Flawed Theology

In this episode, Phil and Suzie talk with Sarah Miller Mott, a former preacher/leader under the Foursquare Denomination. She is a published author of poetry and working on getting her novels that she has written over the years published. She tells us all about her very interesting story, growing up Lutheran in North Dakota, how she deconstructed, became an atheist, and then went back to Xtianity in a whole new way, and then after being misled and manipulated by the church, deconstructed and deconverted again. She tells the story how she will never go back to being a believer and why. Her story is fascinating and engaging and you will certainly benefit from hearing it. You can find her published works on Amazon and Follow her on Tiktok @authorsarahmillermott: The Collected Poetry of The Girl in the Corner The Collected Poetry of The Girl in the Corner Vol 2A Short Tale of a Happy Trailhttps://linktr.ee/theycallmesars Follow Us on Social Media @flawedtheology Join our Facebook group "Dangerous Questions" Listen to us on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Stitcher, and all the major podcast platforms.

In this episode, Phil and Suzie talk with Darante' Lamar in an incredible, wide-ranging, and passionate discussion about his faith background, his life in ministry, what lead to his deconversion, and the impact of faith and the journey away from faith on him as an Black man and the black community. Bio: Darante’ LaMar's journey from serving as a leader in both charismatic megachurches and hyper spiritual storefront churches, to embracing a life of secularism and reason, offers a unique perspective on the evolution of faith in contemporary society. With a background that includes virtually every role within the ministry, Darante’ brings a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of religious organizations and the impact they have on individuals and communities. Currently, Darante’ is a Global Project Manager and DEI executive in the healthcare industry. He serves, alongside his wife, as the managing partner of DLDD World Group - a nonprofit committed to people centric projects, programs and progress. He is the author of three published books: Significant, Parenting on Purpose, and Memphis: The Last Supper and three upcoming books, Making The Jump, Christ Held Up and The Case for Religion Link to the "Hell" video referenced in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-mQwkFBgaY Where to Find Darante: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbROOoAVy40Cv5NtKccRClg https://www.facebook.com/darante.martin/ https://twitter.com/DaranteLaMarX https://www.tiktok.com/@darantelamar7 https://www.dldd.ushttps://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ADarante%27+LaMar&s=relevancerank&text=Darante%27+LaMar&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 https://www.amazon.com/Significant-diffidence-confidence-Darante-LaMar/dp/1506105572/ref=monarch_sidesheet Follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube @flawedtheology Join our Facebook group, Dangerous Questions https://www.flawedtheologypodcast.com

In this episode, Phil and Susie discuss the correlation between religious ideology and the ideologies of authoritarianism. This was suggested to us as a It’s a Feature, not a Bug” idea, but we decided to expand it to a full episode topic, because there’s a lot of interesting things to talk about! Thanks to one of our listeners who suggested the topic. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/28/religious-americans-less-likely-to-believe-intelligent-life-exists-on-other-planets/ Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_authoritarianismhttps://theconversation.com/trumps-use-of-religion-follows-playbook-of-authoritarian-leaning-leaders-the-world-over-140050https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3389201/https://oxfordre.com/politics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-667https://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=1236709842:1236709862

In this episode, Phil and Suzie talk with Helen Greene, Ambassador and Fundraising Coordinator for Recovering from Religion. In this wide-ranging conversation, Helen talks with us about her interesting journey away from faith from her Catholic upbringing, discovery of paganism, and eventual deconstruction to skepticism and atheism. Helen comes from a diverse background of beliefs. Raised Roman Catholic, then rejecting the church to move into paganism, she was a pagan high priestess for 10 years during her time in that faith (which was 13 years). Eventually realizing through education and skeptical inquiry into herself, she came to the conclusion she had no solid evidence for her beliefs – which brought her to a more humanistic and realistic worldview. Still studying psychology even out of college, she spends her time trying to understand human behavior, the emotional and psychological understandings of ourselves, and what forms our perspectives and why. She is an ambassador for Recovering from Religion, head of their fundraising team, and one of the co-hosts of their Monday night podcast RfRx. She also volunteers at the Atheist Community of Austin, a rotating co-host of the podcast the Non Prophets, hosts a TikTok live The Queerly Godless Feminist via the ACA,and one Women Atheist Unload and Global Atheists at the Skeptic Haven YouTube channel. For fun, she enjoys horror (esp cosmic horror) and sci-fi movies, video gaming, and diving deep into made-up world-building stories such as the Lord of the Rings. Helen's Links: www.recoveringfromreligion.org https://atheist-community.org/ https://youtube.com/@TheNonProphetsACA?si=aR9VmZsuZwHgeQTB https://youtube.com/@SkepticHaven?si=hcvsBRbJkxioSh9phttps://www.tiktok.com/@hellsbellssrq?_t=8kUAFrm9k6c&_r=1

