MindShift

Holy Heathen: Blowing It Up and Starting All Over (with Katherine North)

Katherine North is an amazing woman--she grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, but all her life as a young girl she struggled with a major problem: she couldn't bring herself to believe the message of the Christian gospel.
 
What did she do about it? As the title of the episode suggests, she deconstructed in a major way...and since then, has spent decades of her life putting the pieces back together. Now an author, coach and more, Katherine is a fantastic resource for those of us struggling to discover, or re-discover, our authentic identity after leaving religion behind.
 
Katherine's Website DeclareDominion.com
 
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4 Disturbing Questions with One Simple Answer: Breaking the Spell of Christian Belief (with Tim Sledge)

Once again, I'm joined by my good friend Tim Sledge, who like me is an ex-pastor who has since walked away from both the church and the Christian faith.
This week we're discussing his excellent book, Four Disturbing Questions with One Simple Answer, which has a lot of resonance with me as an ex-Christian. Tim poses four questions that anyone who is in the process of deconstructing, or for that matter even questioning, any aspect of their faith should consider.
Enjoy this chat and let me know what you think!
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Confessions of a Former Christian Publisher (with David Morris)

Thanks to my good friend Janice Selbie, she introduced me to David Morris, who used to be an employee of some of the biggest Christian publishing houses. 
David has since walked away from the faith and his career--at least as a Christian publisher, that is. He's now publishing books largely written by, and for, ex-evangelicals, in some way to make up for his past life's accomplishments as an evangelical working within the machine that is Christian publishing.
This is a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation covering a lot of topics--I hope you enjoy! And don't forget, David will be our guest for the October MindShift Zoom call coming up on the 29th, so you'll have a chance to meet and chat with him.
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Crossover Episode Part 2: Cheers to Leaving and MindShift Podcast (with Rachael and Molly)

This show is Part 2 of a crossover episode that I've absolutely enjoyed recording. It features the second half of my conversation with Rachael and Molly, the co-hosts of the Cheers to Leaving podcast.
Before listening to this conversation, head over to their platform to catch Part 1! 
In this chat, we discuss what it was like to grow up in a fundamentalist Christian home, compare spanking stories and numbers of baptisms, and more. As adults, we're still dealing with the religious traumas caused by our upbringing and time within Christianity.
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January 6th, 2020 as an Apocalypse: Evangelicals and Conspiracy Theories (with Jared Stacy)

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Is it really true that evangelicals are known as "the people without questions"? That theology can quickly turn into ideology? And why are so many evangelicals willing to believe in increasingly outlandish, unproven conspiracy theories?
 
My guest this week, Jared Stacy, is a transplanted American currently living with his family up in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he's pursuing a PhD. His research is leading him into all sorts of discoveries down these lines, as he seeks the answer to those questions and more.
 
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Jesus Christ: Good Teacher, Bad Teacher, or Cult Leader? (with David Johnson and Gary Hudson)

This week's episode features not just one returning guest, but two! I brought back David Johson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers podcast, and Gary Hudson, author of Surrender to Reason, to discuss a few burning topics.
 
One of my listeners asked me a question a few months ago: "Why does Jesus always seem to get a free pass when Christians are deconstructing their faith?" He's seen as a wise guru, a great teacher, one who imparted a great deal of instructions that people everywhere should follow. Even among atheists and agnostics, he's viewed with a lot of respect.
 
But was he such a great teacher, after all?
 
Gary, David and I not only tackle this question, we also delve into the topic of whether or not Jesus could have been some form of a cult leader. By deconstructing a lot of his so-called "wise sayings," this opens up a new line of inquiry you may have never considered previously.
 
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Surviving Sexual Abuse in Doug Wilson’s Logos School (with Emilie Paige)

This week's show comes with an obvious trigger warning related to an account of grooming and sexual abuse of a minor. Emilie Paige tells her horrific story of how she was groomed and finally abused by one of the teachers in Doug Wilson's Logos School out of Moscow, ID. Sadly, we've seen too many examples of what can happen within these deeply patriarchal religious environments, which oftentimes are rife for abuses of all kinds.
What's truly amazing is that in listening to Emilie's story of surviving horrific abuse for years, she's not only come out the back end a stronger woman who is unafraid to share her story, but also speaks of the religious element also. In so doing, she is undoubtedly empowering, inspiring, and helping many who have gone through similar terrible experiences.
Emilie's Medium Page Link
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Roman Collar Crime: The Transgressions of a Small Town Priest (with Charles Utter)

This week's episode features a conversation with Charles Utter, author of Roman Collar Crime: VIOLATED: The Transgressions of a Small-Town Priest. 
Charles tells the tragic and quite honestly unbelievable story of a priest who preyed on his victims in a small town in South Dakota. Although the book is "fictional," the story is based on a real priest that ran both the parish church as well as a Catholic school in the small town in which he grew up. Thus, the story is based on actual events that Charles investigated, and on which ultimately based his book.
You can order the book on Amazon at this link:
Or for more information, look up the "Roman Collar Crime" Facebook page. 
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Programming, Lies, and Manipulation: Surviving the Morningland New Age Cult (with Frankie Tease)

This conversation features Frankie Tease, who grew up in a New Age cult called Morningland out of Southern California, back in the 1970s and 80s. Not only did she experience most, if not all, the classic markers of cults, she survived, escaped, and has since dedicated years to rebuilding her life.
Although you may not have experienced life within a New Age cult, you'll see that all the typical tactics are used. We discuss not only those, but how they affected Frankie on multiple levels. I'm sure you'll get a lot out of this conversation.
Read more about Frankie's story in this article! 
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Surviving Abduction, Abuse, and a Cult (with Dawn McCarty)

This episode tells a truly unbelievable true story, as shared by abduction and abuse survivor Dawn McCarty. Added to that was the religious trauma syndrome she had to deal with as part of the LDS cult, and you have a situation that few would survive and stay sane.
 
Not on ly did she survive, she's now in a position to help others who come out of highly traumatic backgrounds. Above all, this is a story of the strength of the human will overcoming tremendous adversities.
 
Read more about Dawn's story in the book Transforming Pain Into Purpose available on Amazon.
 
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