The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast

Bonus Episode: The Case Against Miracles (with John Loftus)

In this special episode, I'm chatting with author, ex-evangelical and now atheist, John Loftus.
 
John is the author of the recent book The Case Against Miracles, an anthology that aims to discuss miracles from a scholarly point of view. Along with several other noted academics, John takes aim at this topic, seeking not only to define miracles--but to ask whether or not there is even evidence to believe that such a thing exists.
 
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John Loftus's Website Debunking Christianity
 
Contact Details
Follow John on Twitter @loftusjohnw
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018
 

Ideological Fundamentalism, Information Disease, and America's Response to the Global Coronavirus Crisis (with Conway & Siegelman)

I apologize in advance for the long title, but when you hear this show, I promise it will be worth the listen!
This week's guests are the legendary returning guests, Conway & Siegelman. They wrote the hugely important and influential books Snapping in 1978 and then, just a few years later, came out with Holy Terror. 
With their incredible, on-the-ground field research, they were among the first to track and study in depth the "cult phenomenon" of the 1970s, and then later the rise of the Christian Right in the late 1970s-80s. 
In this episode we'll cover a lot of ground, so strap yourself in and hold on!
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Contact Conway & Siegelman
http://stillpointpress.net
Follow Me on Twitter @MindShift2018

Bonus Episode - Onward Christian Soldiers: Growing up as a Loyal Foot Soldier

Off the back of a recent Medium article I recently wrote on this subject, I decided to riff on this topic and so turn it into a podcast episode on its own. In this episode, I describe what life was like for me, growing up as a loyal foot soldier in "The Lord's Army."
Thoroughly indoctrinated by my church and Christian school experiences alike, I had never heard the names of influencers like RJ Rushdoony and others who later came along and helped spread his Christian Reconstructionist and dominion agenda.
If you grew up in church, or attended a Christian school--then you'll resonate with this bonus episode.
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018

Taking America Back for God: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in the USA (with Sam Perry)

This week's guest is sociologist and author Sam Perry, who co-wrote the book together with Dr Andrew Whitehead Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States.
What makes their book on Christian nationalism different? The authors take a sociological approach to the subject, distilling data from nationwide surveys on religion, to uncover the motives and inspiration behind Christian nationalism.
Along the way, they discovered some fairly disturbing trends about what's going on in the intersection of evangelical Christianity and the American political scene today.
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Contact Details
Follow Sam Perry on Twitter @socofthesacred
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018
Like the MindShift Podcast Facebook Page

Bonus Episode - Confronting Magical Thinking: Some Christian Responses to the Coronavirus (with Tim Sledge and David Hayward)

In this special bonus edition, I have the pleasure of bringing together three ex-evangelical pastors: myself, Tim Sledge, and David Hayward (better known as "The Naked Pastor.")
 
A former megachurch pastor from Texas, Tim is the author of the bestselling books Goodbye Jesus and Four Disturbing Questions With One Simple Answer. David is of course best known for his poignant cartoons that, while poking fun at the church, often reveal the inbuilt patriarchy and misogyny of much of evangelicalism today. He is also the author of The Liberation of Sophia.
 
Together, we not only analyze and unpack some of the more bizarre Christian responses to Covid-19, we'll also explore some of the motives that may perhaps be driving them from a theological and biblical point of view.
 
If you're a Christian struggling with anxiety and are contemplating deconstructing your faith, then this episode is for you!
 
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Contact Information
Tim Sledge on Twitter @goodbye_Jesus
David Hayard on Twitter @nakedpastor
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018

The Power Worshippers: Exploring Religious Nationalism (with Katherine Stewart)

This week's guest is Katherine Stewart, author of the book The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.
 
Katherine has devoted the last ten years of her life to uncovering, and telling the story publicly, of the many and varied ways in which the Religious Right and other Christian nationalist groups have infiltrated American society, from education to the top levels of politics.
 
Should you be concerned about this movement? According to Katherine, religious nationalists don't want merely to establish a religion--they are about grasping7 political power. In their aim to establish a theocracy in America, the rights of many have already been trampled underfoot, with more on the way--if they achieve their agenda.
 
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Contact Details
Follow Katherine on Twitter @kathsstewart
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018
 
Check out my article, "An Interview with Katherine Stewart" on Medium

Losing Your Faith But Finding Yourself (with Stephanie McCown)

This week's guest is Stephanie McCown, author of Razed Evangelical: Losing My Faith But Finding Myself. 
Stephanie is an unbelievable survivor--not only has she come out of a very toxic experience within evangelical Christianity, she is a cancer and addiction survivor also. But she had to navigate all of those experiences without God...and in the process, lost her faith--but found herself.
Also huge thanks go to Daniel Moore, who provided the song for the outro that he wrote and performed himself. Enjoy "On High" at the end of the show!
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Contact Information
Follow Stephanie on Twitter @StephanieMick75
Find Razed Evangelical on Amazon
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018

Bonus Episode: Coping with Anxiety During the Coronavirus Outbreak (with Janice Selbie)

In this special bonus episode I am joined by therapist and friend from Canada, Janice Selbie, who has been a guest on the show a few times before.
 
Janice was due to host the CORT2020 conference on religious trauma in just a few days--that is, until the COVID-19 outbreak forced her to cancel the conference. Hopefully it will be rescheduled at some point in the future.
 
However, along with the unfortunate cancellation of the conference came a number of trauma-inducing events in her life in just the short space of a few weeks. How she has coped with those is unbelievable--and that she is willing not only to share her own story, but to help others during this unprecedented time, is nothing short of amazing.
 
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Contact Information
Follow Janice on Twitter @Wise_Counsellor or @divorcereligion
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018
 

A Deep Dive into Religious Trauma Syndrome (with Dr Marlene Winell)

This week's guest is psychologist, author and speaker Dr Marlene Winell, who--in many ways, it could be said--almost literally "wrote the book" on the subject of religious trauma syndrome, or RTS.
As you'll no doubt hear us discuss, this recording took place prior to the unfortunate cancellation of the CORT2020 conference which was to be held in Vancouver, BC. Dr Winell was meant to be one of the keynote speakers there.
Dr Winell authored the important book in 1994 entitled Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion. Off the back of that work, she went on to write articles identifying RTS, and has since devoted her life and practice to helping individuals who have left religion and struggle with various aspects of RTS.
I am sure that you will find this interview insightful, challenging and helpful on your journey out of religion, whatever that may look like.
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Contact Information
Follow Dr Winell on Twitter @marlenewinell
More Resources on the JourneyFree website
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018

A Conversation with a Progressive Christian (with Dan Koch)

Do you identify as an ex-evangelical or as a post-evangelical? What is the difference between the two terms, and why should it matter?
 
This week's episode features a conversation with Dan Koch, self-identified progressive Christian and host of the You Have Permission podcast. Dan's aim with his show is literally to "give permission" to people within Christianity who might be questioning various aspects of their faith.
 
Believe it or not, one has the freedom to explore possibilities and options outside of what they may have been taught in their particular church or tradition.
In this conversation we'll model what it's like to have a respectful and mutually-beneficial dialogue between two people who, as it turns out, have far more in agreement than disagreement!
 
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Contact Information
Follow Dan on Twitter @DanKoch
Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018