In our first standalone Flawed Theology in Real Life segment, Phil and Susie analyze a clip where the concept of God creating evil is compared to the realities of cold and darkness. See if you think this theology is flawed and why? Source Material: https://www.facebook.com/reel/3477048449227507

As deconstruction and deconversion are becoming more prevalent in our world, the institutions of Xtianity are flailing to craft a response that will attempt to stem the tide of people leaving the faith, the church, and god himself. The “explanations” of why people are leaving, of course, they are not based in reality or facts, because most have never spoken with anyone who’s actually left to find out their real reasons. In this episode, Phil and Suzie debunk many of these common “myths” that the church attempts to sell as the real reasons for deconstruction. Show Notes & Links https://relevantmagazine.com/current/skillets-john-cooper-its-time-to-declare-war-against-this-deconstruction-christian-movement/ Data Nuggets: Catholics and Climate Change https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/28/the-pope-is-concerned-about-climate-change-how-do-us-catholics-feel-about-it/ It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature: Conspiracy Theories https://www.deseret.com/indepth/2021/3/28/22334183/what-group-of-christians-most-likely-believe-conspiracy-theories-white-evangelicals-qanon-faith/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/07/27/what-drives-belief-in-conspiracy-theories-a-lack-of-religion-or-too-much Follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube @flawedtheolgy Join our Facebook group, Dangerous Questions

In this bonus segment from episode 1, Phil and Susie talk about her cat, a fatal illness, and how it all relates to flawed theology. Enjoy!

We are back for Season 3 and we are excited to be here! In this premiere episode, Phil and Susie catch on things since we took a break for the holidays and talk about what's to come in Season 3! We will introduce two new segments for this season, "Data Nuggets" and "It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature!" Data Nuggets Link: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1226371734/religious-nones-are-now-the-largest-single-group-in-the-u-s It's not a bug, it's a feature! https://www.whsv.com/2024/02/02/ruckersville-church-pastor-arrested-charged-with-sexual-battery/ Over the break, Phil also had the chance to talk Stacie Grahn, aka Apostacie on Instagram and the host of the "Stacie's Mom Podcast" on YouTube. We had an incredible discussion about her life, faith background, and eventual deconstruction from charismatic christianity. Stacie Bio: Stacie Grahn was raised in a charismatic born-again Christian environment. In 2019, she began questioning her beliefs, which eventually led her to embrace atheism by 2021. Now an active voice online, Stacie shares her story to support others grappling with their faith. Together with her mom, who also transitioned away from religion, they host a podcast discussing their own processes as well as inviting other people on who have had similar experiences. Stacie lives in British Columbia Canada with her husband and 3 boys. Stacie's links: https://www.instagram.com/apostacie/ Stacie's Mom Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@thestaciesmompodcast Secular Soapbox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ1xdPR2h5U&list=PLK-HLKx4ZI5vx4m0ebcVnqARHE7FKgNac https://linktr.ee/apostacie Stacie's Resources: Thinking Atheist: https://www.thethinkingatheist.com/ MindShift: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ1tYgwUDYAqGSE7RGLx5CQ Recovering from Religion: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ The Line: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIv3LvN_0CNzMpSrTF9naNA Street Epistemology: https://www.youtube.com/@magnabosco210 Paulogia: https://www.youtube.com/@Paulogia Flawed Theology Links https://www.flawedtheologypodcast.com www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

In this episode, Phil and Susie wrap up the season with another Ask Us Anything session. We are excited to have a guest cohost, Arline from the Graceful Atheist Podcast!! We really had a blast with Arline and are so honored that she spent some time with us. Her insights and answers to your questions are just fantastic!! We received a lot of great questions, which are listed below with timestamps: Show Notes and Links https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/graceful-atheist-podcast-1136736https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversionhttps://www.thethinkingatheist.com/https://www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions Like and Subscribe to the Podcast on your favorite platform or at https://www.flawedtheologypodcast.com

In this episode, we will discuss the idea of “the soul” and how it relates to the afterlife. Is there evidence for the existence of the soul? If the soul doesn’t exist, then what does this mean for the idea of the “afterlife”. Follow this thread further to make the point that basing one’s life on the potential eternality of our existence after death is flawed and how and why to make the most of this life, if it’s truly the only one we have. Show Notes and Links: https://www.britannica.com/topic/soul-religion-and-philosophy https://qz.com/789780/neuroscience-and-psychology-have-rendered-it-basically-unnecessary-to-have-a-soul https://qz.com/1569158/neuroscientists-read-unconscious-brain-activity-to-predict-decisions https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/views-on-the-afterlife/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714103828.htm https://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/64dab58669bfb8925af0af8e/original/consciousness-and-afterlife-in-the-evolution-of-intelligence.pd https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172100/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E4Tw21YBww Seeing Through Christianity by Bill Zuersher https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-through-Christianity-Critique-Evidence/dp/1499018495 Evolution of God by Robert Wright https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-through-Christianity-Critique-Evidence/dp/1499018495 Join Our Facebook Group "Dangerous Questions" Follow Us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube https://www.flaweedtheologypodcast.com

