Graceful Atheist Podcast

My guest this week is Michael Marvosh. Michael is the podcast host of Dead Man's Forest and is working on his book Reality Knows the Truth: The Art and Artifice of Being Human. Michael and I discuss what it means to be human and the human experience of spirituality. Michael tells us his deconversion story that he no longer sees as deconversion. He describes his rediscovery of a rational spirituality. Michael and I hit a broad range of conversation topics including having conversations that matter, models vs reality, A.I., Death Cafes, vision quests, blind spots and podcasting. It was truly a conversation that mattered. Links Contact Michael
[email protected] Website
https://www.michaelmarvosh.com/projectsDead Man's Forest
https://www.deadmansforest.org/ Reality Knows the Truth: The Art and Artifice of Being Human
About Rational Spirituality–a way of looking at the world with a balance between ancient wisdom and modern reason.
https://michael.ck.page/d36a3d2338 Death Cafe
https://deathcafe.com/ Interact Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap70Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap70 Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's show is a Deconversion Anonymous episode. My guest this week is Sarah. Sarah says she may have one of the "longest deconstruction stories. She grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church in an area where there were not that many Baptist churches. So she felt different from an early age. She was constantly attempting to live in the "will of God" but struggled to determine what that was. She knew from an early age that she was a doubter which equates to "backslider." Sarah was never comfortable with the limited roles allowed for women in the Church. Fortunately, her mother encouraged her to do and become whatever she wanted. Sarah was smart and interested in science. Studying science and biology did not fit the Young Earth Creationism she was taught at church. Sarah and her husband were the one couple who were egalitarian while the young married couples group were all complementarian. Sarah was vocal about her thoughts on complemntarianism. Sarah spent a long time outside the United States. When she returned to the United States she was shocked by the Christian Nationalism she heard from the pulpit. Rachael Held Evens, Mike McHargue and David Hayward helped Sarah through her deconstruction. Today post-deconstruction she is interested in finding her "deconstructing friends" in real life. Interact Full show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/04/18/sarah-deconstruction-anonymous/?gaid=gap69 Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap69Deconversion Anonymous
https://gracefulatheist.com/category/podcast/deconversion-anonymous/?gaid=gap69Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap69 Promotions Conference on Religious Trauma
https://pheedloop.com/CORT/site/home/ #ReligionShouldntHurt
https://www.instagram.com/religion.shouldnt.hurt/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's show is a Deconversion Anonymous episode. My guest this week is Carly. Carly shares her story with a great deal of vulnerability and emotion. Carly was a Christian Scientist. While studying philosophy and the Bible Carly was introduced to Christian Science. She was impressed with its logical arguments and internal consistency. Carly was more evangelistic than the church she attended. She wanted to use the Christian Science reading room during SXSW as an outreach. She was shot down. When she pointed out that prohibited alcohol would be consumed by renting the space out she was shot down again. The juxtaposition of what Christian Science promised and the reality of life led her to doubt. Carly eventually found what she was looking for in more secular matters like work, exercise and therapy. Interact Full show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/04/11/carly-christian-science-deconversion/?gaid=gap68 Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap68Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap68Deconversion Anonymous
https://gracefulatheist.com/category/podcast/deconversion-anonymous/?gaid=gap68 Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's show is a Deconversion not so Anonymous episode. My guest this week is Rachael Parsons Svendsen. Rachael is a Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor at RCPS Therapy. Rachael became a Christian at three years old. She went to Biola University and studied philosophy. Later in life, she experienced the effects of Religious Trauma: just setting foot in a Church she would break down in tears. Honesty is an important value for Rachael and part of what led her to deconversion. She talks about the difficulty of relationships with believers in her life while attempting to maintain honesty. Rachael and I investigate the experience of cognitive dissonance and religious trauma. We discuss the importance of the Easter story to Western thought, what is like to parent post-deconversion and the loss of the (false) sense of control after deconversion when difficult life events occur. Rachael points out that she does not have it all together post-deconversion. We agree we are all winging it. Links RCPS Therapy
https://rcpstherapy.com/ Small Words Big Stories
https://www.instagram.com/smallwords_bigstories/ Interact Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap67Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/secular-grace/?gaid=gap67Adverse Religious Experiences
https://gracefulatheist.com/category/adverse-religious-experiences/?gaid=gap67 Promos Religion Shouldn't Hurt
https://www.instagram.com/religion.shouldnt.hurt/Conference on Religious Trauma
