Graceful Atheist Podcast

Content Warning: miscarriage; traumatic birth; mental health problems; hell anxiety This week's guest is Julia. Julia is the clever mind behind @painfulpostchristianprayers on Instagram. Julia grew up in a German mostly-atheist environment. The hostility, however, she saw for religion made it all the morning appealing. As she came of age, she found herself confirmed in the German Lutheran church but attending and loving a very American Baptist church. Julia was all-in but soon found some doctrines were a bit much, especially the teachings about Hell. For years, Julia threw herself into American Church World—she read the entire Bible, went to university to become a missionary doctor, met her spouse at church, even read Joshua Harris's books! But life has a way of forcing some to wonder if the God they believe in really is as kind as they've been told. After one incredibly trying event after another, Julia could no longer see God's "goodness." She began to see through the "incredibly ridiculous explanations" people gave when God did not come through. Julia is in a very different place now, and her online presence provides an outlet for the anger that had been pent-up for so long. It has also brought her community. She is far from alone, thousands are waking up to the lies and empty promises of Christianity. And that is what is what humans truly need—not a distant pretend deity but real human connection and relationship. Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/09/25/julia-deconstruction-of-a-doctor/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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Stay skeptical? This week's guest is Thom Krystofiak. He's the author of Tempted to Believe: The Seductive Power of Claims About "The Truth." Thom grew up Catholic but as an adult began practicing TM, Transcendental Meditation. He followed gurus and groups for decades, even though he was never quite convinced of the more spectacular claims of TM. Thom shares about his experiences in the TM movement and what pushed him out. He also discusses important questions people, regardless of their belief or skepticism, could ask themselves: What do I mean by truth? How do I find the truth? And how much does truth really matter? Links Tempted to Believe: The Seductive Power of Claims about "The Truth"
https://amzn.to/3qKAa63 Thom's personal site
https://krystofiak.com/ Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/09/18/thom-rystofiak-tempted-to-belive/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Doug. Doug became interested in church when he was in junior high, and when Doug is in, he's all in. He was a believer throughout high school, college and into the military. But then books and magazines happened. Doug began reading more "skeptical literature," and the questions began. Doug's faith unraveled while he was "an atheist in a foxhole," but faith in the supernatural was unnecessary. He needed his own strength, and the strength of the people around him. He has since been an atheist pastor, finding the human connection he and his wife needed, without changing their beliefs or forsaking their values. As Brene Brown says, "We are hardwired to connect with others," and Christianity has no longer cornered the marked on community and belonging. Links Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma
https://tullahomauu.org/index.html Doug's Short story "The Faith I Left Behind" is in the book, The Sandbox: Dispatches from Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
https://amzn.to/3RYrHaZ Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/09/11/doug-traversa-atheist-minister/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Cooper. Cooper grew up deeply immersed in church world. From the time she was a little girl, she was devoted to God and obedient to her family. In high school, life threw her a curve ball, but she continued faithfully loving Jesus and doing what she believed to be best. Parenthood, marriage, church life and military life all, in different ways, knocked her feet out from beneath her. Every year it seemed like something was more difficult, more uncertain and the church wasn't always stepping up with the support she needed. After years of questions without satisfying answers, Cooper finds herself a woman—more than a wife and mom—with options and freedom to choose her own life. She may not have the answers to every question, but she's okay with that. She and her children keep moving forward, empowered now to love one another without sacrificing themselves. Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/09/04/cooper-deconstruction-of-a-mother/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Jack Robertson. Jack is a returning guest and an integral part of the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group. Earlier this year, Jack's youngest daughter, Emily, was in an accident, suffering severe burns on her body. Jack discusses how his online community and IRL friends stepped in to support his family. He also discusses the anger and hurt their family experience at the platitudes and cliches of the Christians in their lives. Emily's clearheadedness, dark sense of humor and incredible resilience has brought her a long way in the healing process—mentally, physically and emotionally. Jack and the rest of their family are also healing in their own ways, supporting one another and seeking professional help. We are Human. We are social beings whose needs are not met by "a guy in the sky." Our needs are met through our relationships with one another, especially those who are closest to us. Links Go Fund Me
https://gofund.me/bba4d01e Jack's Deconversion episode
https://gracefulatheist.com/2021/10/31/jack-robertson-deconversion-story/ Kenyetta and Jack Save the World
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/kenyetta-jack-save-the-world-4099553
Graceful Atheist on Kenetta and Jack Save the World
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/kenyetta-jack-save-the-world-4099553/episodes/the-abcs-of-grace-127398471 Musings of an ADD Mind