In this episode, Phil and Susie attempt to tackle a really broad subject, the historical Jesus. We want to be clear that we are not biblical scholars and that there is no way in the course of this episode that we are going to provide definitive answers to the questions we will be asking today. Biblical scholars have dedicated their whole lives to this topic and we hope to spark your interest in the topic, just as we have been fascinated by it. We are going to try to address 3 main questions about Jesus, and the reason that we are tackling these questions is because a lot of Xtians like to say that their faith is “not a religion”, but is “all about Jesus”. So, like Slim Shady, we’re asking the real Jesus to “please stand up”. Episode Sections Intro (:24) Topic Intro (3:28) Did the Jesus as described in the Gospels Exist? (21:35) What External Validation Do We Have? (35:30) Did the Historical Jesus Exist (49:55) Discussion about Bias (55:03) Notes and Links https://jamesbishopblog.com/2021/01/08/the-historical-jesus-as-an-apocalyptic-prophet/ https://ehrmanblog.org/did-jesus-call-himself-god/ https://www.flawedtheology.com/2022/01/did-jesus-ride-two-donkeys-into.html https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/a-thorough-guide-to-the-non-canonical-gospels/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus https://vridar.org/2016/03/28/bart-ehrman-jesus-before-the-gospels-basic-element-3-oral-tradition/ https://ehrmanblog.org/did-the-triumphal-entry-really-happen/

In this episode, Phil and Susie talk with Caitlin, owner of Atheist Aesthetic. Caitlin is from Texas and she shares a lot of wisdom about her journey away from faith, her thoughts on being an "angry atheist" and how she moved forward from that stage to being happy, fulfilled, and confident in who she is and how she can live a good and moral life without the overwatch of a deity. She is passionate about many non-profit organizations and she shares a ton of good resources for anyone on a path of questioning their belief system. Lots of links below for your reference. Show Notes and Resources: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AtheistAesthetic?coupon=FLAWEDhttps://personalvalu.es/https://www.oasisnetwork.com/https://www.seculartherapy.org/https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/gods-hearing-voices-and-bicameral-mind.htmhttps://www.amazon.com/Skeptics-Annotated-Bible-Steve-Wells/dp/0988245108?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=21decb48-c904-4ec7-b2f1-6a3a9433bc9c Non-Profits to Support: Freedom from Religion Foundation https://ffrf.org/ Recovering from Religion : https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ Secular Therapy Project: https://www.seculartherapy.org/ Footsteps: https://footstepsorg.org/

In this episode, Phil and Susie talk with Todd "YoyoFox" Rollenhagen. Phil met Todd through the yoyo community and discovered that he was an exBaptist agnostic with a big heart and some interesting life experiences. Todd tells his story of how and why he left church, doesn't believe in a god, but still remains spiritual and open to other experiences. He also has some thoughts about the church and how it's causing damage to humanity. We hope you enjoy this wide ranging conversation. Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

In this episode, Phil and Susie "dig" into the power of music. Harlan Howard in the 50’s used the phrase “3 chords and the truth” to describe his genre of country music and many other artists have used this phrase and allowed it to be their philosophy of songwriting. This phrase is funny because most worship songs are 3 chords and purports to be truth, but what is the truth that is actually being conveyed? How does music actually work to affect our emotions and how is this exploited in worship/Xtian music and sold as the “Spirit”? Can “secular” music do the same thing that Xtian music does? We will talk (and even sing) about some of the tactics that are used and even how chord structures and musical formulas can elicit certain responses. For those interested in skipping over the music, here are the timestamps: 31:27-32:25 lord, I lift your name on high 33:30-34:22 how great is our god 35:15-35:55 how he loves 37:00-38:00 you alone 40:48-46:03 from the inside out by Hillsong Show Links and Resources: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/29/1190374074/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social https://languageandreligion.com/2022/04/20/emotional-manipulation-in-worship-music/ https://blog.landr.com/emotional-chord-progressions/ https://reckersworld.jimdofree.com/religion/recker-s-writings-to-enlighten-and-entertain/how-churches-use-music-to-manipulate-you/ https://capuzzler.medium.com/emotion-effect-in-religious-music-9d383b34b24e https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17470218221075330 https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/choir-singing-improves-health-happiness-%E2%80%93-and-perfect-icebreaker https://www.praisecharts.com/blog/the-nashville-number-system-chart-for-bands/ Genetically modified skeptic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7btz0ocXDeg Faith Free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoaknMByfRs *From the Inside Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-9mUDbGsEk Closing Poem: https://www.joniroseblog.com/post/strings-the-use-of-religious-song Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions *We do not own the rights to the music in this episode.

