Surviving Fundamentalism

In 1999, I heard the legendary gospel queen, Vickie Winans say, "...Good God, a friend when you're friendless" in her rendition of "Long As I Got King Jesus", and I have come to accept that this is the god that I met on the floor of my bedroom who was a friend to this friendless, queer kid when no one else would be. Growing up with undiagnosed ADHD and Autism, I struggled with establishing and maintaining friendships, which often meant that I was isolated and alone. I spent a lot of time alone as a child, and ultimately my whispered prayers became full conversations about who I was, how I was showing up in the world, and how I could “improve” to be acceptable and likeable to everyone including god. I often failed at that mission, but each time I learned more and more that this deity that I came to trust with all of me did not see me the way others did. In this episode, I discuss the importance of reading the Tanakh (the Jewish Scriptures) in its original context and coming to understand the humanity of the characters within the text. This will undoubtedly free you from fundamentalism and biblical literalism. I also have an emotional conversation about how my friendship with the Divine saved my life and made me feel an extraordinary love that only a being who is full of integrity, true justice, kindness, grace, and love could ever make me feel. I also discuss how the egomaniacal, insecure, jealous, emotionally unstable, unkind concept of god that was eagerly introduced to me in Christian fundamentalism. For all things Black Music: Follow ⁠Hate it or Love it podcas⁠t For Richie's newsletter: ⁠Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this week's episode, we discuss the fact that Christian morality is an oxymoron based in illogical fallacies about the pertinence of Jewish laws according to Paul of Tarsus. I do not believe in Christian morality and in fact believe that Christians are historically less moral, because they, like Paul, enjoy pretending that the "sin" or desires of their "flesh" is what makes them commit certain immoral acts rather than investigating their own philosophies and unlearning the toxicity of these beliefs. We also discuss the physical distance of God and how so many of us are taught that God is so far removed from us that we are always looking outside of us for the love, grace, kindness, and mercy that is already within us to bestow upon ourselves first and then others. It is 100% within our power to redefine morality in a way that works for all of us in the spirit of Love and Kindness rather than in the shame and judgement of a vengeful god. For all things Black Music: Follow ⁠Hate it or Love it podcas⁠t For Richie's newsletter: ⁠Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, I sit down with my friend DL Mayfield for an in-depth conversation about where our neurodivergence begins and where faith in the evangelical church/fundamentalist god ends. Also included in this episode is a brief discussion about Sam Smith's Grammy performance, Christians who felt “led” to walk out of the ceremony, The Black Church's obsession with wanting Beyoncé to die, and so much more. Please go and listen to Part One of this episode on DL Mayfield's website God is My Special Interest | D.L. Mayfield | Substack For all things Black Music: Follow Hate it or Love it podcast For Richie's newsletter: Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this season three opener, I discuss Joel Leon's tweet regarding his mother and her will to make ends meet for her children, which he defines as "HOLY". During the episode, we deconstruct together what many of us in fundamentalism have been taught about the terms "holy" and "holiness" and how they have been used to demonize Black and Brown poor folk for centuries in this country. For all things Black Music: Follow Hate it or Love it podcast For Richie's newsletter: Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

I didn't grow up celebrating Christmas, and I've had enough experiences over the years that ruined it for me. I was also in a cult that was completely anti-Christmas, and even went as far as to call it a devil's holiday and say that the "Christmas Spirit" is a spirit from Satan sent to make people be nice for the month of December. This year, I bought and wrapped gifts; I decorated my tree with glee; I participated in multiple parties and celebrations, as well as cooked a portion of my family's Christmas dinner. I'm finally free from that Grinch spirit that kept me from enjoying the most wonderful time of the year. For all things Black Music: Follow Hate it or Love it podcast For Richie's newsletter: Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

