Is it a book of hope? Or is it a book of violence and wrath?In Armageddon, Bart delves into the most misunderstood—and possibly the most dangerous—book of the Bible, exploring the horrifying social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse and offering a fascinating tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end.Bart's work has been a part of many of our deconstructions. In my interview with Bart, we get to hear his faith transition. We learn from his New Testament expertise. But most surprising of all, we learn what a nice guy he is.LinksArmageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the Endhttps://amzn.to/3KjLW0iWebsitehttps://www.bartehrman.com/Bloghttps://ehrmanblog.org/Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman Podcasthttps://www.bartehrman.com/podcast/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/09/bart-d-ehrman-armageddon/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

TW: sexual violence; intimate partner violence; postpartum PTSDThis week's guest is Grace. Grace was fortunate not to grow up in the church, but when she became a Christian in high school, she—in her own words—“quickly became the quintessential insufferable Christian teenager.”Grace was a zealous believer for years, and it wasn't until she had her first child that the questions began coming. At first, she didn't think she was deconstructing her faith; she saw it as spiritual growth.But then—as with many other guests—“the Pandemic hit.” While in lockdown, more than theological questions came up for Grace. With her husband's support, online friends, and medication, Grace managed, but one thing was missing.What she needed but couldn't find, she created. hyssopandlaurel.com is a “grassroots arts and literary magazine for religious deconstructionists.” It is a thriving community of creative minds coming together to make art and poetry, sharing their stories because their stories matter. LinksWebsitehttps://hyssopandlaurel.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/hyssopandlaurel/Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/hyssopandlaurel InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/02/grace-hyssop-laurel/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest bares his whole heart. “My story—at the moment—doesn't end really well, but there's hope for the future.”This week's guest is Matt. Matt grew up in a Methodist family and after partying through high school, Matt chose to attend a Christian college and became serious about his faith.As an adult, Matt did everything he could to be all things to all people—a good husband, a good leader, a father, a friend, a mentor… He tried for years, but superhuman expectations are put on Christian men. He couldn't do it all. No one can.Matt tells his story with vulnerability and a whole lot of grace for others. He bore heavy burdens for a long time: Cognitive dissonance, covert narcissism (in himself and others), codependency and spiritual abuse. Yet his story reveals his great optimism for the future.InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/03/26/matt-deconversion-anonymous/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is David Hayward, also known as The Naked Pastor. David is “a pastor turned artist painting, drawing, and thinking about what it takes to be free to be you.”For over a decade, David has been creating online spaces for anyone “interested in deconstruction, spiritual journeying, freedom of thought, or looking for your authentic self.” His personal story and the wisdom he's gained over the years continues to speak to those of us who have completely left religion and those who still believe.For more information, be sure to check out David's website and follow him online!LinksWebsitehttps://nakedpastor.com/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/nakedpastor/David's Bookshttps://amzn.to/3lm9oSrInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/03/19/david-hayward-naked-pastor/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionX-Shaped Hole In Your Hearthttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/02/08/the-x-shaped-hole-in-your-heart/Support the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week we are celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Graceful Atheist Podcast!In this episode, you'll meet everyone who works alongside David on the podcast, the website or the online community. Joining David are Arline, Mike T, Jimmy, Colin and Daniel.They discuss some of their favorite movies, shows and books highlighting deconversion or secular grace. It's a great conversation that you won't want to miss!InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/03/12/four-years-of-the-graceful-atheist-podcast/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Jennifer Michael Hecht, bestselling author of Doubt: a History plus many other works. Her latest book, The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives comes out this week!Jennifer is a poet and historian and in this interview, she makes a solid case for the important place that poetry—and other art forms—can have in our lives. “It's got to be a poet who says, ‘This virtue still matters,' because we're at a moment where we don't even know what to do with things that are not fairy tales but also not physics.”This is a great conversation that you won't want to miss!LinksThe Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Liveshttps://amzn.to/3SPAfCwWebsitehttp://www.jennifermichaelhecht.com/Previous appearance on the podcasthttps://gracefulatheist.com/2019/05/16/jennifer-michael-hecht-doubt-a-history/InteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/03/05/jennifer-michael-hecht-the-wonder-paradox/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Stacie, the creative mind behind the @apostacie on Instagram and the co-host of @skeptichaven on Youtube.Stacie grew up in charismatic churches, believing what she learned about and experienced at church was normal—from speaking in tongues to full-on demonic oppression. It wasn't until Stacie was an adult that she began to seriously question her upbringing. After watching a Reformed-Christian documentary about the Charismatic church, the questions started coming.