One of the most challenging aspects of deconversion for many of us was the decision to reveal our leaving the faith to our family and close friends and making it public, etc. Since many of us come from Xtian households and have still believing parents, there can be some serious anxiety around the decision to tell our parents that we can’t believe what they brought us up to believe. We want to discuss the why and how of these difficult conversations and hopefully provide some semblance of community and a reminder that you are not alone in your feelings about this part of the journey. We are joined by a diverse panel of guests, Breanne, Miccah, and Lars, who share a bit of their deconversion story and how they approached the decision to share their journey with their closest people, like friends and family. It's a wide ranging conversation with incredible wisdom that we hope will be beneficial for anyone on a deconstruction journey. Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion about sexuality, child sexual abuse, and other topics related to human sexuality. In this week's episode, Phil and Susie talk with Janis. Janis is a long time friend of Phil’s from his days at moderately progressive Baptist Church in VA, where we both lived. Janis was married to someone who was affiliated with the worship team and went through a very difficult discovery in her marriage, which led her down a pretty incredible life path. She is a bona fide badass who is an flight medic/ EMT and was a medic and competitor on the TV series, Naked and Afraid. We discuss Janis' faith background, her marriage experience, mental health, purity culture, and how she views faith and god now. We hope that you find her story interesting, relevant, and powerful for you on your journey. Stay tuned to the end for some really foolish outtakes!! Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

In this episode, Phil and Susie discuss how the volume and intensity of animal suffering in the world serves as evidence to disprove theism, especially the version of theism that purports a loving, omniscient, and omnipotent deity. Is animal suffering and the theory of evolution evidence against the existence of a loving God? We expand on the problem of evil that extends beyond human suffering into the animal world. Show Notes and Links: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53549936https://emersongreenblog.wordpress.com/2023/04/26/animal-suffering-is-evidence-against-gods-existence/http://counterapologetics.blubrry.net/2023/05/10/ca115-post-debate-interview-w-justin-schieber-of-real-atheology/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370421/https://ourworldindata.org/famineshttps://creation.com/attenborough-eye-worm-argument-against-godhttps://www.ledonline.it/index.php/Relations/article/view/880/717https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_theodicyhttps://awionline.org/content/extreme-weather&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1683650349563087&usg=AOvVaw2p9tWcb6G2BFH_GvOcQaNFhttps://thebulletin.org/2022/07/extreme-heat-animals-livestock-wildlife/https://animalclock.org/ Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

In this episode, Phil and Susie talk with Alex, who is is a recently deconverted Mormon and his story is truly fascinating!! We named this episode the way we did because Alex actually was a "high priest" in the Church of Mormon. If you ever wanted to know anything about Mormonism, you will learn a lot in this episode. Alex shares about his life growing up in the LDS church, the "shelf" items that finally led to his deconversion, some fascinating ways that Mormonism is similar to mainstream evangelical Xtianity a whole lot more! Plus a fun trivia segment where we ask Alex "Is this really Mormon?" Be sure to listen all the way to the end!! It's a good one! Show References: "A Letter to my Wife": https://www.letterformywife.com/the-letter CES Letter: https://cesletter.org/CES-Letter.pdf Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

In this episode, Phil and Susie discuss the concept “If god Were real”. We will discuss all the ways that we would expect a truly true God to reveal itself and how they would act. We will compare how it would be if God were real or if God were created by humans and then how God is presented in Christianity and see what lines up. We will also discuss an epistemological question that could be useful when engaging believers—what could God do better? Based on a post of Susie's: https://www.flawedtheology.com/2021/11/if-god-were-real.html Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions

Prayer is a quintessential part of Xtian doctrine and is a mainstay of the life of the believer. Phil and Susie will delve into what prayer is, if it actually works, why and how people use the concept of prayer to give their faith more value/ meaning/ reality. Based a bit off of Susie’s blog post “Does Prayer Work?” which was the first post I ever read of hers. https://www.flawedtheology.com/2021/11/does-prayer-work.html We will discuss what “does it work” means and how we view prayer now, on the other side of faith versus how we viewed it before. Show Notes and Links: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/yes-no-wait https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/prayer/why-we-pray.html https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/prayer/how-to-pray.html https://www.flawedtheology.com/2021/11/does-prayer-work.html https://get.tithe.ly/blog/how-many-times-is-prayer-mentioned-in-the-bible https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/ Please subscribe and review us wherever you are listening to our podcast. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @flawedtheologypodcast Join our Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions