Holy Heretics: Losing Religion and Finding Jesus

Episode Summary: Growing up evangelical required a preoccupation with external behaviors and moral performance, or what I now understand as sin management. My spiritual life was fear based. Behaviors like sexuality, masturbation, swearing, or drinking were litmus tests of spiritual maturity. The more you controlled, hid, or projected your external behaviors onto others, the closer you were to God. Behavior modification, external conformity, and the avoidance of sin was my ticket out of Hell. In evangelicalism, I was a problem to be fixed, not a person to be loved. What an anemic and harmful understanding of spirituality. Leaving white evangelicalism meant finding deeper streams of spiritual wisdom. Instead of this hyper-fixation on what I was doing, inner Christianity helped me recognize God’s eternal presence at the core of my being, no matter what I was doing. God isn’t some external deity I need to placate, God is the lover of my soul. As I spiritually mature, I’m coming to realize the importance of cultivating my inner life instead of worrying about external behaviors. Or as Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “The only journey is the one within." External Christianity is about salvation in the afterlife. Inner Christianity is about personal transformation in this life. Contemplative or inner spirituality doesn’t ignore sin—it just approaches it differently. Instead of managing sin, it invites us to be still, to listen, and to let God transform us at the root. “Christ did not preach a mere ethical or social gospel but an uncompromisingly spiritual one. He declared that God can be seen, that Divine perfection can be achieved,” writes Swami Prabhavananda in his seminal work The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta. Where does this leave us? How do we cultivate our interior life instead of focusing so much on externals? How do we focus on roots instead of fruits? I rarely quote Augustine, but he’s on point about this. "Do not look outside; return to yourself. In our interior the truth resides.” I’ll give that an amen. In this final episode in season five, I’m honored to be joined by psychotherapist, philosopher, and mystic Dr. Mark Vernon. Mark is a writer, psychotherapist and former Anglican priest. He contributes to programs on BBC radio, writes and reviews for newspapers and magazines, gives talks and frequently podcasts. His books cover themes including friendship and God, William Blake and Dante, ancient Greek philosophy and wellbeing. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology. Dr. Vernon’s writings and teachings are deeply rooted in the inner life, exploring how we can cultivate spiritual depth and meaning in the modern world. You can connect with Dr. Vernon here! Thanks for listening! Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/inner-christianity-mark-vernon Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: Today is June 14, 2025, a day that will live in infamy. A sitting United States president is hosting a military-style parade in Washington D.C. that every crack-pot dictator from Adolf Hitler to Vladimir Putin would admire. Making matters worse, since re-gaining power in January, Trump’s regime has dismantled democracy, extended the power of the presidency, suspended habeas corpus, and unlawfully detained and deported thousands of immigrants. Trump’s manufactured chaos is designed to evoke a violent response. “Following the example of other authoritarians, Donald Trump wants us to burn cars. He wants us to throw rocks. He wants images of chaos — especially violence against police or National Guard troops — to flood the evening news,” writes In These Times. He wants blood in the streets. We can’t give it to him or he wins. In response to Trump’s daily attack on democracy and his disgusting display of military might, a coalition of over 200 progressive organizations—including the ACLU, Indivisible, and the American Federation of Teachers—has organized a nationwide protest movement called “No Kings.” Millions of Americans are expected to turn out today at over 1,800 locations across the country, deliberately avoiding Washington, D.C., to emphasize grassroots, nonviolent resistance. Speaking truth to power and resisting the principalities and rulers of this world is the faithful response to empire. As God’s people, resistance is in our DNA. According to pastor Robin Meyers in his book Spiritual Defiance, “Our Gospel was birthed in resistance to the brutal normalcy of the Roman Empire.” The more things change, the more they stay the same. Like the founder of our faith, we find ourselves living under the boot of an evil empire. How do we respond? What forms of resistance are available to us? Is violence ever justified? Contrary to what many assume, nonviolent resistance isn’t meekness in the face of evil. It is the courageous and oftentimes creative task of disarmament. Nonviolent resistance is a way to fight against injustice without using violence. It is using the transformative force of love to resist oppression. The first Christians understood nonviolence to be the sin qua non of discipleship. So much so that there wasn’t even a word for pacifism during the first four centuries of Christianity. To call yourself Christian meant you were universally nonviolent. Following Jesus then and following Jesus now means we will find ourselves in opposition to empire. In the following weeks and months, the need to confront Trump’s evil regime will continue. But how we resist is just as important as the resistance itself. As tempting as it will be, returning evil for evil will only result in greater oppression. To help us better understand the transformative power of nonviolence, I’m joined on the show today by Dr. Jesse Nickel. Jesse gives a clear and convincing argument that the gospels present Jesus as a nonviolent revolutionary. What can we learn from the way Jesus resisted and confronting the empire of his day? Unlike his prophetic movement, will we return evil for evil? Will we fall into the imperial trap of fight or flight? Or, will we learn how to tap into the ancient model of nonviolent resistance to topple Trump’s regime? As you go out today with courage to confront Trumpism, take this episode along with you. Listen to the plea for nonviolent resistance. Understand the power of taking on suffering rather than inflicting suffering. And rest in the peace and power that God has been dismantling empires for over 6,000 years. Amen. Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show...