https://pheedloop.com/CORT/site/home/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's show is a Deconversion Anonymous episode. My guest this week is G.A.P. editor, Mike T. Mike grew up in the South and went to a Catholic church. Everyone in the South went to one church or another and this was just in the background for Mike. After a charismatic Evangelical friend encouraged him he began to explore charismatic churches. The big draw was the opportunity to play music, his life-long passion. Later in life, married with kids, he had normal financial stresses in his life. When he compared the reality of both his life and the life of those around him to the promises of his more material success-oriented faith tradition he could not help but question. When a financial advisor suggested he hold off on his charitable giving, the mandated tithe, he expected consequences. Those consequences never occurred. Things were not adding up. His first mistake was doing research on evangelists that would come to town. These fantastical claims must have generated news stories somewhere, right? His second mistake was re-reading the bible (and Bart Ehrman). Eventually, he discovered science and a new way of determining what is true. His faith fell apart. Mike is the editor of the Graceful Atheist Podcast. Beyond editing, Mike wants to start a local community for those who are going through doubt, deconstruction and deconversion. Music continues to be the great passion of his life. Links Clergy Project
https://clergyproject.org/ Interact Full show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/03/28/mike-t-deconversion-anonymous/?gaid=gap66 Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap66Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap66Deconversion Anonymous episodes
https://gracefulatheist.com/category/podcast/deconversion-anonymous/?gaid=gap66 Attribution "Dawg Biscuits on the Moon" and "Restless Regions"
John Monson and the Galaxy Brothers "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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My guest this week is Ian Redfearn. Ian deconverted over 12 years ago. Since then he has continued to obsess over his deconversion. He is still asking the why? and how? questions. Ian is concerned with the deep questions of life and continuing to find ways to make meaning. Ian has experienced the full force of the chaotic world we live in. His 24-year-old son has Cystic Fibrosis which is particularly frightening during an airborne pandemic. His father is experiencing Alzheimer's Disease. All of this is happening during the time of Covid 19. In spite of the difficulties of life, Ian has a joy and a sense of purpose. He is a committed father, husband, son, and community member. He takes time to wonder at the beauty in the world. He recognizes that relationships are what give us our most valued meaning in life. He is now attending the Manchester Sunday Assembly and becoming an active member of the Secular community. Links Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ian.redfearn1/ Sunday Assembly Manchester
https://www.facebook.com/sunassemblymcr
Zoom 11 am (GMT) Sunday mornings  https://zoom.us/j/2472709402 What is your favorite #DeconversionSong? Music is important to Ian and it influenced his deconversion and how he talks and feels about it now. See the full show notes link below to find Ian's deconversion-related musical recommendations including Spotify and YouTube links. Use the hashtag #DeconversionSong to tell us your favorite deconversion song. Interact Full Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/03/21/?gaid=gap65ian-redfearn-meaning-making/Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap65Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap65 Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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My guest this week is Leah Helbling. Leah is the host of the Women Beyond Faith podcast and an incredibly important voice in the secular community. Leah has a long history of secular community building. Post-deconversion she started a chapter of Women Beyond Belief. She now is a team leader of Bart Campolo's Cincinnati Caravan. "Leah is often referred to as 'The Great Connector'" Leah and I discuss the gift of being present when someone tells their deconversion story. Leah shares her deconversion story which includes overcoming the purity culture and complementarianism of Evangelicalism. It also includes the unwelcoming atmosphere in the secular community for women and what she is doing about it. We talk about podcasting and what motivates us to do the work. Finally, we talk about building secular community. Links Women Beyond Faith
https://womenbeyondfaith.buzzsprout.com/ Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/womenbeyondfaith Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/womenbeyondfaith/ Cincinnati Caravan
https://www.cincinnaticaravan.org/ Recovering From Religion
https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ Search for secular community on meetup.com
https://www.meetup.com/ Interact Full show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/03/14/leah-helbling-women-beyond-faith/?gaid=gap64Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap64Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/?gaid=gap64 Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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My guest this week is Anna. Anna became a Christian at 16 after growing up in a nominal culturally German Christian home. She was attracted to the community, the love of the people and the sense of belonging. Before long she found herself at a Youth With A Mission Discipleship Training School where things were a bit more intense. At DTS Anna began to have Adverse Religious Experiences. The cumulative stress and lack of privacy began to wear on her. She had trauma around the fear of Hell both for her loved ones and for herself. It was not until she got home and experienced the Secular Grace of her non-Christian friends, that she recognized the harm she was experiencing and the loss of her normally care-free attitude. Today Anna has compassion, understanding and Secular Grace for those who succumb to the peer pressure of conformity to the group. She wants people to experience the freedom from religious trauma that she now thrives in. Links Secular Therapy Project https://www.seculartherapy.org/ Religious Trauma Institute https://www.religioustraumainstitute.com/ Interact Deconversion How To https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/?gaid=gap63Secular Grace https://gracefulatheist.com/secular-grace/?gaid=gap63You are not broken, you are human https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/12/06/you-are-not-broken-you-are-human/?gaid=gap63 Full show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/03/07/anna-ywam-dts-deconversion/

