This week's episode features a conversation with author Sarah Hayward (no relation to David Hayward, "the Naked Pastor!") Sarah's book Giving Up God is all about walking away from organized religion, in this case Christianity, and yet trying to discover a sense of authentic spirituality.   For those of us who left a controlling religion behind, the idea of "spirituality" may be the last thing on our minds. But Sarah has an interesting take on the whole thing...I think you'll enjoy this refreshing conversation!   Find Sarah's Book Here on LakeDrive Books   Join the MindShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow me on X @MindShift2018

This episode marks now the second time I've done a crossover episode with Rachel Bernstein, host of the fantastic IndoctriNation podcast.

As a therapist, cult expert, and specialist in dealing with folks who suffer from religious trauma syndrome, Rachel is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dealing with a wide variety of issues caused by cults, fundamentalist religions, and other high-control groups.

If you suffer from RTS, or have come out of a controlling religious or group background, you'll benefit from this discussion. And don't forget to head over to the IndoctriNation podcast platform to catch Part 1, Rachel's interview of me!

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MindShift Podcast is officially back for 2024!   And what better way to kick off another season of the show than to catch up with an old friend, Peter Montgomery of the Right Wing Watch?   In this first episode, Peter and I conduct a wide-ranging, thorough overview of the end of 2023 and look forward into this year, discussing the agenda of the Christian Right moving forward into 2024, which is a hugely important election year. Backing Trump to the hilt--at least most evangelicals anyway--they are poised to "take dominion" moving forward.   But what exactly does that mean, and more importantly, what does it look like if they win the Presidency again? Listen in to find out more!   Support the Show by Joining the MIndShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow Peter on X @PeteMont Follow me on X @MindShift2018

As a recent guest on Joshua's excellent podcast, "The Mediocre Observer," I was happy to return the favor and have Joshua on the show. I hope you enjoy this, the final episode of MindShift Podcast for 2023!

In this wide-ranging discussion, Joshua and I discuss, among other things, why he was terrified to pick the wrong God in his quest for spirituality and enlightenment. So why didn't it work for him? Why did his quest fail, with the result that he's now an atheist speaking out against the dangers of religion and the Christian Right in American politics?

Find out more--and enjoy the episode with me on Josh's show, which can be found on themediocreobserver.com. 

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I've finally managed to catch up with one of my favorite Canadians, David Hayward "The Naked Pastor."   As an ex-pastor and ex-evangelical like me, author and cartoonist David is best known for his irreverent but incredibly poignant cartoons depicting a huge array of theological and churchly issues. They cause people to think, to question, to ponder questions of their faith and church experiences, as well as potentially leading to deconstructing their faith or belief system.   As always, David and I have a wide-ranging conversation about a number of topics, issues, and questions. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!   Join the MindShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow me on X @MindShift2018

This week's episode features a great conversation with a returning guest, historian Dr Warren Throckmorton. From our previous conversation a few years ago, he's had a longstanding issue with the Christian nationalist "historian" David Barton of WallBuilders.   Back in 2012, Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from the bookshelves by its Christian publisher, amid claims by Throckmorton and other evangelical historians that his take on Jefferson was wildly historically inaccurate.   Recently, Throckmorton and his co-author Michael Coulter, have updated their original book Getting Jefferson Right, coming out with a 2nd edition including new information, as well as a look at Stephen  Wolfe's book, The Case for Christian Nationalism. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!   More information on Getting Jefferson Right   Join the MindShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow me on X @MindShift2018

Katherine North is an amazing woman--she grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, but all her life as a young girl she struggled with a major problem: she couldn't bring herself to believe the message of the Christian gospel.   What did she do about it? As the title of the episode suggests, she deconstructed in a major way...and since then, has spent decades of her life putting the pieces back together. Now an author, coach and more, Katherine is a fantastic resource for those of us struggling to discover, or re-discover, our authentic identity after leaving religion behind.   Katherine's Website DeclareDominion.com   Join the MindShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow me on X @MindShift2018 Follow Katherine on X @DeclareDominion

Once again, I'm joined by my good friend Tim Sledge, who like me is an ex-pastor who has since walked away from both the church and the Christian faith.

This week we're discussing his excellent book, Four Disturbing Questions with One Simple Answer, which has a lot of resonance with me as an ex-Christian. Tim poses four questions that anyone who is in the process of deconstructing, or for that matter even questioning, any aspect of their faith should consider.

Enjoy this chat and let me know what you think!

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Thanks to my good friend Janice Selbie, she introduced me to David Morris, who used to be an employee of some of the biggest Christian publishing houses. 

David has since walked away from the faith and his career--at least as a Christian publisher, that is. He's now publishing books largely written by, and for, ex-evangelicals, in some way to make up for his past life's accomplishments as an evangelical working within the machine that is Christian publishing.

This is a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation covering a lot of topics--I hope you enjoy! And don't forget, David will be our guest for the October MindShift Zoom call coming up on the 29th, so you'll have a chance to meet and chat with him.

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Contact Details

Lake Drive Books

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This show is Part 2 of a crossover episode that I've absolutely enjoyed recording. It features the second half of my conversation with Rachael and Molly, the co-hosts of the Cheers to Leaving podcast.

Before listening to this conversation, head over to their platform to catch Part 1! 

In this chat, we discuss what it was like to grow up in a fundamentalist Christian home, compare spanking stories and numbers of baptisms, and more. As adults, we're still dealing with the religious traumas caused by our upbringing and time within Christianity.

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