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/musings-of-an-add-mind-2160439 Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/08/28/jack-emilys-story/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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Content Warning: This week's story includes references to physical and emotional abuse, mental illness and suicidal ideation. Listener discretion is advised. This week's guest is Jan. Jan grew up in a strict fundamentalist household which made church safer, and that disconnect planted the first seeds of doubt. She went off to a Christian university where she was told to expect "signs and wonders", but they didn't happen. Becoming a missionary wife was supposed to satisfy her "need to serve God" but it didn't happen. Again and again, as she pursued God, she was let down. Trauma, depression and unfulfilled promises slowly broke her, and even then, God didn't show up. She had been doing it all on her own, and it would take a divorce and leaving the Church completely, for her to see that. After finding care and support in therapy and "spiritual but not religious" communities, Jan now supports others struggling with mental illness. She is living a life filled with grace both for herself and others. Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/08/21/jan-mental-health-and-deconstruction/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Matthew. Matthew grew up in the Pentacostal tradition and went from being a youth leader in high school to a full-time international missionary as an adult. He had all the right answers to all the important questions. The missionary life, however, didn't turn out as he'd expected. He and his team did everything in their power to tell people about Jesus but nothing supernatural was happening. Year after year, "the hiddenness of God" became too much for Matthew. It hasn't been easy for Matthew to get where he is now—living a freer life, not having to have all the answers, not having to wait for the supernatural to happen. He loves people closest to him, enjoys his friends and acquaintances without judgment, and those small things are what slowly change the world. Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/08/14/matt-deconversion-of-a-missionary/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Drew. Drew grew up as a Missionary Kid and has traveled to nearly every continent and all across the United States. Drew spent years of his life evangelizing and serving others through construction, farming and carpentry. Drew has since left mainstream evangelicalism, with its exclusivity and supremacy culture, but he is using the tools he developed. He and his family serve their local community right in the Bible Belt with a market, concerts, a community center and so much more! Humans don't need a supernatural being to come to our rescue. We need one another. We need each other's abilities and companionship. Drew and his family are changing the future by building intentional community right where they are. Links NOTE: Not an endorsement The Perch
https://www.theperchcomer.com/ Rupert Spira Podcast Episode 47: The Weekend University
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rupert-spira-podcast/id1494564673?i=1000571203239 Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/08/07/drew-community-and-consciousness/Graceful Atheist YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/GracefulAtheist Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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This week's guest is Adria. Adria is a sociologist working in international development. Adria grew up in various multiethnic churches but each one seemed to worship whiteness alongside Jesus. By the end of college, Adria was done with church. Years later, in atheist spaces, she would find racism to be just as prevalent. Her experience with the Christian missionaries showed her the inequity that must exist for missionary work to thrive. In the last decade she has since seen that Western nations continue missionary work; only as evangelists for "neoliberal economic systems" rather than the gospel. Adria's understanding of supremacy culture's effects on humanity is invaluable to any community—church, atheist or global—working toward a more equitable world. She truly is a model of graceful atheism. We discuss international development, missionary work, economics, equity, racism, atheism, black non-believers and much more. Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/07/31/adria-racism-in-the-missionary-field/ Catch me on former guest, Robert People's, Affinis Humanity, Instagram live Thursday August 4th at 5 PM EDT
https://www.instagram.com/affinishumanity/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/ Photo By James Barry
http://www.treaty2u.govt.nz/images/impact-main-1.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12666818

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This week's guest is Jenny McGrath. Jenny is a licensed mental health counselor, a somatic psychotherapist, and a movement educator specializing in religious trauma and sexual abuse. She believes "in the power of story and the wisdom of the body." Jenny's work stems partly from her evangelical upbringing in Colorado Springs. She was steeped in the world of purity culture. Her work also comes from a broad understanding of the history of purity culture—women's disembodiment, trauma, gender erasure, systemic racism and more. Jenny guides and support others in their journeys to liberation and hope after years of harm and trauma. She is truly living out secular grace! Links Counseling website
https://www.indwellcounseling.com/ Embodied Sexuality Course
https://www.indwellmovement.com/embodied-sexuality Purity Culture Research Collective
https://puritycultureresearchcollective.com/ Recommendations Podcasts Straight White American Jesus podcast
https://straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/ Books #AmzonPaidLinks The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
https://amzn.to/3aWcvvf Virgin Nation by Sara Moslener
https://amzn.to/3zuiqB9 Shameless by Nadia Bolz Weber (progressive Christian perspective)
https://amzn.to/3RPCmW2 Interact For quotes, recommendations and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/07/24/jenny-mcgrath-embodied-sexuality/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionSecular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats
https://makaihbeats.net/

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