Episode Summary: Regina Cates joins me on the show to discuss her latest book The Real Conversations Jesus Wants Us to Have: A Call to Bravery, Peace, and Love. This episode is part memoir, part social commentary, and part call to action for those of us who grew up in religious fundamentalism and have found our way out to a bigger, broader, and more inclusive world. I realize that a lot of our episodes lean toward the scholarly and the erudite, but this is not one of those. This conversation is personal, real, and raw. In fact, this is our 90th episode on Holy Heretics, and it may just be our most candid, open, and vulnerable conversation to date. You’ll learn about Regina’s early years as a young LGBTQIA girl, the abuse she suffered, and the way she protected her heart and soul in the midst of oppression. You’ll also learn what it looks like to set boundaries, fight oppression, and find yourself after leaving evangelicalism. This episode is a clarion call to wake up, to care for your body and soul as you recover from evangelical Christianity and all it’s oppressive forces. Regina is an author, activist, podcaster, and founder of Romancing Your Soul, an organization that helps people develop lives of love, compassion, and purpose. Her first internationally bestselling book Lead with Your Heart: Creating a Life of Love, Compassion, and Purpose continues to be an inspiration to people who desire a more fulfilled life. Regina is followed by hundreds of thousands on social media who embrace her messages of kindness, compassion, and empathy for one another as equal members of our human family. I think you will enjoy this conversation as Regina and I share our personal stories of leaving religious fundamentalism and finding faith, community, hope, and wholeness post-evangelicalism. Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/bravery-peace-self-love Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: You need to sit down for this episode. Mercer University’s Dr. Angela Parker joins me today on the podcast for a heart-wrenching conversation about white supremacy, intersectionality, womanist theology, authoritarian Christianity, decolonization, Kamala Harris, and her sought-after book, If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I? According to Eerdmans Publishing House, “Angela Parker wasn’t just trained to be a biblical scholar; she was trained to be a White male biblical scholar. She is neither White nor male.” Thank God. Womanist theology is a methodological approach to theology that centers the experiences and perspectives of Black women, particularly African-American women. Emerging in the mid to late 1980s, it serves as a corrective to early feminist theology—which often overlooked racial issues—and Black theology, which predominantly reflected male viewpoints. In plain language, Womanist theology interprets the Bible, Christianity, and life here in the American empire through the eyes and lived experiences of Black women. As a Black scholar who traces her family history out of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and into the halls of higher education, Dr. Parker talks candidly about what it means to be an educated Black woman in both predominantly white higher education and Trump’s MAGA America. I know I say this a lot, but this is one of the most important conversations we’ve had to date on Holy Heretics. If the United States is to survive the MAGA cult, it will be through the embodied actions, wisdom, spirituality, and lived experience of Black women and men who understand what it takes to resist, regroup, and offer the world a beautiful invitation into God’s beloved, alternative community. In the context of Trump's America, characterized by racist policies and rhetoric, Womanist theology is particularly poignant. By offering a framework that not only addresses the intersections of race, gender, and class, “womanism” also actively resists the oppressive structures of White America. BIO: Rev. Dr. Angela N. Parker is associate professor of New Testament and Greek at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. She received her B.A. in religion and philosophy from Shaw University (2008), her M.T.S. from Duke Divinity School (2008-2010) and her Ph.D. in Bible, culture, and hermeneutics from Chicago Theological Seminary (2015). Before this position, Dr. Parker was assistant professor of Biblical Studies at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. She teaches courses in New Testament, Greek Exegesis, the Gospel of Mark, the Corinthians Correspondence, the Gospel of John, and Womanist and Feminist Hermeneutics unto preaching. In her research, Dr. Parker merges Womanist thought and postcolonial theory while reading biblical texts. Dr. Parker’s most popular book is titled, If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority. In this book, Dr. Parker draws from her experience as a Womanist New Testament scholar in order to deconstruct one of White Christianity’s most pernicious lies: the conflation of biblical authority with the doctrines of inerrancy and infallibility. As Dr. Parker shows, these doctrines are less about the text of the Bible itself and more about the arbiters of its interpretation—historically, White males in positions of power who have used Scripture to justify control over marginalized groups. This oppressive use of the Bible has been suffocating. To learn to breathe again, Dr. Parker says, we must “let God breathe in us.” Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/womanist-theology-in-maga-america Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics...

Episode Summary: John Dominic Crossan is the world’s most prominent Jesus scholar. He joins me today on Holy Heretics to discuss what we can, and what we cannot, know about the life of this first century Jewish peasant. Unlike traditional theological portrayals of Jesus, which center primarily on his death and resurrection, Crossan’s scholarship focuses on the historicity of Jesus. Who was he? What evidence do we have to support his existence? Instead of asking why Jesus died, Crossan has spent decades unearthing the reasons Jesus lived. For Crossan, Jesus was a radical social revolutionary who confronted Roman oppression and attempted to live into an alternative version of reality. His portrayal challenges conventional Christian perspectives that see Jesus primarily as a divine figure who came to die for our sins. In books like The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (1991), Crossan presents Jesus as a figure who opposed both Roman imperial rule and the hierarchical structures of Jewish society. He describes Jesus' movement as one of radical inclusivity and nonviolent resistance. Crossan’s work has been controversial, particularly among conservative Christians, because he downplays the supernatural aspects of Jesus’ life, including the literal resurrection. Instead, he sees the resurrection as a symbolic event representing the triumph of Jesus' teachings. I’m delighted to share our conversation with you! If you are interested in learning more about the historical Jesus, this episode is a fantastic introduction. By challenging conventional wisdom and introducing his rigorous historical methods, Dom Crossan invites listeners to meet Jesus again for the first time. BIO: John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-born American theologian and former Roman Catholic priest best known for his association with the Jesus Seminar. Upon graduating from high school in Letterkenny, Ireland, in 1950, Crossan moved to Chicago, where he joined the Servites, a Roman Catholic monastic order. Ordained a priest in 1957, he returned to Ireland to study at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and received a doctorate in theology in 1959. He then studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome for two years before returning to his Servite community to teach. In 1965 he began study at the École Biblique et Archaéologie Française de Jérusalem (French Institute of Bible and Archaeology, Jerusalem). Two years later he returned to Chicago to join the faculty of the Chicago Catholic Theological Union. In 1969 he resigned from the Servite priesthood, citing a longing for academic freedom and his intention to marry. He soon joined the faculty of religious studies at Chicago’s DePaul University, where he taught until his retirement in 1995. Crossan continues to write and lecture today. His most insightful books include The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem, The First Paul, God and Empire, andJesus: A Revolutionary Biography. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-historical-jesus Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by...