You don't have Soul Ties; you have attachment and abandonment issues! The Christian church lied to you about your body not belonging to you, because it benefits from you not having Bodily Autonomy. In this episode, I discuss soul ties, the history of women as property in the bible and American culture. I also discuss Pastor Tim Ross and the foolishness he was spewing about those of us who have deconstructed and decolonized our faith. For all things Black Music: Follow Hate it or Love it podcast For Richie's newsletter: Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this episode, we're talking about the rise of the "worship" movement within the 21st-century church, the rise of Blue Eyed Gospel, and the role it played in bleaching the Black worship experience while limiting the traditional African parts of our worship. We're talking about how history repeats itself and the church follows a pattern based on what's happening in the world. In 2016, the underbelly of white supremacy was exposed in this country. Soon after, we saw a reemergence of traditional Black gospel music and a deep appreciation for that sound that is so deeply associated with our Black survival experience. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this episode, we're having the hard, tough conversation about the condition of the Black church throughout history and how we got to where we are now. We are examining ourselves and the condition of our hearts--how so many people are lost in the sauce of every phobia without even realizing that those are tools of white supremacy that only lead to erasing those we should be loving and honoring.  Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This episode discusses the intersection between Kanye and the evangelical church. How he used the tax-exempt status of his "Sunday Service" style gatherings to get himself out of debt and rebuild his brand, while essentially washing in white American Christian supremacy and using Black gospel music/musicians to make that come to pass. They're still going hard for him today--believing that his conversion was anything more than a sham and calling it crazy for Christ rather than fully addressing the truth of who he is as a person including his lack of personal wellness. Subscribe to my newsletter Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack Follow me on Instagram --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this episode, I wanted to dive further into this topic, because the question "Does Black Lives Matter to God?" had simply never crossed my mind. I always separated my religion from my Blackness, my socialist fight, my queerness, and my disabilities. I viewed them all as things that couldn't be fixed and therefore unholy and unclean. Now, I do not, but I still struggle to answer the question. Although, I try. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Whew! This one gets heavy in several spots. In this episode, I discuss the intersections of poverty, educational racism, ableism, homophobia, and much more. We are also getting deep into the value of human life as it pertains to the god of the bible, especially Black lives. Tune in. Tap In. Visit Richie at Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter there. Follow us at https://www.instagram.com/survivingfundamentalism for updates when new episodes are released. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this episode, I speak about reading the bible like a book and not as a religious text so that you can see the many contradictions and how this can strengthen one's faith and NOT kill it. The key to this is accepting that the Judeo-Christian text is, in fact, not inerrant and should not be taken literally. The sad thing is many people NEED the text to be literal. They need it to be precisely what they have been taught because if there is an error in the text, then there is undoubtedly an error in the doctrines people have allowed to govern them for centuries. Get Free. Visit Richie at Just Above My Head | Richie X | Substack. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter there. Follow us at https://www.instagram.com/survivingfundamentalism for updates when new episodes are released. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This episode is part 2 of my episode about God being a monster. After I thought about it, I realized that the version of God built and handed to me in fundamentalism wasn't the end all be all when it comes to all things god. Maybe none of us know what the FK we are talking about is and are just figuring things out. Either is cool with me. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, I'm dealing with springboarding off a meme I saw, which read, "You will never look into the eyes of someone that god does not love." Of course, my immediate reaction was that this god I came to know did not love me--he shamed and abused me through the fundamentalist Christian church—so many stumbling blocks in my path that destroyed my faith. So now, I help other people find light outside Plato's Cave. Check out and subscribe to my newsletter at RichieAtItAgain.Substack.com Check out my cousin's podcast "Holy Smokes". Also, Check out Donnell McLachlan at donnellwrites on tiktok and IG --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, we are having a very important conversation about what the church has taught us about women, and how we can overcome the sexist, misogynistic culture that so many of us have been raised in. The church as an institution must be challenged to decolonize and deconstruct every aspect of it's belief systems, especially those which aid in the the oppression of those who stand and several different intersections. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, we're diving into some scriptures and asking some questions about the ways we define holiness and whether it is in alignment with the love we know we should all be experiencing. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week on Surviving Fundamentalism, we lock in with special guests Anna Dawahare and April Little from Reclaiming The Garden Podcast for a more in-depth discussion about the ways we each fought to reconstruct the ways we saw ourselves in the light of God's true love that we have had to realize has always been present with us. We also discuss identity politics, radical self-love, and neurodivergence. As always, we hope that our stories can be a light to you wherever you are in your faith journey. Subscribe to April's Newsletter (mentioned in the show): Butterflies in the Wilderness | April Little | Substack Subscribe to Richie's Newsletter: Just Above My Head| Richie X| Substack For Reclaiming the Garden Merch: https://reclaiming-the-garden.creator-spring.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Sorry it's been so long, but I'm back with a new show about how the Christian Evangelical church is rebranding for a rebuild. There is a revival brewing, and they're currently preparing for a whole new bunch of scared folks to come in so that they can rebuild their dying churches. Here's why I believe it's going to work... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This episode is all about the y8 supremacist male patriarchy is well aware of what it is doing--they have planned and orchestrated this for decades and finally they have been successful and at least overturning Roe v. Wade. This is not, nor has it ever been an issue of "saving innocent unborn"; it has always been a battle for the control of women. It's a huge move to show women and liberals that they'd do better to learn their places and stop trying to override and dismiss the white man. Hope you enjoy --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

