The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast

Back in September I caught up with ex-missionary and author, Steve Slocum, for a great podcast interview about his upcoming book: Why Do They Hate Us? Making Peace with the Muslim World. The title of his book is taken from a speech given by President George W. Bush mere weeks after 9/11--giving Bush's justification for "why they (Muslims?) hate us." Steve will explain not only what that speech meant both to Muslims and those in the West since then, but also offers up a way forward for understanding and peace to occur. In a world fueled by hateful rhetoric, coming from political and religious leaders alike, this kind of conversation is sorely needed today.

In this special edition of MindShift podcast, I talk to filmmaker Christopher Maloney about his project entitled "In God We Trump." What are the implications for the evangelical church going forward, based upon the fact that 81% of (largely white) evangelical Christians not only voted to elect Trump in 2016, but many continue to support him and many of his policies? Statistics have shown that thousands have left evangelical churches over the issue; and beyond that, many have given up their Christian faith also, citing this "deal with the devil" as the last straw. Listen in as Chris and I discuss the film, the reasons so many voted Trump, and what the future holds for evangelicalism in America--and the world.  

This week's episode features a conversation with Canadian ex-fundamentalist Janice Selbie. Now a trained counselor, she now helps people cope with the grief, loss and trauma associated with deconversion and spiritual transitions.   This is Janice's passion--to assist people in dealing with issues and problems from their past that may well be negatively impacting their lives and mental health currently. Leaving one's religion behind is incredibly difficult, and along with that decision comes oftentimes a high social cost that must be paid also.   In this edition, Janice offers up practical, helpful advice for those who are...walking the path of deconversion.

Deconstruction looks different for everybody--this is something I've learned from talking to many ex-evangelicals. Some become atheists, agnostics, angry theists; in fact there's a spectrum of paths people take.   In the case of Jimmy, however, his deconstruction looked entirely different: the sloughing off of the structures and strictures of evangelical, "American Christianity." What was left was...a return to a profound experience of God he'd had as a young man.   Find out more of Jimmy's journey in this episode!

In this episode, I talk to author and ex-fundamentalist, Sheri Pallas. Her new book is entitled "Man Has Ruined God: My Journey out of Religion and Into the Arms of God."   This is the substance of our great conversation--how exactly has Sheri survived such a toxic religious background, only to deconstruct her beliefs and yet somehow retain a view of God?   Although, as we will discover, this view of God is radically different than her former evangelical belief. Join myself and Sheri for a thought-provoking conversation!

Back in September of 2018, myself and Stacie Rae, "The Resting Traveller," put on a live podcast in the Seattle, Washington area. Together with a live audience, we had a great discussion on the topic of "reconstruction after deconstruction."   If you've left the church behind--and possibly your former faith too--where do you go from here? Turns out that deconstruction isn't the end game; rather, we need to go about reconstructing a brand-new identity: the reconstruction piece.   Join us as we explore this important topic!

Catch this great conversation between myself and my sister, Valerie Heacock Cunningham! This is a 1-year update from our podcast we did last year entitled "Surviving a Fundamentalist Upbringing."   What's changed in both of our lives since last year? How have we processed the traumatic experiences from our evangelical and fundamentalist past, and moved past it? How have we disentangled ourselves from religion, and how has that changed us?   Find out in this episode!

Catch the second half of my conversation with Australian Dr Josie McSkimming, a clinical social worker and ex-evangelical who now focuses on helping those who come out of controlling and fundamentalist religions. In this second half of our conversation, Josie and I delve a bit more into her book, "Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Reconstruction of Identity." This piece of "reconstruction after deconstruction" is hugely important, and in this episode we get into a great discussion about the dynamics around what this looks like.  

In this special bonus edition of MindShift Podast, I interview Andy Herndon as we discuss his important upcoming domentary film entitled "The eXvangelicals: A Documentary." Not only do we get into Andy's own backstory of deconstructing his former evangelical faith, we discuss what led him to start this journey of documenting the many stories of people from the ex-evangelical community. Find out how you can be involved in this exciting project by listening in!

Part 1 of my conversation with Dr Josie McSkimming from Sydney, Australia, focuses on her own backstory in evangelicalism, and how she escaped the system. Now a clinical social worker who counsels those who have left religion behind, she has since authored the book "Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Reconstruction of Identity." Find out more in this fascinating conversation with an ex-fundamentalist from Down Under!