Episode Summary: I wrote an article almost two weeks ago titled, Trump’s Willing Executioners. Drawing on my graduate work in Holocaust Studies, I compared and contrasted the MAGA movement and Nazi Germany, and in particular, the glaring lack of empathy championed by both cults. The article went viral, encouraging me to consider a more robust analysis of how cruelty, the lack of empathy, and propaganda drives ordinary men and women to commit extraordinary crimes against humanity. We saw it in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and we are witnessing it in real time in the United States. When comparing political movements like MAGA America and Nazi Germany, it's important to approach the discussion with sensitivity and academic rigor. The comparison between the two must be grounded in the analysis of both movements' ideologies, symbols, rhetoric, and policies. Without overstating things, both movements utilized nationalism to rally support, often with a focus on restoring a golden age of past glory. Both cults also exploited social unrest, attacked the intelligentsia, created an “us vs them” mentality, and enlisted the church to absolve their crimes. More sinister, both groups embraced xenophobic rhetoric and abject racism, identifying certain groups as threats to the nation’s purity and survival. While both groups rose to power legally, the Nazi Party and the MAGA cult quickly eroded the principles of democracy in route to a fascist regime. There’s a lot of talk these days comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. I understand the analogy, but what I find even more significant is the correlation between Nazi Christians and MAGA Christians. As I said in the article, “The same cast of characters and religious propaganda that created the Holocaust are alive and well in the United States.” MAGA Christians are cruel because the MAGA cult is cruel; and MAGA Christians are cruel because cruel people tend to become MAGA members. For Trump evangelicals, empathy is a sin because cruelty is the point. In todays podcast episode, I discuss: The intersectionality between fascism and the lack of empathy. How does the MAGA cult benefit from the idea that empathy and compassion are sinful? Why do ordinary men and women often commit the most heinous offenses when they believe other people aren’t actual people? Why are prominent evangelical Christians promoting cruelty and indifference? Why are white, conservative Christians almost always on the wrong side of history and morality? How did the historical Jesus center compassion as the foundational ethic of his life and ministry? Why is compassion, and not holiness, the core attribute of God? When cult behavior, hatred of the other, and a lack of empathy come together, you create a culture of death. And it’s happening in real time here in the United States. As Pastor Robin Meyers recently warned: “America is going fascist, and it's doing so with the help of religious zealots whose real passion is for the politics of privilege, not the radically disturbing presence of Jesus. This will sound alarmist to some, but the truth is that no country ever thinks it is going fascist until it wakes up one day to that indisputable reality. Then the people will say, ‘How did this happen?’ And the answer is ‘one day at a time, and with the blessing of the church.’” This is one of the top three most important episodes we’ve ever released. I hope you will take some time today to listen, and share it with a friend. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-sin-of-empathy Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack:...

Episode Summary: For ten years running, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has been recognized as one of the “most spiritually influential living people in the world” by Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine. His work has been featured in many magazines, newspapers and broadcast media, including New Scientist, The Guardian, Discover magazine, The Spectator, The Washington Post, Die Zeit, the Netflix original Cunk on Life, and on BBC Radio and television. Sheldrake, a Cambridge educated biologist and author, is best known for his controversial and pioneering work on the concept of morphic resonance, which suggests that there are inherent patterns of behavior in nature influenced by past occurrences of similar patterns, creating a kind of collective memory that transcends individual organisms and time. His ideas have sparked debate, especially within the scientific community, because they challenge the mechanistic worldview that traditional science holds. Labeled a heretic within the scientific community for his embrace of spirituality, Sheldrake’s research opens up a fascinating dialogue between science and spirituality, suggesting these realms are not as separate as we’ve been told. Sheldrake argues that science and spirituality can complement each other, rather than be in opposition. He believes modern science has become too reductionist, focusing solely on material explanations and overlooking the potential for interconnectedness and universal consciousness. Spiritual practices like meditation, singing, and pilgrimage, which have long been seen as purely subjective experiences, have positive effects on the human experience that can be understood and measured through scientific research. While Sheldrake’s work doesn’t directly “prove” the spiritual benefits of practices like meditation, singing, and pilgrimage, he offers a perspective that allows for these practices to be understood scientifically. For instance, numerous studies have shown that meditation has tangible effects on the brain, such as enhancing neuroplasticity, reducing stress, and improving emotional regulation. Singing has been shown to have positive effects on mental health and can trigger the release of endorphins and oxytocin, promoting feelings of well-being and connection. Pilgrimages are associated with transformative spiritual experiences, and research on this topic shows that they often lead to positive shifts in mental health, increased sense of purpose, and connectedness with others. Sheldrake believes pilgrimages are sacred journeys that not only connect us to sacred sites, but more broadly, to the universal field of human connectivity across space and time. I sat down with Dr. Sheldrake from his home in London to discuss how his background as a world-renown scientist impacted his spiritual quest. We discussed his journey in and out of the Anglican tradition, morphic resonance, why he’s been labeled a heretic in the scientific community, the transformational power of pilgrimage, why evolution and Christianity support one another, and other existential questions like, “What really is the meaning of life?” We’ve had some incredible guests on the show over the previous five years, but Sheldrake is by far the most prominent, globally recognized scholar we’ve been fortunate enough to know and engage. Pull up a chair, grab a pen and paper, and let this luminous conversation awaken you to the “more” that surrounds us on this living, beautiful planet. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-science-of-spirituality Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack:...

Episode Summary: Dr. Rachel Wheeler joins me today on Holy Heretics to discuss ecospirituality and the practice of rewilding both our life and faith. Let’s be honest, Christians have a horrendous relationship with the natural world, best understood through a combination of harmful historical, theological, and cultural influences. Growing up evangelical meant believing the world was bad and, as a result, ecological well-being and the health of the planet were seen as secondary or unimportant compared to “getting saved.” In addition, an overt emphasis on the afterlife as well as a history of colonialism has often led to a devaluation of our earthly home. From a theological perspective, one of the most influential ideas shaping Christian attitudes toward nature is the concept of dominion described in Genesis 1:28, where humans are given authority over the Earth and its creatures. Historically, this idea was interpreted as humans being granted the right to exercise control over nature and exploit its resources. Western Christianity interpreted "dominion" not merely as stewardship but as mastery or ownership over creation. This led to an anthropocentric (human-centered) worldview, where human needs and human desires were placed above the health of ecosystems and non-human creatures. Thankfully, we are evolving. Ecospirituality has gained significant attention and popularity in the modern world due to a convergence of ecological, spiritual, political, and social challenges. It refers to a spiritual perspective that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life and emphasizes the sacredness of the natural world. It involves an awareness of the Earth’s ecosystems, the understanding that human beings are part of a larger web of life, and the recognition that spiritual growth is inherently tied to the health and well-being of the planet. Ecospirituality often incorporates elements from various spiritual traditions, including indigenous wisdom, pantheism, animism, Buddhism, and environmental ethics. It seeks to address the environmental crises through spiritual practices, such as reverence for nature, rewilding, meditation, forest bathing, and radical kinship with all sentient beings. This rising interest reflects a growing recognition that environmental issues cannot be addressed solely through scientific or political means, but also require a profound shift in our worldview, values, and spirituality. So, where do you start? How can you change your relationship with the natural world as an integral part of your faith journey? Dr. Rachel Wheeler invites us to see ourselves and the world around us in radically new, yet ancient ways. Drawing from the deep wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, Dr. Wheeler reminds us that we humans aren’t separate and distinct from creation, but in fact we are mutually dependent. While still emphasizing our human responsibility to steward the Earth and its resources, Dr. Wheeler sees human beings not as masters but caretakers and co-creators with nature. Her book, Radical Kinship: A Christian Ecospirituality, is available now! Bio: Professor Rachel Wheeler teaches courses on the Bible, Christian spirituality, ecospirituality, and spiritual practices at the University of Portland. She earned a PhD in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union Berkeley and her other degrees reflect interests in monastic studies, literature, and music. She is particularly interested in the so-called desert Christians who lived in Egyptian, Palestinian, and Syrian deserts during late antiquity and her first book, Desert Daughters, Desert Sons: Rethinking the Christian Desert Tradition, offers a feminist critique of these Christians' practices. She is also interested in how people interpret their pro-environmental behavior as spiritual. An enthusiastic knitter and cyclist, she enjoys very much living in Portland, Oregon, with her spouse and two cats. Please follow us on social media (use the...

Episode Summary: I distinctly remember sitting in the back row of sixth grade art class in Jonesboro, Arkansas and saying to myself, “I am NOT CREATIVE!” I couldn’t draw a lick. While my friends brought forth beautiful sketches and lovely paintings their parents would proudly hang on the refrigerator, I looked down at my work with disdain. My parents should burn this. I am not creative. That thought stayed with me for decades, until I realized I was in fact creative, just in different ways. I still can’t draw or paint to save my life, but I love the creative process of writing and creating meaningful conversations. Regardless of your artistic aspirations and talents, “We were created to be creators. At its deepest heart, creativity is meant to serve and evoke beauty,” writes Irish poet and seer John O’Donohue. Creativity brings the ideal into the real. Maybe that is why Fyodor Dostoevsky proclaimed, “Beauty will save the world,” hinting that the way things currently are aren’t the way they will always be. Whether you realize it or not, you are creative! You were born with gifts and talents that only you can give the world. The first step towards claiming this Divine inheritance is recognizing that you are a sacred, creative being. As today’s podcast guest Ally Markotich reveals, “When we claim ourselves as creators, our life becomes a creative adventure; even mundane moments become ripe with possibility for transformation.” The mystical and often illusive creative flow weaves through every human heart. How do you capture her presence? What sparks your creative spirit? As Caitlin Matthews writes in her book The Celtic Spirit, “There are many ideas and inspirations wandering throughout the world. They seem to be shaken like stardust over everything, to be caught in handfuls by those who are ready to receive them.” Our task as co-creators is to join God in bringing forth the beautiful future God has promised. To help us in that eternal work, I am joined on the podcast by Ally Markotich. In this episode we discuss: How creativity is a form of resistance to dominator agendas and beliefs Why authoritarian leaders are terrified of artists How to awaken your inner, creative soul The relationship between spirituality and creativity How seeing God in female form opens your heart to the beautiful Why beauty matters Bio: Ally Markotich is an artist, poet and Creative Formation Practitioner. Ally is the creator of Soul Kindling LLC, an online creative respite where she guides her clients to express their truest colors and gently encourages their creative growth. Ally is certified as a Red Thread Guide and Intentional Creativity® Educator from Musea under the guidance of artist, Shiloh Sophia. She is certified in Spiritual Formation from Columbia Theological Seminary and is a Holy Fire Reiki Master in the tradition of Mikao Usui. As she shares, “Two of the deepest beliefs I hold are: You and I are sacred BE-ings. CREATIVITY is our birthright.” Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/created-to-create Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: If I had a guess, I’m betting one of the main reasons why you deconstructed evangelicalism is because of the Bible. Growing up evangelical, the Bible was the center of faith. It was the key to unlocking the Divine. This big black book held all the secrets to a good life. Just open it up, ask it a question, and out popped God’s answer. Easy-peasy. But as you matured from naivety into adulthood, things got messy. A thoughtful reading of the biblical texts suddenly revealed all kinds of problems. The God of the Old Testament is often depicted as tyrannical, petty, vindictive, jealous, genocidal, and malevolently capricious. Women are by and large treated as property and playthings. Violence is often encouraged and slavery is seen as a necessary evil. As theologian Marcus Borg famously quipped, “People are leaving faith these days not because of what they don’t know about the Bible. It’s because of what they do know.” I agree. But, is all this the Bible’s fault? Have we made the Bible into something it was never intended to be? The pressure we modern Christians have placed on the Bible to be perfect, offer total representation of God, and be universally applicable on all matters for all time is just unfair. The Bible isn’t an encyclopedia or a rulebook, nor is it inerrant and written by God. Best understood, the Bible isn’t even meant to be read literally or historically, but rather spiritually and metaphorically. Instead of passively accepting all the Bible has to say, you are invited into a conversation with the text. Wrestle with it, challenge it, question it, and yes, even disagree with it. According to today’s guest on Holy Heretics, “You have permission to question the sacred without fearing unbelief.” I’m joined today by Liz Charlotte Grant to have a conversation about reframing our relationship to this ancient, complex set of documents we call the Holy Bible. “What does Bible study look like after inerrancy? Do you have to give up studying Scripture when you no longer believe in its literal interpretation?” Liz addresses these questions and more in this funny, candid, and informative episode. Oh, and we also talk about her chickens! :) Bio: Liz Charlotte Grant is an award-winning writer whose work has been published in The Revealer, Sojourners, Brevity, Christian Century, Christianity Today, Hippocampus, Religion News Service, US Catholic, Huffington Post, and elsewhere. Her essays have twice won a Jacques Maritain Nonfiction Prize. She also writes The Empathy List, a popular newsletter that has been nominated for a Webby two years running and garnered an honorable mention from the Associated Church Press Awards in 2023. Knock at the Sky:Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible is her first book. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/reading-the-bible-again-for-the-first-time Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: John Philip Newell is best described as “a wandering teacher with the heart of a Celtic bard and the mind of a Celtic scholar.” Formerly the Warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, John Philip joined me from his home in Edinburgh to offer a new, yet ancient way forward in a time when the empire has once again wedded and bedded Christianity. Long before the colonizing forces of imperial Christianity made their way to the British Isles, an indigenous form of spirituality nourished those sacred souls living in the borderlands of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The Celts believed divinity pervaded every aspect of life. There was no distinction between secular and sacred, human and divine. The Celtic vision of the world is essentially sacramental, perceiving God’s presence in ordinary things like rocks, forests, springs, groves, hills, and meadows. “The Celtic approach to God opens up a world in which nothing is too common to be exalted and nothing is so exalted that it cannot be made common,” writes Esther De Waal. For them, the natural world is the container of the sacred and a gateway to the luminous—the holy intersection between mortals and the supernatural. These tribes bewildered the Roman church because they were relational rather than rational, inspirational rather than institutional, and indigenous instead of imperial. In this modern age, when we find ourselves divorced from the natural world, addicted to technology, controlled by institutional religion, and victims of an empire of our own making, there is a great deal to learn from the ancient Celts. We need nothing less than a reclamation of our humanity, a rekindling of the Beltaine Fire burning in every human heart. Most of us are still reeling from the recent presidential election. The dark forces of authoritarianism, patriarchy, and white supremacy are chronically ingrained in the highest levels of government, blessed and absolved by white Christianity. But here’s what I’m slowly starting to believe—every dark ending births a new beginning. Evil never has the last word. We’ve been given a dark gift, a chance to resist and re-imagine the world as it should be. We are living in liminal time, “when we can’t go back but we can’t see the way forward,” writes my friend Melanie Mudge. What better time to wake up, “dream new dreams,” and rekindle the sacred flame in every human soul. As John Philip reminds us: “We live in a threshold moment. We are waking up to the earth again. We are awakening to the feminine and the desire to faithfully tend the interrelationship of all things. In this moment, politically, culturally, and religiously, we are witnessing the death throes of a shadow form of masculine power that has arrayed itself over against the earth and over against the sacredness of the feminine. This shadow form of power, however, has no ultimate future, for it is essentially false in its betrayal of the earth and the feminine. So in fear it is lashing out with unprecedented force. But it is not the deep spirit of this moment in time. Something else is trying to be born.” Celtic spirituality is needed now more than ever. Allow John Philip to lead you into deeper streams of indigenous wisdom where action and contemplation, vision and profound mystery light our collective way forward. His latest book, The Great Search, is out now. Bio: John Philip Newell (b 1953) is an internationally renowned Celtic teacher and author of spirituality who calls the modern world to reawaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being. Canadian by birth, and also Scottish, he resides with his wife Ali in the ecovillage of Findhorn in Scotland. In 2016 he began the Earth & Soul initiative and teaches regularly in the United States and Canada as well as leading international pilgrimage weeks on Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland. His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh and he has authored over fifteen books, including his award-winning...

