Holy Heretics: Losing Religion & Finding Jesus
The EXvangelical podcast that addresses your questions about faith, politics, how we got here, and how to move forward. No topic is off-limits as we have conversations with scholars, spiritual seekers, and activists in our quest to uncover the heart of faith.
Ep. 81: This is Going to Hurt w/Bekah McNeel
Like a dog returning to her vomit, America chose the sexual predator, white nationalist, pathological liar, and criminal instead of an educated, compassionate Black woman to lead this nation into our collective future. What are you going to do about it?
Ep. 80: Ministers of Propaganda w/Dr. Scott Coley
Good evangelical Christians are Republican. It seems like it’s always been this way. That means the propaganda is working.
Ep. 79: Finding Your Place In This World w/Dr. Sharon Blackie
Dr. Blackie speaks to those of us who feel lost in a sick, vampiric culture. If you long for a more enchanted life filled with wonder, beauty, and mystery, this episode will encourage you to find meaning through ancient wisdom, Celtic Spirituality, folklore, and indigenous tales of subversive wisdom.
Ep. 78: Speaking of Rape w/Rev. Dr. Danielle Tumminio Hansen
Rape survivors need speech to recover--to tell the story of their harm, to rebuild their sense of self and their place in the world. But the words available to them often fail to describe their experience of the violation.
Ep. 77: And Justice For All w/Kalie May Hargrove
Dismantling the legalized discrimination of LGBTQ+ Students at Christian Colleges.
Ep. 76: FKD Up By Faith w/Jude Mills and Gary Alan Taylor
How have you been FK’D up by faith? This time, I share my personal story of how my faith deconstruction cost me my job, my spiritual community, my friends, and my family.
Ep. 75: Faith and Mental Illness: What I’ve Seen in Dark Places w/Anna Gazmarian
No amount of faith is going to protect you from deep pain. I used to view faith as this thing that is going to protect me from deep suffering, or make meaning out of it, and I don’t think there always is meaning. Sometimes, it just hurts.
Ep. 74: My Life and Faith After Evangelicalism w/Jonathan Merritt
There is a great expansiveness and freedom when you mature beyond the rigid, certainty addicted religious fundamentalism of your past. Evangelicals do not have a monopoly on God.
Ep. 73: Rewilding Christianity w/ Gary Alan Taylor
Don’t just reconstruct your faith, ReWild your faith by trading in certainty for wonder and literalism for mystery. This episode with Holy Heretics host Gary Alan Taylor is an introduction to spiritual rewilding through the re-introduction of indigenous spirituality and Creation-centered Christianity.
Ep. 72: Nice Churchy Patriarchy w/ Liz Cooledge Jenkins
Patriarchy, not Christianity, is the primary worldview behind the assault on women's reproductive rights in a post-Roe world. Listen now to learn practical ways you can dismantle patriarchy in your home, church, and community.
Ep. 71: Reconstruct Faith Your Way w/ Angela J. Herrington
Have you ever wanted someone to sit with you by the fire and watch your old religious beliefs go up in flames? Maybe you’ve longed for a guide or coach to help you navigate all this wandering in the spiritual wilderness. If so, then this week’s episode is what you need right now.
Ep. 70 This is the Way: Contemplative Christianity w/ Father Brendan Williams
The end goal of Christianity isn’t to sin less, it is to become just like Jesus. Theosis or deification is the transformative path we are asked to walk, its aim is nothing less that complete union with God.
Ep. 69 We Don’t Have to Live This Way w/ Derrick Jensen
Living in the United States is a daily dose of trauma. It often feels like we’ve all been raised in captivity, but we don’t have to live this way.
Ep. 68 Finding Your True Self w/ Heather Hamilton
Who are you under your mask, under your ego, under all the lies you think are true? And, how do you find the real you?
Ep. 67 What is Christian Mysticism? w/ Keith Giles
Mystics have a thirst to taste both the holy and the human with unmediated directness.
Ep. 66 Saving Democracy From Her Christian Enemies w/ Dr. David Gushee
The greatest danger to the future of American democracy is white, evangelical Christians.
Ep. 65 Jaded: A Reckoning with White Evangelicalism w/ Marla Taviano
There is a stage in your deconstruction called rage. Learn how to use that anger to fuel change instead of allowing it to destroy you.
Ep. 64: What Are God’s Pronouns? w/ Gary Alan Taylor
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have been handed down to us as men, a Triune male God with “He/Him” pronouns. But what if we’ve misgendered God?
Ep. 63: God Our Mother w/ Gary Alan Taylor
If God is a male, males are gods. How misgendering God has impoverished our souls and destroyed our planet.
Ep. 62: Resisting American Apartheid w/ Dr. Miguel De La Torre
At some point, you are going to have to realize being an American is almost universally at odds with following Jesus.
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We love being able to dream up and bring to fruition all our wild ideas for episodes, but it’s just the two of us doing it in our free time. If you have been impacted by our work OR if you’d like to get exclusive content and episodes in the future, please consider supporting us via Patreon! Your financial support gives us the time we need to make this podcast a reality.