“I made the promise to myself: If I had questions, I was going to find the answers to them.”Now, she uses her online platforms to reach both atheists and doubting religious folks. Her compassionate wisdom is helping many of people.LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/apostacie/Skeptic Havenhttps://www.youtube.com/c/SkepticHavenInteractFor quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/02/26/stacie-apostacie/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Anne. Anne grew up in an English family whose Christian history goes back generations. As a young child, Anne and her twin took their beliefs seriously, even the damaging ones.Her parents' divorce shook her up. Her family had been “that Christian family,” and it felt like her parents had become strangers. Still, she clung to her faith throughout her teens and twenties. Anne married young, meeting an American missionary while in Scotland, but it seemed her partner wasn't as devout as she'd hoped. His was on his own journey through deconstruction but she didn't want to see it.In her thirties, Anne began to acknowledge the questions and psychological distress she'd had for years. “It's almost like this pressure had been building and building and building and finally it broke through, and I just thought, What if it's not real? I had not allowed myself to ask that question.”It took a little googling, excellent therapy and other people's deconstruction stories for Anne to see that she no longer believed. It's been freeing for her to see the world as it really is. No more “magical thinking.”She and her partner are asking whole new questions, and it's growing them and changing them in ways they never could have imagined. InteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/02/19/anne-so-i-persisted/You are not broken, you are humanhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/12/06/you-are-not-broken-you-are-human/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Audrey. Audrey spent her childhood and adolescence deep in American Christianity.In college, she took a course in “biblical perspectives,” and she had many questions. She would shelve the cognitive dissonance for years, though, pretending that everything was fine.After years of experiencing church from the inside and working around more “secular” people, the uncertainty could no longer stay buried. “Something just wasn't right.”Audrey is an atheist now, but deconversion is fresh. The past guilt and shame still come up at times. She's reconnecting with her body and mind, though, and loving the woman she is—the woman she's always been.“It's so incredible how once I stepped away from christianity, how I was able to gain a better understanding of how to actually take care of myself.”“All I wanted to do was be a Woman of God. I had my future planned out: I was going to find a husband at college, be the perfect godly woman, and he was going to be the man that was going to lead me in Christ.”InteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/02/12/audrey-deconversion-of-an-american-christian/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Taylor. Taylor grew up in a small church in a small town, surrounded by Christianity. She had family devotions at home and a private-Christian-academy curricula at school.By twenty-one, however, she moved out and stopped attending church completely. Her “personal relationship with Jesus” was more important than church-going.While watching a loved one live with cancer and then face death, Taylor's faith gave her hope and meaning, until it couldn't. Depressive episodes came for a while and Taylor knew she needed to get mentally healthy.Once her head was “out of the fog,” and she began reading the Bible again, she was shocked at what she read. It had been there all along, but now she could see. “[People said,] ‘Well you just need to dig deeper in the Bible.' It had the complete opposite effect.”Now Taylor has let go of many childhood beliefs. She doesn't have all the answers. but she has peace—a peace that hasn't come from supernatural help but from doing her own inner work. She is her own savior, no one else. LinksInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/skeptical_heretic/InteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/02/05/taylor-yoder-in-the-trenches-of-deconstruction-and-deconversion/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Enjoy the rest of Arline and Bryan, the Ex-Apologist, in this bonus episode. Bryan goes into more detail around apologetics and counter-apologetics.LinksThe Ex-Apologist