Episode Summary: Like a dog returning to her vomit, America chose the sexual predator, white nationalist, pathological liar, and criminal instead of an educated, compassionate Black woman to lead this nation into our collective future. This feels more sinister than 2016 because Trump and his henchmen now have a plan in Project 2025 and I promise you, people are going to suffer. How do we sit with suffering and respond with compassion? How do we continue to seek justice without demonizing the Christians who willfully voted for this madness? How do we implement a politic of compassion in an era of cruelty? Bekah McNeel joins me today on Holy Heretics to reset this new normal, to offer a way forward through the solidarity of suffering. In her career as a journalist, Bekah has encountered a lot of suffering. After all, the most polarizing topics in US politics all revolve around suffering (gun violence, immigration, Covid-19, sexual violence, and white supremacy). She’s sat with migrants seeking asylum. She’s stood outside the school in Uvalde, Texas weeping with parents. She’s been to Detroit and shared space with Iraqi immigrants. As she says in this conversation, “I have zero tolerance for political justifications for suffering.” Bekah’s ability to break down complex political and ethical arguments through the lens of compassion is a starting point for those of us who refuse to give up the fight for justice. In this timely conversation, we discuss the following: How for-profit journalism failed the American people The media’s role in electing Trump The power of compassion and the limits to our compassion How to respond to disinformation with questions and compassion How to distinguish between political and ethical issues How to cultivate healthy relationships with friends and family with whom we vehemently disagree with The issues behind the issues that turn political disagreements into personal attacks, i.e. the conversations about politics with your parents Bio: Bekah Stolhandske McNeel is a native of San Antonio, Texas, where she works as a journalist. Her work has appeared in Texas Monthly, Sojourners, The Guardian, The Trace, The Texas Tribune, The 74 Million, Christianity Today, Texas Public Radio, Relevant, Andscape, The Hechinger Report, and the Christian Science Monitor, among others. She published her first book, Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down: A Guide for Parents Questioning their Faith with Eerdmans in 2022. Known for her ability to communicate the high stakes of politics and policy and bring clarity to complex systems, Bekah keeps the human beings most affected at the front of her coverage. Bekah is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where she earned a MSc in Media Studies. She is married to Lewis McNeel, an architect with Lake | Flato. They have two young children who, while they do not yet have careers, are very busy. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/this-is-going-to-hurt-Bekah-Mcneel Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: We are less than two weeks away from election day here in the United States. The question is - will America get its first female president or a second Donald Trump term? A more pressing question is - will America remain a democracy or will our constitutional republic deteriorate further into a Christo-fascist Trump family dynasty? Kamala Harris has a slight lead over Trump in the national polls, but in the seven battleground states, Trump holds a narrow margin of victory. How is this possible? Why is this race so close? How, after all the lies, conspiracy theories, federal crimes, sexual assaults, authoritarian ideology, attempts to overthrow the government, white supremacy, and hatred of ‘the other’ does Donald Trump still hold sway in the hearts of 46% of the voting population? Even more damning, why are 82% of white evangelicals poised to vote for Trump a third time? In a speech in Pittsburg, former President Barack Obama asks similar questions. “When did lying become Ok? Why would we go along with that?” I will be even more direct. When did supporting someone so vile, so evil, so bereft of any moral compass become OK for Christians? The answer? White evangelical Christians really are this cruel, this racist, this fearful, and this easy to manipulate. In short, the propaganda is working. In today’s podcast interview on Holy Heretics, I sit down with Professor Scott Coley from Mount St. Mary’s University to discuss his latest book Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right. According to Coley, “American evangelicalism is beset by two distinct yet related scandals, one intellectual and the other social. In the decades since Mark Noll published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, evangelical anti-intellectualism has only grown more pronounced: white evangelicals are overrepresented among skeptics of public health officials and scientific experts; and white evangelicals are more likely than other Americans to embrace conspiracy theories that threaten public health and weaken our nation’s democratic institutions.” This timely conversation brings a “philosophical scalpel to evangelical truth claims. Coley demonstrates with devastating precision how much of what passes as ‘biblical’ can better be understood as propaganda, as the deliberate obfuscation of reality,” writes New York Times bestselling author Kristin Du Mez. In this episode, we discuss: How biblical literalism leads to white supremacy. Why 82% of white evangelicals supporting Trump might actually be a good thing. The connection between Creation Science and Right Wing Propaganda. How evangelical ministers have been corrupted by Republican Party ideology. How to have conversations with your friends and family about evangelical propaganda. How to be political without being partisan. What happens next regardless of who wins the election. Bio: Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. He serves on the philosophy faculty at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he teaches courses in moral and political philosophy, history of philosophy and logic. Grab his book Ministers of Propaganda today! Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/evangelical-ministers-of-propaganda Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack:...

Episode Summary: In this captivating conversation with mythologist and psychologist Dr. Sharon Blackie, we explore the mythic imagination, the reclaiming of indigenous Western spiritual traditions, and the relevance of our native myths, fairy tales, and folk traditions. Your life is a story, and your story is one small part of a larger cultural story. For good and bad, your individual story is shaped by the larger cultural story of which you are a part. Culture shapes the way we think; it tells us what “makes sense.” In a way, culture is a cult. It holds people together by providing us with a shared set of customs, values, ideas, and beliefs. We live enmeshed in this cultural web: it influences the way we relate to others, the way we look, our tastes, our habits; it enters our dreams and desires. But as culture binds us together it also selectively blinds us. As we grow up, we accept ways of looking at the world, ways of thinking and being that might best be characterized as cultural frames of reference or cultural myths. These myths help us understand our place in the world. But what if these myths are harmful? What if the guiding cultural narratives that shape our lives today in the West are killing us? By questioning the myths that dominate our culture and shape our personal stories, we can begin to resist the limits they impose on our vision of reality. What might it look like to trade in the cultural myths of progress, greed, conquest, and individuality with cultural narratives that encourage reciprocity, relationships, compassion, connectivity, and wonder? Dr. Blackie speaks to those of us who feel lost in a sick, vampiric culture. If you long for a more enchanted life filled with wonder, beauty, and mystery, this episode will encourage you to find meaning through ancient wisdom, Celtic Spirituality, folklore, and indigenous tales of subversive wisdom. Bio: Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore. Her highly acclaimed books, lectures and teaching programs are focused on reimagining women’s stories, and on the relevance of myth and fairy tales to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today. As well as writing six books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted, her writing has appeared in anthologies, collections and in several international media outlets – among them the Guardian, the Irish Times, the i and the Scotsman. Her books have been translated into several languages, and she has featured in programs by the BBC, US public radio and independent filmmakers. Her awards include the Society of Authors’ Roger Deakin Award, and a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award. Her next book, Wise Women: Myths and Stories for Midlife and Beyond will be published by Virago in October 2024. Sharon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts, awarded ‘in recognition of the importance of lifetime achievement and contribution to Jungian ideas in the world’. She has taught and lectured at several academic institutions, Jungian organisations, retreat centres and cultural festivals around the world. She is online faculty for Pacifica Graduate Institute, California, where she teaches a Graduate Certificate Course on ‘Narrative Psychological Approaches to Finding Ourselves in Fairy Tales’ and other programs. Sharon lives in Cumbria, in the north of England, with her husband, dogs, hens and sheep. She is represented by Jane Graham Maw, at Graham Maw Christie Agency. Sharon’s TEDx talk on the mythic imagination can be viewed here. Her publication ‘The Art of Enchantment’ is in the Top Ten Literature Substacks. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If...

Episode Summary: [TW: sexual assault and sexual harm language] I am joined today by Rev. Dr. Danielle Tumminio Hansen to speak about the unspeakable. A theologian and Episcopal priest focusing on pastoral approaches to trauma, Hansen addresses the persistent crisis of sexual harm in the U.S., and the “haunting silence” of survivors. Why do most victims remain silent? Why don’t we trust women? Why do we assume perpetrators of sexual harm are strangers who jump out of bushes instead of trusted boyfriends, pastors, teachers, or family members? How does our society’s rape myths further silence victims of sexual harm? In this unflinching conversation, we discuss the difficulty of coming up with the right language to describe sexual harm, how the words we use often cause even more harm, how our legal system, churches, media, and culture are complicit in rape culture, and the practical steps you can take to recover. Talking about rape and sexual assault is difficult for a number of reasons. Victims often feel ashamed or stigmatized by society's attitudes towards sexual violence. There's a pervasive culture of victim-blaming, where survivors may fear they won't be believed or will be judged for what happened to them. Sexual violence can cause profound emotional and psychological trauma. Discussing the experience may trigger intense emotions, flashbacks, or other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making it incredibly challenging for survivors to talk about what happened. So, why this book and why this episode on rape? Because talking about rape and sexual assault breaks down layers of stigma, trauma, fear, and systemic barriers. It also has a direct impact on how we process trauma. Creating safe spaces for survivors to share their experiences, offer support, and challenge societal norms are crucial steps towards fostering open and meaningful conversations about sexual violence. Like many individuals, Hansen’s story of sexual violence didn’t come at the hands of a stranger, but rather by someone she knew, causing her to wonder if what happened to her really was sexual assault. “Statistically, you would be more likely to believe me if I said this person was someone I’d never met,” she writes. “Raised to believe stereotypes of what constituted ‘real rape’—forced intercourse in a physically violent attack by a male stranger—I did not have a word to express what had happened to me.” Now she does. In this episode we discuss: The rape myths of the “ideal” victim and “stranger perpetrator” How purity culture and porn perpetuate rape culture Why telling your story is liberating and healing Moving beyond stigma and shame The road to recovery—how art, contemplation, meditation, community, and therapy can restore your sense of self, trust, and agency. Pick up Danielle’s book here. It is an amazing read. Bio: Danielle Tumminio Hansen is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Spiritual Care at Emory’s Candler School of Theology, where she researches at the intersection of trauma, theology, narrative, and philosophy. Her book publications include Speaking of Rape: The Limits of Language in Sexual Violations and Conceiving Family: A Practical Theology of Surrogacy and Self. She has written on the intersection of religion and culture for a variety of national and international news outlets, including CNN, The Guardian, and Huffington Post. She is also an Episcopal priest. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/speaking-of-rape Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries:...

Episode Summary: Liberation theology is a theological movement that emerged primarily in Latin America in the late 20th century, although its principles and ideas have influenced theological discourse worldwide for millennia. It seeks to address the social, economic, sexual, gendered, and political oppression experienced by marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and communities. Liberation theology actually dates all the way back to the Old Testament prophets, and can be witnessed in almost every spiritual tradition. At its core, liberation theology emphasizes the gospel's message of liberation and justice for the oppressed and marginalized. It announces God’s preferential treatment of the poor, marginalized, and oppressed. God loves the margins because God was marginalized. It was Jesus’ second-rate existence that allowed him to see and feel what those at the center of society were sheltered from and thus callously indifferent to. Seeking liberation and justice is the sine qua non of Christian discipleship. Standing in solidarity with the oppressed is one of the more practical ways to live out our faith in a cruel world. People on the periphery, those victims of our forced conformity, have the ‘eyes to see’ what many of us at the center simply cannot see without their guidance. “To be in the margin is to be part of the whole but outside the main body,” writes Bell Hooks. Which gives those on the outside a different vantage point, as well as the power to create change. Today, we’re having a conversation about change, injustice, liberation, and salvation and I can think of no one more perfect to address these issues than Kalie May Hargrove from The Center For Prophetic Imagination. In this episode we’ll address: The systematic rights violations LGBTQIA students face at Christian colleges Why liberation is more biblical than eternal salvation What you can do to work for justice in your community How to stand against the genocide in Gaza Subverting the empires we find ourselves living in and benefiting from Bio: Kalie May Hargrove (she/her) is a writer, theologian, and activist. She lives in the greater-Atlanta area with her partner and two kids. Kalie has been part of LGBTQ+ activism bringing awareness of the legalized discrimination queer and trans students face at religious universities. She received her Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities. Kalie is Director of Digital Outreach at the Center for Prophetic Imagination, which seeks to connect spirituality with intersectional social justice in our world. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/and-justice-for-all Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: In this unique, collaborative episode of Holy Heretics, I chat with Jude Mills, the creator of the FKD Up By Faith podcast. Jude created the FKD Up By Faith podcast for individuals harmed by religious fundamentalism. She hails from the Southeast of England, and is using her podcast to fuel her scholarly work at the University of Kent. Jude and I are both hosts of our own respective shows, and this time, instead of asking the questions, Jude interviewed me about my faith deconstruction journey. It was a blast! It’s also probably the first time I’ve had the chance to fully discuss how my personal, professional, and spiritual life was “f’kd up” by evangelical Christianity. Here’s a few things we get on about in this conversation: *Why Melanie and I created Holy Heretics *Why it’s a good thing to be labeled a heretic these days *How my faith deconstruction journey costs me my job *Where I’ve landed post deconstruction *How to move beyond the rage stage of deconstruction *What your life and faith can look like after evangelicalism I hope my story helps you process, heal, and continue your journey of recovery from religious fundamentalism. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 And check out Jude’s show FKD UP BY FAITH wherever you get your podcasts! Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/fkd-up-by-faith Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Jude Mills and Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: (CW): Mental Illness, Suicidal Ideation, Depression, and Anxiety) Anna Gazmarian’s new book Devout: A Memoir of Doubt, investigates the overlapping complexities of religious faith, mental illness, and doubt. If you grew up in religiously conservative spaces, odds are you either never talked about mental illness or you were made to believe only people with a demonic spirit could suffer from mental and behavioral disorders. According to research by the National Institutes of Health, evangelical Christians often see mental health as the outworking of a harmful spiritual condition and therefore, the solution is to just have more faith in God. This is not only completely erroneous, it’s harmful. In this deeply personal conversation, Anna shares her struggles with depression, bipolar disorder, darkness, and doubt. For those of us who have lived on the dark side of the human experience, we have gifts to give to the world that only we can give because we know what it is like to lose touch with reality, to be in pain, to question the entire human experiment, to suffer with anxiety, to struggle to get out of bed in the morning, and to fight to find meaning in an otherwise meaningless existence. I’m honored to share this space with Anna and have this needed conversation about mental health and faith. Bio: Anna’s debut, Devout: A Memoir of Doubt is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in March 2024. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the Bennington Writing Seminars. Her essays have been published in The Guardian, The Rumpus, Longreads, The Sun, and Quarterly West. She works for The Sun Magazine and lives in Durham, NC. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/Christianity-and-mental-illness Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

Episode Summary: Interviewing Jonathan Merritt felt like having a conversation with myself. His journey out of white evangelical subculture is an almost mirror-image of my journey. My guess is, you’ll find a lot of correlation as well. Jonathan was a card-carrying evangelical who left his Southern roots and evangelical home to find faith, family, and freedom outside the confines and cult-like community of evangelical Christianity. His journey led him from certainty to contemplation, from winning to wisdom, from the shallow end of the pool into the deep waters of Ignatian spirituality, and from exclusion to radical inclusion. As he reminds us, evangelical Christianity is not only a fairly modern invention, it is also a minority movement within global Christianity. Evangelicals do not have a monopoly on God. There are a myriad of spiritual pathways available to you once you leave. So take heart, there is life after evangelicalism. There is faith after evangelicalism. There is new found family after evangelicalism. You get to decide what your future is going to look like. You have the power to form a freer faith and a more inclusive “family.” Four years and seventy-four episodes into Holy Heretics Podcast and I can honestly say I believe this conversation with Jonathan Merritt to be the most helpful and hopeful episode we’ve ever created. I hope you enjoy! Bio: Jonathan Merritt is one of America’s most popular writers on issues of faith and culture. He is author of several critically-acclaimed books, including Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing - and How We Can Revive Them, named “Book of the Year” by the Englewood Review of Books. Jonathan is an award-winning contributor for The Atlantic, a contributing editor for The Week, and a regular columnist for Religion News Service. He has published more than 3000 articles in respected outlets such as The New York Times, USA Today, Buzzfeed, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast and Christianity Today. In addition to the written word, Jonathan regularly contributes commentary to television, print, and radio news outlets. He has been interviewed by ABC World News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, PBS, and CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Jonathan is also a sought after speaker at colleges, conferences, and churches on topics relating to spirituality, politics, and current events. Whether he is delivering an academic lecture or inspirational sermon, Jonathan’s captivating communication style and powerful presence are well-suited for intimate gatherings of hundreds or arenas filled with thousands. As a collaborator or ghostwriter, Jonathan has worked on more than 50 books, with several titles landing on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists. Additionally, he trains hundreds of young writers through his Write Brilliant seminars and online course. He is often available for exclusive one-on-one coaching for a select number of advanced writers. Jonathan holds a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, and has done additional graduate work focused on ascetical theology at The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including the Wilbur Award for excellence in journalism, and the Religion News Association’s columnist of the year award. Jonathan currently happily resides in New York City. You can find Jonathan’s latest children’s book My Guncle and Me here! For more information about Jonathan and his writings, visit his website. You can also connect with Jonathan on Instagram. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your...

Episode Summary: Do you feel spiritually and physically domesticated? Are you struggling to free yourself from the long-term impacts of spiritual colonization? Do you feel disconnected from the natural world? Are you longing for something more than merely reconstruction? If so, spiritual rewilding might be the next step in your faith seeking journey. Though an environmental term—meaning letting nature take care of itself and referring to conservation strategies that reintroduce species to their natural environment, restore wilderness areas and the land to its original state, and create corridors to connect these lands and species with each other—rewilding is a concept that just makes sense at a soul level. The faith deconstruction movement has provided an unprecedented opportunity to rediscover the untamable within, to decolonize our souls, and to free ourselves from a fenced-in faith domesticated by dogma, ideology, whiteness, patriarchy, power, purity culture, and rationalism. We have the opportunity to trade in our certainty for wonder and our literalism for mystery. As stewards of a once-wild faith that has all but been domesticated, we have a duty to free our faith from some of the repressive, world-denying, and destructive practices that have facilitated our spiritual stagnation. This episode with Holy Heretics host Gary Alan Taylor is an introduction to spiritual rewilding through the re-introduction of indigenous spirituality and Creation-centered Christianity. Along the way, we’ll look back at the history of our faith tradition and find examples of how our spiritual ancestors responded to spiritual domestication through their pursuit of a primeval faith. Bio: Gary Alan is the host and co-creator of Holy Heretics Podcast. He spent the first-half of his life in evangelicalism before beginning his faith deconstruction journey in 2020. He started Holy Heretics and The Sophia Society with his friend Melanie to serve the thousands of other individuals leaving toxic Christianity. Gary Alan has an undergraduate degree in History from Milligan University and a Master of Arts degree from East Tennessee State University. An international speaker, content creator, and writer, Gary Alan has over 26 years experience working in nonprofit ministry and higher education. He is in recovery from fundamentalist Christianity and his passion is to see others free themselves from toxic expressions of faith. He and his family live in Monument, Colorado and he works for the University of Colorado. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏 Show notes: http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/rewilding-christianity Follow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.com Advertising inquiries: garyalan@sophiasociety.org Support our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction! https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction! This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.