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 to work through our issues and traumas.

In addition to discussing narcissism, we also delve into the question: "Is the God of the Bible a narcissist?" This is a tough question, but definitely worth asking--especially if your religious faith was defined in large part by serving an abusive deity. We also delve into trauma bonding and healing from the abuses suffered while in those relationships.

Get more information on the House of Rae Academy at this link!

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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 theory thinking is nothing new--it goes back millennia, and it turns out to be a human condition. But in today's evangelicalism, with its rabid embrace of Trump and Christian nationalism, conspiracy theories are being weaponized to the detriment of democracy.

Contact Cynane through her website Taking Off The Tinfoil Hat!

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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 false promises.

What is the legacy of these myths that so many parents followed religiously? The fruit is unfortunate indeed: generations of children, now adults, who are estranged from their Christian parents; those who have walked away from the church and their faith as a result of their abusive and traumatic upbringing; and parents who now deeply regret following the advice of "experts" who built entire empires profiting from dispensing seemingly wise biblical advice on both parenting and child-rearing.

Order your copy of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting here on Amazon!

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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 contemplating deconstructing their Christian faith, or for those of us who have walked away but still have issues to process through from our past life of belief, this conversation will prove to be both thought-provoking as well as beneficial. If you want to hear more of my work with David, head over to his platform on YouTube or Square Space to catch our conversations.

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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 life's belief system of evangelical Christianity.

Today, he's attempting to put the pieces all back together after losing Jesus, "my best friend," as he sees it now. If you're interested in attending the Tom Convention, this is an alternative music convention coming up next month in Southern California. Click the link below to find out more information about tickets and the venue:

Tom Convention dates, details and pricing

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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 Amazon.com 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 still catch my talk on RTS.

Find Not So Shiny Not So Happy People at this link on Amazon!

Houston Oasis Facebook Feed link

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 it at the time, this was one of the foundational pieces in not only what would become the Christian Right, but also Trump's MAGA cult base. Frank is still making up for that decades later...and I think you'll enjoy this informative and educational conversation!

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Recently I reconnected with returning guest Stephen Mather, former Jehovah's Witness and co-host of the now-defunct Cult Hackers Podcast.

As an organizational psychologist, and former JW, Stephen is uniquely positioned to inform listeners on the eight markers of cults identified by Dr Robert Jay Lifton in his book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.

Lifton's eight markers are not only time-honored in describing the various tactics used by cults and high-control groups, in addition he provides a helpful extra bit: the psychological effects of each one on the individual or follower. Thus, Stephen and I go through all eight in turn, discuss how they were applied in our various religious experiences, and talk about the psychological effects also.

Concluding the episode, we focus on recovery after leaving religion or a high-control group, offering up helpful tips and experience gained not only in our own lives, but that of others from whom we've found helpful advice.

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I finally caught up with Lucas Wilson after months of emailing each other to set up this interview. And am I ever glad that I did! We had a fantastic conversation that I truly believe you will enjoy and learn a lot from.

Lucas--or Luke--originally hails from Toronto, Canada, and as a young man ended up attending Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, with a view to engaging in so-called "conversion therapy." This is the controversial notion that somehow, if you're gay or have same-sex attraction on any level, God wants to "make you straight." Not only that, but by doing conversion therapy, it will definitely happen.

Aided by dubious psychological and biblical backing, conversion therapy can be incredibly damaging to those in the LGBTQ+ community, but who also happen to be Christians. This misguided theory oftentimes does a huge amount of damage psychologically and in other ways.

Find Luke's book here: Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivor's Stories of Conversion Therapy

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Recently, a listener asked me if I would explore the potential connections between Vance Boelter--the gunman who recently killed 2 Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, and wounded 2 more--and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).

The question posed was this: "Was Vance Boelter radicalized by his experiences within the NAR?" Beyond that, how do we know that Boelter was in fact a part of this increasingly radical movement that has taken the Christian Right by storm since the first Trump era? And did that association with the NAR's increasingly violent and incendiary rhetoric lead him to go on his rampage that resulted in the deaths of two people, and the severe wounding of two others?

In this deep dive episode, I investigate the connections not only between Boelter and the NAR, but also to the tragic and violent history of the violence committed by radical Christian anti-abortion advocates.

I'll also demonstrate just how extreme and violent the language being used by leading NAR figures is becoming, and how that all may have contributed to Boelter doing what he did.

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