bloghttps://theexapologist.com/EmailTheFormerChristianApologist@gmail.comInteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/01/29/bryan-ex-apologist/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week Arline guest hosts interviewing Bryan the Ex-Apologist. Bryan grew up in a deeply fundamentalist church. Not only did they believe they were the True Church, they were taught they they were the Only Church.Bryan spent his teen and young adult years preaching, evangelizing and heatedly debating others. He was convinced he had all the right answers and other people needed those right answers. He sees his younger self as a “jerk for Jesus.”Realizing he was wrong about a single theological issue, he began to wonder, How do I know what's essential and what's not? If there was absolute truth in the world, Bryan was determined to find it. He has come a long way from the fundamentalism of his youth, and you can find his current counter-apologetics research and writing at The Ex-Apologist blog.LinksThe Ex-Apologist bloghttps://theexapologist.com/EmailTheFormerChristianApologist@gmail.comInteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/01/29/bryan-ex-apologist/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guest is Rachel Hunt. Rachel is both the Support Group Director and an Ambassador for Recovering From Religion.From her RFR bio, “Rachel is a motorcycle-riding ballroom dance teacher from rural Texas. Married with two adult children, Rachel has a strong interest in psychology, philosophy, and communication, in addition to the creative arts and home improvement. She was raised in Christian Science but drifted off as a teenager. She explored Scientology, Law of Attraction, and a variety of Protestant churches before settling comfortably into atheism.”Rachel shares her personal story and how Recovering from Religion is serving people all over the world.Links24/7 RfR hotline: 84-I-Doubt-It (844-368-2848 )https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/#rfr-welcomeRecovering From Relgionhttps://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/Secular Therapy Projecthttps://www.seculartherapy.org/InteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/01/22/rachel-hunt-recovering-from-religion/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

This week's guests are Brian and Troy of the podcast, I was a Teenage Fundamentalist. They interviewed David at the end of 2022, and now it's our turn to hear from them.Brian and Troy “used to be loyal Christians megachurch leaders. They're not anymore.” Their parallel stories are fascinating, as we are given a glimpse into their past lives and the Pentecostal movement in Australia.Today, Brian and Troy's “honest and often hilarious podcast peeks behind the curtain at the weird, the worrying and the sometimes traumatic world of Evangelicals and Pentecostals.” This is a great episode that you won't want to miss!LinksWebsitehttps://www.iwasateenagefundamentalist.com/I Was A Teenage Fundamentalist podcasthttps://pod.link/1558606464Twitterhttps://twitter.com/WasTeenageFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/TeenageFundamentalistFacebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/3188989997871128Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/iwatfYouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs0jrFsxPsg7rGNfgqzAGugIWATF interviews David from the Graceful Atheist Podcast https://pod.link/1558606464/episode/f8067a71cf74f38205420663954fceafInteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2023/01/15/troy-and-brian-iwatf/Attribution“Waves” track written and produced by Makaih Beats

This week's guest is Evan Clark. Evan is the Executive Director of Atheists United. Evan grew up in a partially religious home, but at six years old, the idea of a god didn't make sense to him. He attended a Christian liberal arts college and was able to start its first atheist group. Since then, he's gone on to create many humanist communities. In this episode, Evan explains why atheist spaces in the US differ from spaces in other more progressive countries, why community is not the only thing people need, and he shares some of Atheists United's upcoming projects. LinksAtheists Unitedhttps://www.atheistsunited.org/Atheists United Studios Podcast Networkhttps://www.atheistsunited.org/au-studiosInteractFor quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show noteshttps://gracefulatheist.com/2023/01/08/evan-clark-atheists-united/Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSupport the podcast on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheistSecular Gracehttps://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstructionhttps://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/Attribution"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beatshttps://makaihbeats.net/

Arline guest hosts to ask David anything. David tells his deconversion story. He talks about the beginning of the Deconversion Anonymous FB group. David goes deep on what Secular Grace is and what it means to him. Links Deconversion https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/ Secular Grace https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/ Why I am a Humanist https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/11/18/why-i-am-a-humanist/ Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/12/18/ask-me-anything-2022/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion Support the podcast onPatreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats https://makaihbeats.net/