The Wonder and The Mystery of Being

Kyle and Neesha share their experience departing the Mormon faith tradition. While sharing a lot of elements with other Christian streams, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) is a particularly tight knit community with many unique dynamics. I was curious how much their own journey might sound familiar to me, and how much it might be entirely different. The conversation was deeply fascinating and moving.

I am approaching this topic as a student, and as I'm not connected to this particular faith tradition, I am not here to criticize the LDS church. I simply wanted to learn about the faith and Kyle and Neesha's experience, both inside it, and outside it, where they find themselves today.

Follow Kyle and Neesha on Tik Tok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@challenge.faith?lang=en

A Link to "A Letter For My Wife" (referenced in this episode)
https://www.letterformywife.com/the-letter

Ahimsa is a sanskrit word that means non-harm. In this episode Dr Katie Blake and I discuss Ahimsa, as well as other incredibly helpful ideas that we've both discovered in more eastern-influenced thought and philosophy.

Dr Katie Blake has her Ph.D. in Social Psychology, and is also a 500-hour-Masters-level yoga instructor. She has used that background to guide her own process of religious deconstruction, and works with others to help them do the same.

Check out Dr Katie Blake:
http://www.instagram.com/drkatieblake
http://www.drkatieblake.com 

What if there are things God can't do? Like know the future or intervene in the lives of human beings? That's the central question of my chat with Dr Thomas Jay Oord, who is one of the most prominent voices in a field known as Open and Relational Theology (also sometimes called Open Theism). We talk about the problem of evil, suffering, hell, and also love, morality, and goodness.

Learn more about Dr Oord:
http://www.thomasjayoord.com
http://www.twitter.com/thomasjayoord

Buy "God Can't":
https://www.amazon.com/God-Cant-Believe-after-Tragedy/dp/1948609126

How do you find your own creative voice? What if you're interested in lots of things instead of just a few things? How do you create art that is meaningful for people both inside and outside of your belief system? These are questions I wanted to explore with Morgan Harper Nichols, who makes beautiful art in real life and also on instagram, where nearly 2 million people follow her work!

Morgan also shares about her recent autism diagnosis, and how that may have played a part in her creative journey.

Check out Morgan Harper Nichols:
www.morganharpernichols.com
www.instagram.com/morganharpernichols

Preorder Morgan's new book!
https://www.amazon.com/How-Far-You-Have-Come/dp/0310456592

This episode is about HELL. Where did we get our ideas of hell? What does the Bible really have to say on the subject? Bradley Jersak, author of the book "Her Gates Will Never Be Shut" discusses this and more with me as we try to deconstruct the idea of eternal conscious torment.

Learn more about Bradley Jersak
http://www.bradjersak.com
https://www.instagram.com/bradley.jersak/
http://www.twitter.com/bradjersak
http://www.facebook.com/bradjersak

Her Gates Will Never Be Shut
https://www.amazon.com/Her-Gates-Will-Never-Shut-ebook/dp/B00IGGZRJY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=her+gates+will+never+be+shut&qid=1616534787&sr=8-1

The Pastor: A Crisis
https://premierecollectibles.com/pastor

If the earth is only 6000 years old, what do we do with the dinosaurs? This is the question that started popular YouTuber Paulogia on his journey of deconstruction, re-examining everything he had ever been taught about God, science,  creation, and so much more. We cover a LOT of ground in this episode - if you're curious to learn more, check out his channel here:

http://www.youtube.com/paulogia

And for videos on some of the specific topics we touch on are below:

Ken Ham vs William Lane Craig - Ham & AiG News (referenced at 19:00 in the episode)
https://youtu.be/TSk8ipvdBts

Final Nail to Apostle Martyrs? (referenced several times in this episode)
https://youtu.be/9CHV6dXZRUc

A book we mentioned in the episode:

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari-ebook/dp/B00ICN066A/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sapiens&qid=1615921342&sr=8-1

Brenda Marie Davies from the youtube channel God Is Grey joins me, and we talk about the evolution of both of our faith perspectives, as well as sexuality, being LGBTQ+ affirming, and her new memoir On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel.

Preorder Brenda's new book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JG6KPLS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Check out Brenda on youtube and socials!
http://www.youtube.com/godisgrey
http://www.instagram.com/godisgrey

What does healthy deconstruction look like? Is it a one-time thing, or ongoing? Where do we go to find truth? I discuss these questions in an introduction, and then I have a fantastic discussion with David Hayward, aka Naked Pastor.

David went through his own process of deconstruction, long before any of us had a word to describe it. She shares what led him on his journey, and how he uses art to convey meaning.

Learn more about David Hayward aka The Naked Pastor:
http://www.nakedpastor.com
http://www.instagram.com/nakedpastor

Ok this one is a bit of a MEGASODE! It became apparent to me during the course of making this episode that this topic is far-reaching and also affects many people in many different ways. So, in an effort to cover as much ground as possible in a reasonable amount of time, this episode features segments from conversations with 4 different people who have all experienced purity culture from different viewpoints. 

Check out Linda Kay Klein:
www.lindakayklein.com

Check out Talk Purity To Me:
www.instagram.com/talkpuritytome

Check out Meg Cowan:
www.megcowan.com

Check out Kevin Miguel Garcia:
www.thekevingarcia.com

In this week's episode I chat with Mike Donehey of the band Tenth Avenue North. We chat about belief, joy, sorrow, and saying goodbye to bands that we had each been a part of for years. Mike has also recently launched a podcasted called "Chasing The Beauty". Links are below.

In addition to his time in Tenth Avenue North, Mike wrote a book called "Finding God's Life for My Will: His Presence is the Plan".

To learn more about Mike Donehey:
http://www.mikedonehey.com
http://www.instagram.com/mikedonehey
https://www.mikedonehey.com/podcast