Two Chapters From My Book "Not So Shiny Not So Happy People!"
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
Release Date: 03/05/2025
Weaponizing Christian Zionism and Christian Nationalism (with Brandt Burleson)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
The final episode of The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast features a conversation with Brandt Burleson out of Houston, TX, who tells a wild story...as an employee of the Israeli Consulate in Houston a few years ago, Brandt was tasked with being an "interfaith liaison" between the State of Israel and Christians. Sounds innocuous enough, doesn't it? But what Brandt discovered as he settled into the job was that essentially, the Consulate was running what amounted to a sophisticated psy-op targeting Christians of all theological stripes and traditions. By weaponizing both Christian Zionism and...
info_outline
A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts: Spiritual Abuse And Life on the Other Side (with Katherine Spearing)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
If you've been the victim of spiritual abuse--experienced in a wide variety of forms--it is imperative for you to gain the language, or vocabulary, to be able to describe what exactly happened to you. Moreover, education is one of the most critical aspects on the recovery journey. Author Katherine Spearing, with her new book A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts: The Subtle, Insidious Nature of Spiritual Abuse and Life on the Other Side, empowers those of us who have suffered at the hands of controlling, patriarchal religious figures. Katherine illuminates the path to spiritual healing and wholeness for...
info_outline
Restart and Restore: Surviving Manipulative Cults and Relationships (with Rachel Bernstein)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This week I'm joined by my friend Rachel Bernstein, host of the IndoctriNation Podcast and author of a brand-new book entitled Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation. Rachel's book, along with a companion notebook for journaling and self-reflection, are super helpful resources for those of us who come out of high-control religious groups, cults, or any sort of manipulative relationship. Choosing to leave these groups or destructive narcissistic relationships, as she reminds us, is one of the most difficult choices an individual can make--and it is far from easy. Or it may...
info_outline
Surviving a Narcissistic Relationship (with Stacie Rae)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
I'm joined this week by my very good friend Stacie Rae from Canada. Herself a survivor of a narcissistic relationship, Stacie now empowers those who are seeking not only to identify what narcissism is, but how to escape and rebuild their lives after leaving it all behind. Stacie works as a mentor and life coach providing, in her words, courses and recovery options that serve as an "alchemy of mind, body, spirit, and emotions." Recovery and empowerment after suffering through a narcissistic relationship is a holistic thing--it can't be done in isolation, and at time, we need the help of others...
info_outline
Taking Off The Tinfoil Hat: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories (with Cynane Shay)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This week's conversation features Cynane Shay, who goes by the name "Taking Off The Tinfoil Hat" on social media. She's an expert on the subject of Christianity and conspiracy theories, which is incredibly timely given the current situation regarding religion and politics in today's world. You may be familiar with evangelicals who embrace such conspiracy theories as QAnon or PizzaGate, but it turns out that this is but the tip of the iceberg. As you'll discover, not only are conspiracy theories baked into so much of Christianity, it's a feature--not a bug--of the religion itself. Conspiracy...
info_outline
The Myth of Good Christian Parenting (with Marissa Burt and Kelsey McGinnis)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This is a great conversation featuring the co-authors of the soon-to-be-released excellent book, The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families by Marissa Franks Burt and Kelsey Kramer McGinnis. These dedicated authors now conclusively demonstrate that the concept of "good Christian parenting" is indeed a myth. Worse than that, there are now a few generations of children raised in such contexts who serve as valuable case studies. They demonstrate conclusively that the fruit of much of what passed for good Christian parenting embodied many...
info_outline
Slavery, Misogyny, and Racism: It's All In The Bible (with David Johnson)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This week's episode features a wide-ranging and informative conversation with my good friend and returning guest, David Johnson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers Podcast. I've done a number of shows with David, both here and on his show, and we've teamed up a lot this year for his "Summer of Morality" series he's been doing on his platform. Speaking with David about the topics of how God commanded the Israelites to commit genocide in the Old Testament, as well as the Bible's condoning of slavery, led me to invite him back to break these issues down in further details. For those who are...
info_outline
From Christian Rocker to Losing Jesus (with Mikee Bridges)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
This week's episode features new friend Mikee Bridges, a former Christian rocker/grunge/punk musician who is also known for putting on the Tom Fest, an alternative Christian music festival that ran for 14 years. He also ran a Christian rock venue in Portland, OR, for many years. After getting out of the Christian music game, Mikee went on to help found GameChurch, which attempted to reach gamers at such events as ComicCon and other venues. But eventually, despite his decades of missional ministry efforts, as Mikee describes it, "the sh*t hit the fan"--and he began to deconstruct his entire...
info_outline
Bonus Episode: Not So Shiny Not So Happy People Chapter 3 Book Promo!
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
In honor of my presentation at the Houston Oasis gathering on Sunday, the 24th of August, we are running a special promo sale that day on my book, Not So Shiny Not So Happy People: How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work. This weekend you'll be able to purchase the book on for just 99 cents! Also, if you're able, log into the Houston Oasis live Facebook feed beginning at 10am CST to catch my presentation on religious trauma syndrome. If you can't make it to the live feed, don't worry--it will be recorded and posted up to their channel later on, so you can...
info_outline
America: Fed Into Trump's MAGA Woodchipper (with Frank Schaeffer)
The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast
Once again I'm joined by my good friend Frank Schaeffer to discuss all things politics, religion, Christian nationalism, and the effect Trump is having on both the evangelical church and America overall. As a passionate observer of what's going on in terms of current events--not just in America but indeed the world--Frank always has a unique take on what's happening now, and the long-term effect it may have on both. Frank, and his famous father Francis Schaeffer, helped kickstart the evangelical anti-abortion movement in the USA in the early 1970s. Ironically, although he couldn't have known...
info_outlineI'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 the content!
Join The Dismantling Doctrine Patreon Community!
Follow me on BlueSky @dismantledoctrine