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. 50: The Making of a Mystic with Kevin Sweeney
In the 1960's, Jesuit priest Karl Rahner stated, "The Christian of the future will either be a mystic, or nothing at all." Sixty years later the deconstruction community is turning his statement into reality.
Ep. 49: ReWilding And Refugia: Healing Our Sacred Earth w/ Dr. Debra Rienstra
Refugia (reh-FU-jee-ah) is a biological term describing places of shelter where life endures in times of crisis, such as a volcanic eruption, fire, or stressed climate. Ideally, these refugia endure, expand, and connect so that new life emerges.
Ep. 48: Why I Deconstructed Evangelicalism w/ Dr. David Gushee
Dr. David Gushee describes his own journey out of evangelicalism while providing language for the myriad of faithful reasons to leave this toxic movement behind. Including Trumpism, white supremacy, LGBTQIA+ exclusion, and biblical literalism.
Ep. 47: Saving Jesus From Evangelicals w/ Dr. Robin Meyers
Christianity isn’t an orthodox belief system. It is rather a very unorthodox way of being in the world. Orthodoxy may be the greatest heresy of them all.
Ep. 46 God is Not in Control: Open Theism w/ Dr. Thomas Jay Oord
God has no clue what the future holds. That is both comforting and incredibly terrifying!
Ep. 45: Rethinking Biblical Womanhood w/ Dr. Beth Allison Barr
Scripture is clear right? Men are pastors, women are better off in the nursery. But what if all of those “facts” are just lies created by a dominator agenda and a misunderstanding of the Apostle Paul?
Ep. 44: Black Liberation: My Journey out of White Evangelicalism w/ Dante Stewart
It’s one thing to deconstruct white evangelicalism. It’s quite another to leave white spaces, white theology, and white privilege. Dante Stewart shows us the Way out of slaveholder religion in this epistle about his life’s journey.
Ep. 43: Inventing Whiteness: How Race Broke My Family & The World w/ Lisa Sharon Harper
Deconstructing your faith from white privilege, white supremacy, and white spaces might be some of the most important work you do on your spiritual journey. Lisa Sharon Harper points the way toward racial equality and restoration by sharing how race broke her family and our world.
Ep. 42: The Enneagram: Your Number, Your Needs w/ Suzanne Stabile
“Few people can teach you the Enneagram with the genuine insight, humor, and potential for real growth and change better than Suzanne Stabile, writes Father Richard Rohr.
Ep. 41: DeColonize Your Faith w/Dr. Randy Woodley
Subduing the earth, female submission, white supremacy, male domination, and the culture wars are all byproducts of colonizer Christianity. Can Western Christianity be saved from its desire to dominate the world? Only if we tap into our indigenous pathways.
Ep. 40: How Buddhism Changed My Evangelical Mind w/ Danielle Shroyer
The Eightfold Path of Buddhism, as well as the daily practice of mediation, just might make you a better Christian as you begin your deconstruction journey.
Ep. 39 Heart Burnin’, Still Yearnin’: The Future of Faith w/ Brian Zahnd
Deconstruction has become a dirty word in evangelical circles. Some people think all we want to do is burn Christianity to the ground.
Ep. 38: Recovering From Evangelicalism: The 5 Noble Truths of Deconstruction
Recovering from evangelicalism is a lot like recovering from an addiction. In this introductory episode to season two, we uncover the five noble truths of deconstruction.
Ep. 37: Deconstructing Trumpism with CNN’s Kirsten Powers
Politics continue to be the most divisive aspect of American culture, especially in a post-truth world where Christian Nationalists are willing to get in bed with anyone, including Donald Trump, to maintain cultural hegemony. CNN’s Kirsten Powers helps us navigate this space with grace.
Ep. 36: Reflecting on Season 1
After 30 interviews and 35 episodes, Gary Alan and Melanie look back, reflecting on what they’ve learned, what surprised them, where they hope to go with Season 2, and more.
BONUS: Cussing, Smoking, & Tattoos—Oh My! w/ The Space Between & Uncertain
Why are we so offended by “cussing”? Is someone really “going downhill” if they smoke tobacco or have tattoos? Melanie joins Katherine from Uncertain…
Ep. 35: Do I Have Religious Trauma? w/ Dr. Laura Anderson
Religious trauma is sneaky for so many reasons, perhaps no more so than the fact that trauma of any kind was minimized or delegitimized by religious leaders. So many of us…
Ep. 34: When Racism and Compassion Collide (pt. 2) w/ Deconstructing Black
Continuing our conversation from last week (click here to listen to the first part) with C Davis, we hear more about her faith journey, as well as chat about why she is able to have…
Ep. 33: When Racism and Compassion Collide (pt. 1) w/ Deconstructing Black
From being raised in a predominantly Black church to finding herself in predominantly white megachurches to calling herself an atheist today, C Davis has had quite the faith journey….
Bonus: Responding to Joshua Harris & “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” w/ Uncertain Podcast & The New Evangelicals
Recently, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill (a Christianity Today podcast that looks into why Mars Hill church met such a quick demise, released a bonus episode. In the episode, host Mike Cosper…
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