Attribution "You Are Not Alone" image Anna

"Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats https://makaihbeats.net/

My guest this week is Brian Blais, professor at Bryant University and IBNS, Brown University. He is the author of A Measure of Faith – Probability in Religious Thought and Statistical Inference For Everyone. Brian is an expert in Bayes' Theorem and how it applies to philosophy, theology, and apologetics. In this episode, I take the restraints off myself and express the reasons why I think apologetics is faulty. Brian is the perfect guest for this. We bounce ideas off one another to articulate good epistemology. We discuss how mathematics and Bayes can be abused by injecting unstated information which changes the probabilities and ultimately the conclusions one comes to. We also discuss how beliefs have consequences. The current rash of conspiracy theories has had real-world effects. Brian explains how decision theory can be used to make difficult choices. Links Brian's website
https://bblais.github.io/ Twitter
https://twitter.com/bblais Statistical Inference For Everyone (Free Version)
https://bblais.github.io/posts/2019/Jan/14/stats-for-everyone/
Amazon Version
https://amzn.to/2O2onzQA Measure of Faith: Probability in Religious Thought
https://amzn.to/37QzEKt Bayes' Theorem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayes%27_theorem The Monty Hall Problem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem Interact Full Show Notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/02/28/brian-blais-bayes-vs-apologetics/?gaid=gap62 Deconversion How To
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Critique of Apologetics
https://gracefulatheist.com/critique-of-apologetics/Apologetics Epistemology and Moving On
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/10/02/apologetics-epistemology-and-moving-on/ Previous episodes referred to in this episode
https://gracefulatheist.com/2020/10/04/randal-rauser-conversation-with-my-inner-atheist/
https://gracefulatheist.com/2020/11/01/ian-mills-new-testament-review/
https://gracefulatheist.com/2020/11/15/barrett-evans-the-contemplative-skeptic/ Attribution Transition Music and Dawg Biscuits on the moon
John Monson and the Brothers Galaxy "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Makaih_Beats  Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/<

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CG grew up in strict religious home in Nigeria, where everything was banned except
Christian media. His family was heavily influenced by the Pentecostal Word-Of-
Faith/Prosperity movement. CG attended a tyrannical, authoritarian, and punitive college in Nigeria. CG, later on, moved to London, UK. In London, he saw that the world was bigger than
the Christian bubble that he had been raised in his whole life. He attended a popular
charismatic church where he met people from different cultures, beliefs, and denominations.
However, some of his friends challenged his Word-Of-Faith/Prosperity beliefs. He started
theological beliefs started changing as a result. CG, subsequently, moved to the USA to get a graduate degree at a Christian college. He
lived in the American south where, as an immigrant, he felt isolated and disconnected from the
Christian culture around him. This drove him to a personal intellectual journey, where he spent
hours reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching videos. After graduating with his master's degree, CG came to the point where he could not
ignore the damage that Christianity was inflicting on his mental health and personal
development. He realised that he had to choose between completely losing his sanity &
freedom by remaining a slave to religion or abandoning his beliefs and accepting his
freedom/autonomy. A few days later, he became an Agnostic, and, subsequently, an Atheist. CG has been on the path of freedom, healing, and recovery ever since. He is
deconstructing sexual shame, self-hatred, misogyny, white supremacy, colonization, and
western imperialism (and other forms of injustice). He also seeks to heal the havoc that religion
has inflicted in Nigeria (and other African countries) through evangelism, cultural imperialism,
and colonization. Religion, significantly, contributes to the apathy and passivity of Nigerians,
which prevents them from fighting for their freedom and justice. CG is very passionate about humanism. He believes humanism is what our generation
needs to help make the world (especially Africa) a better place. He is an existential humanist, a
cosmopolitan humanist, and a planetary humanist. He believes that humanists need to have
freedom (autonomy), humility, compassion, hope, love for learning, curiosity, and open-
mindedness. Links African Polymath Blog
https://africanpolymath.wordpress.com/ Twitter
https://twitter.com/AfricanPolymath Reading list and resources
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/193EJcKRNIxAftLb6daW9f_blMaJ2QwrQ?usp=sharing Email
[email protected] Interact Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/deconversion/?gaid=gap61Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/secular-grace/?gaid=gap61Graceful Atheist Podcast
https://gracefulatheist.com/podcast/?gaid=gap61 Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Makaih_Beats  Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

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