THis episode is all about losing the fear of hell, Carlton Pearson, and the ways the church has used the doctrine of hell to control and manipulate. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, I discuss whether or not my diagnoses are fuel to relight my pentecostal fire. I explore why it's difficult to exist as the same person in many of the same spaces, with so much new information about myself and the world. I have deconstructed my fundamentalist, literalist belief system and I have decolonized my mind. I have returned to the divine nature of my being and I honor those who look like me who are my ancestors who gave their blood and bones for me. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, I give my normal weekly update, while providing a look into what it was like being neurodivergent in the fundamentalist church and what it's like to not understand nuances and colloquialisms. That shit is literal torment for neurodivergent people. That's not even to mention the noise and overstimulation that goes on in churches. Subscribe. Share the show if you enjoy --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Chiiiiillllleeeee, this week on SF, we discuss the importance of context, history, and perspective when reading the Judeo-Christian text, and how women were viewed as incubators for whom consent, and respect did not matter. However, what did matter was where the men of that tribe put their seed and whether or not it was considered good for them to "waste" it. We also discuss self-pleasure, mutual respect, and a host of other things. I love you for listening! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Marriage is not the only institution that can contain the union of any two consenting adults. In this episode, we talk about making awareness, autonomy, and consent the starting point for all things sexuality, which, in turn, serves to foster a healthy image of oneself through sexual freedom and consciousness. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This episode is all about how your body is yours. You have full authority and autonomy over your body, not the church. We discuss the ways in which our autonomy is taken from us, with the church believing it has full power and control of us because it believes itself to be a vessel of God. But that vessel is broken and so are its definitions of God, Sex, Sexuality, and a host of other things we are deconstructing in this episode. Please join us for this series. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, we discuss the emotionally manipulative ways in which shame is utilized within fundamentalist Christianity and how it affected me in particular. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

On this week's episode, we discuss the power that an inner yes has to transition you from a moment of discord or dysfunction into a moment of peace. When you bring an inner yes to whatever situation that is happening in the present moment, that very thing becomes a doorway into the formless, and the separation between the world and God dissolves. You literally can resign to your inner Godspace, where you don't need to be right or wrong--the place where peace resides. Thank you for listening. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

"I think It Pisses God Off When You Walk Past the Color Purple & Don't Acknowledge It!"- Shug Avery (The Color Purple) In this week's episode, we discuss the importance of redefining the term "Holy" with the goal to include the marginalized people who make up all of the intersections, including Black women, queer folks, disabled folks, and so many more.  We also discuss how God is found in the silence that exists in our bodies, but not in our racing thoughts. We discuss the importance of the presence and interconnectedness of the energetic force called life.  In this second to pre-finale episode of our A New Earth Series, Eckhart Tolle reminds us, "the universe is an indivisible whole in which all things are interconnected, in which nothing exists in isolation...One Life, one Consciousness.” Outro: I Thank You (Live) by Professor Craig Hayes and The United Voices (Album: Live In Montreal) #ChristianDeconstruction #Deconstruction #UnitarianUniversalism #DecolonizingFaith  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

“Many of us were shamed, verbally and/or physically abused, and emotionally neglected, and were taught to believe we were loved. . . LOVE is a mixture of ingredients: care, affections, recognition, respect, commitment, trust, as well as honest open communication"- bell hooks  This week, I discuss the recent events that have caused me to question the love that we have learned so much about in the evangelical church--a love that often feels obligatory and binding, rather than freely given. A love that never seems to include people like me--a Black, queer, fat, disabled, nonbinary person. In this episode, I try to unpack this and redefine love for the sake of a healthier understanding and identity.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

On this weeks episode of Surviving Fundamentalism, we link up with our friend Erick Louis for an in-depth conversation on the ways white supremacy, misogynoir, homophobia, and ableism have corrupted the Black church, which we believe has come to serve as nothing more than escapism rather than an institution of actual empowerment. I hope you all enjoy. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

“The moment you become aware of the ego in yourself, that emerging awareness is who you are beyond ego, the deeper ‘I.'“ This week, we are discussing the power of being present in the moment. I hope you all enjoy. Outro: I Thank You (Live) by Professor Craig Hayes and The United Voices (Album: Live In Montreal) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

"If the shutters are closed, the sunlight cannot come in.“ This week, we discuss how the fire of suffering becomes the light of consciousness. It's always a good time, but this time there is less crying. Thank you for listening. Song Credit: Faith to Believe by Bishop Andrew Merrit (Album: Live at Straight Gate: Faith In The House) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this week's episode, we discuss happiness and unhappiness, and how important it is to step out of the pollution of negative thoughts and stories we've told ourselves. The key to being happy is understanding that life is not about what is happening as much as it is about how you are being--in the present moment as you are in the fullness of self. I also discuss in great detail how my journey of forcing myself to pretend to be neurotypical has left me sad and exhausted. It's an emotional conversation. I hope you enjoy. Happy New Year! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

