Finding Your Authentic Self After Leaving Religion (with Wren Story)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
Release Date: 03/27/2024
Helping People To Escape From Christianity (with Tim Mills)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
It's finally arrived! This week's long-overdue discussion is here, featuring a super informative and helpful conversation with Tim Mills, host of "The Harmonic Atheist" podcast and YouTube channel. As a faithful Christian virtually all of his life, Tim has an unbelievable testimony--and this is not just about how dedicated he was both to God and the church. It also includes his tale of what led to his deconstruction, leaving the faith and becoming an atheist, and now as one who speaks out against the damage Christianity can often do. But beyond merely dismantling aspects of the Christian...
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Change Your Life Script: Dealing with Limiting Beliefs (with Austra Putnina)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This episodes features a wide-ranging and super helpful discussion with Austra Putnina, host of the "Chase The Impossible" podcast. Originally from Latvia, Austra now lives in Estonia--and has an amazing backstory. Ever struggle with the impostor syndrome? Ever struggle with those "tapes" that seem to play all the time in your mind? The ones that hold you back, the insidious messages that constantly tell us we're not good enough, that we don't measure up to some standard? It turns out that Austra has battled not only these issues, but more...and when she shares her journey, not only will you...
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Two Chapters From My Book "Not So Shiny Not So Happy People!"
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
I'm excited to be sharing the next two chapters from my book that came out last September. It's called Not So Shiny Not So Happy People: How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work, and was edited by my good friend Tim Sledge. If you haven't picked up a copy of the book yet, hopefully hearing these two chapters will make the decision much easier. The book tells my story of growing up in a fundamentalist Christian home that, although looking great on the outside, wasn't so shiny and happy. Enjoy these two chapters and please let me know what your thoughts are about...
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What Happens When Jesus Isn't Enough? (with Rob Connelly)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This episode features an insightful conversation with former Southern Baptist Convention pastor--and now exvangelicala life coach and guide--Rob Connelly. After spending 37 years as a dedicated evangelical Christian, serving as a worship leader and pastor, Rob finally deconstructed his faith and walked away from it all. He's now sharing not only his reflective music with the world, he helps individuals surviving religious abuse and religious trauma syndrome. Listen in at the end of the show for Rob's original song, "Good Friday" and see if you resonate with its heartfelt message. Join Follow...
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Should You Be Concerned About Trump's Project 2025 Agenda? (with Chris Shelton)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
In this episode I'm joined once again by my very good friend, Chris Shelton, to revisit the issue of Trump's Project 2025 agenda. How concerned should you be, going forward? Last summer I started alerting listeners about the dangers posed by Project 2025's Mandate for Leadership, all designed as part of The Heritage Foundation's "presidential transition project" should Trump win the presidency. Now that he has been sworn in, and signed a blizzard of Executive Orders, many of these follow closely the Project 2025 policy agendas. Chris and I break down not only what some of these are, and who is...
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Holy Terror Classic Edition: Catching up with Conway & Siegelman - A MindShift Sequel
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
Welcome to the first episode of The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast for 2025! This inaugural episode features a catch-up conversation with two old friends, Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman. They are the authors of the classic 1978 work on cults and mind control entitled Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change. Their research into cult psychology and tactics led them, in the late 1970s and early 80s, to investigate what was then the nascent Christian Right's involvement in American politics. They also noticed how much evangelicalism and fundamentalist Christianity had in common with...
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Interspirituality: Ten Words To Make The World A Better Place (with Lauryn Axelrod)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
For this final podcast of 2024, I recently connected with Lauryn Axelrod--she's an interfaith/interspiritual minister, chaplain, spiritual director, and teacher out of Vermont. This is an especially poignant interview, as I've talked to several people this year about concepts of spirituality. Lauryn's suggestion that incorporating "Ten Words" into your life, as guiding principles or values, can indeed make the world a better place. This is all the more relevant now that America is so deeply divided and polarized, both politically and religiously. The question is: what can all the...
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Rift: Breaking Away From Christian Patriarchy (with Cait West)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
I recently caught up with returning guest Cait West, who has just come out with a great book entitled Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away From Christian Patriarchy. Cait grew up in what is called the "stay-at-home-daughters" movement, which is a version of Christian patriarchy that, while seemingly extreme, is gaining traction in a lot of Christian homes. Driven by the teachings of men like Doug Wilson, Joel Webbon, and other leading evangelical figures, Christian or biblical patriarchy teaches that women should be in submission to their fathers and husbands--exactly what they believe the Bible...
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Blue Jellyfish Syndrome: Mental Health After Leaving Religion and an Abusive Marriage (with Karen Unrue)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This week's guest features author Karen Unrue, whose book Blue Jellyfish Syndrome: How To Break Free From Stigma and Maintain Hope While Living With a Mental Illness is a great resource for those who have left either controlling religion or abusive relationships behind. But simply escaping is far from the end of the story. We can still be triggered by intrusive thoughts from our past that are debilitating and can blindside us. Unpicking the layers of conditioning is also extremely difficult, especially for those of us raised in controlling religious environments. And it's also the...
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Bonus Episode! The Violent Take It By Force: Christian Nationalism is a Threat to American Democracy (with Matthew D Taylor)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
In this special election special bonus episode, I reached out to returning guest Matthew D Taylor, who has just come out with a brand-new book called The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy. For those who are still undecided about their vote in the upcoming election, this is a must-listen. Given the fact that so much of the Trump MAGA support is generated by not just Christian nationalists, but extremists who are part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), this is a major concern going forward. Matthew puts all the pieces together in this...
info_outlineI finally caught up with author and ex-evangelical Wren Story a few weeks ago. I have long followed her on Facebook and always resonated with much of what she writes about, since we have a lot in common!
In this episode, Wren and I discuss not only her backstory growing up in an evangelical church setting, we'll also get into how she ended up getting out, as well as discovering--or perhaps recovering?--her authentic self.
If like Wren you've left religion behind, but are struggling with your identity, I believe you will get a lot out of this conversation.
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