“To do whatever is required of you in any situation without it becoming a role that you identify with is an essential lesson in the art of living that each one of us is here to learn.“ This episode is about the ways in which we so closely interlock our "selves" with identities that cause to be overcome by the roles associated with that identity rather than simply being. This is part two of our New Earth Series which is drawn from a book by Eckhart Tolle entitled "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, we discuss the emotionally manipulative ways in which shame is utilized within fundamentalist Christianity and how it affected me in particular. We also begin our new series on Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". Hope you enjoy it. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

On this show, I update you all on what's been going on with me, and what the girls have realized about White Evangelicalism... I been warning yall though. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for listening. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Paul was an uptight, legalistic twerp who was obsessed with the idea of spiritual perfection, which he realized could never come. The Christian way literally gave him a freedom that he never felt but he still found himself struggling with his own human lusts. We deal with that slightly. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

The church has had many revivals, but very little reformation. Reformation begins with a deep awareness of our humanness, which awakens our need for a wholeness that is only found in love. Once we have redefined the foundation of our negative beliefs about god and self, we can begin the journey of an authentic reformation. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

This week, I focus on the part of my journey where realized that it was imperative that I redefine both God and my Faith in order to realign my vision of self with the Spirit of Divine energy and love--a long journey, which requires time, patience, truth, and introspectiveness. I hope this episode helps you do the same. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

How can one save the soul of someone they have been indoctrinated to hate? Many are literally taught weekly, in the fundamentalist church, that those who do not abide by the literal interpretation of the Judeo-Christian text, as per their liking, will burn in hell for all eternity. The evangelical church is at the root of an extreme amount of bigotry and ignorance in the United States and is going unchecked because of its role in serving and enforcing the white male supremacist patriarchal goals of power maintenance and class ignorance amongst the poor and working-class people.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

"Religion is the opiate of the masses; it is the sigh of the oppressed."- Karl Marx. The Evangelical Christian church and the US Government have the same goals, and they protect the same interests--that of the agenda of white male supremacist, capitalist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic patriarchy. The church's hidden intentions are as bad as the US Government and that is why they will never tax the church. They are in bed together with the goal of trying to make docile, meek, and mild believers who will never question the status quo. Let's Get Free! Be Sure To Like and Subscribe. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

It was love that lifted us, whether from us to us or some other source gave us strength. We got out, and we're grateful forevermore to know freedom. In this third part of our Biblical Literalism series, I discuss the ahistorical John The Baptist character, which is most likely a part of the NT writers' goal to authenticate Jesus as the Anointed One sent to save the world, beginning first with those who knew and understood the Jewish text that had been around for years at that time. We also talk about the importance of challenging the status quo, loving oneself, being accountable to ourselves and others, and so much more. Remember to Rate and Subscribe. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

On this episode of Surviving Fundamentalism, we discuss the concept of hell and original sin. We also denounce the ideology that Humankind is inherently bad, evil, or fallen--forever in debt to Jesus as an eternal victim of our "sins". We all have the potential to be good...to be cultivated and nurtured in the fullness of love while showing up in that fullness for everyone around us. This is the beginning of the inner workings of faith--love incarnate.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In part one of the Biblical Literalism series, we discuss the importance of examining the Judeo-Christian text with Jewish eyes. We search together for answers surrounding the true meaning of Matthew's ahistorical genealogy; we discuss the reason he decides to add the virgin birth to his narrative, despite it not being written about in the slightly older book of Mark, which Matthew certainly borrowed from; we also discuss Matthew intention in paralleling Moses' and Jesus' stories, and how Isaiah's supposed messianic prophecy may have really been about King Hezekiah, as it was addressed to his father Ahaz. Also included in this week's Storytime segment, I discuss my call to ministry--when I began feeling the call, the prophecies spoken over my life, how I was licensed, and how I navigated high school as a teenage preacher. Thank You For Listening --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

In this inaugural episode of Surviving Fundamentalism, I go back to being a little bright-eyed, neurodivergent kid who found solace in music and safety in the community that the southern baptist church offered. The vibrations, the power of the hymns, the baptist fits, the washboards, drums, the village I was building, and my deep desire to understand this god I knew nothing about. This very BLACK experience would set me on a new path--a path that would forever change the way I saw the world and myself. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support

Hey, My People! Surviving Fundamentalism is a show where I will freely discuss my very long, personal journey with leaving Islam, converting to Christianity, becoming a minister/teacher/evangelist, joining a cult, denouncing the cult, continuing the never ending work of decolonizing my mind and deconstructing my personal and religious belief systems. I hope you'll come along for the journey. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/survivingfundamentalism/support