This week I talk to Samantha Field about homeschooling, Christian education, and growing up in a cult. We also focus in on why the nomination of Betsy DeVos is so concerning. Read Samantha's work: samanthapfield.com. Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/samanthapfield. Follow the show on FB/Twitter/IG: @exvangelicalpod. Follow me on Twitter:…
This week I talk to "Martin Luther," a pseudonym for someone who wished to remain anonymous in order to tell his story. We cover a lot of ground: Christian school networks, Betsy DeVos style student leadership training, biblical literalism, the apocalyptic worldview, and how to appeal to patriotism to find…
This week I'm joined by Becky, Callie, and Amanda--aka The Twisted Sisterds! The Twisted Sisterds spun out of the Inglorious Pasterds podcast, having met in The Pub, which is the Inglorious Pasterds private Facebook group. We talk about their stories, deconstruction, responses to social upheaval--as well as Doctor Who, Stargate,…
....and now for something completely different. I want to hear from you. How are you doing? How are you coping with an increasingly polarized social media landscape? What sort of self-care or spiritual practices are you using? I also want to hear how you are working through relationships--of any kind--where…
This week's guest is Rev. Morgan Guyton, author of the book How Jesus Saves the World from Us: 12 Antidotes to Toxic Christianity. We discuss his life, his book, and the toxicity of white American evangelicalism. The pledge rewards for the Exvangelical Patreon have been revamped! Check out patreon.com/exvangelicalpod for…
This week I'm joined by Stephanie Drury from StuffChristianCultureLikes. It's a great conversation that covers a ton of ground: being a PK, leaving evangelicalism, church and family trauma, poking fun of authority, and more. Follow Stephanie across the internet: https://twitter.com/StuffCCLikes https://www.facebook.com/stuffchristianculturelikes/?fref=ts stuffchristianculturelikes.com Follow me and the show: twitter.com/brchastain twitter.com/exvangelicalpod facebook.com/exvangelicalpod…
My guests are Lauren O'Neal & Niko Bakulich from the podcast Sunday School Dropouts, which is decidedly not your average Bible Study podcast. Subscribe to Sunday School Dropouts: http://sundayschooldropouts.lol/subscribe-2/ Follow Lauren on Twitter: twitter.com/laureneoneal Follow Blake on Twitter: twitter.com/brchastain Follow the show on Twitter: twitter.com/exvangelicalpod Support the show on Patreon:…
This week's guest is Christina Maddalone, a longtime friend. We talk about youth group, college, and Christina's missionary and pastoral work and her heart for people. Intro: "Woman King" by Iron & Wine: https://itun.es/us/YFzTc?i=45455306 Interlude & Outro: "Freedom Hangs Like Heaven" by Iron & Wine Follow me on Twitter at…
The third and final part of our mystical primer with the Skeptical Mystic concludes today. Steven Jones and I talk about Benedict of Nursia & lectio divina, Catherine of Siena & erotic spirituality, and Hildegard of Bingen & the greening of all things. Subscribe to Steven's YouTube channel for more…
We return to what will now be a three part series to extend just beyond Advent with the Skeptical Mystic, Steven Jones! In this episode, we discuss St. John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, the crazy performance artist Ezekiel, and I even sneak in a bit our…
This one has expletives, folks. | | | | | | V My guests this week are Jason Chesnut and Tuhina Rasche, the co-collaborators behind #FuckThisShit, and Advent Devotional (PG Version: #RendtheHeavens). We discuss why they use such frank language for cathartic release during Advent, why they feel such a…
In Part 1 of a 2-part series, Steven Jones and I discuss the variety of mystical traditions! (Expanded show notes will be posted later in the week.) Follow Steven on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYtS0smP4jSHKjlcvRMW7Ag Follow Steven on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Skeptical\_Monk Follow Blake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brchastain Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram…
This week's guest is Mike McHargue, aka Science Mike, author of the book Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science. Mike is also a podcaster on well-known podcasts The Liturgists and Ask Science Mike. Buy Science Mike's book: http://amzn.to/2fDsDPz Follow Science…
Get ready for some potentially awkward Thanksgiving conversations with this re-release of my conversation with Greg Coates. Buy Greg's book, Politics Strangely Warmed: Political Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit: http://amzn.to/2gCiqsq Sign up for Exvangelical Reader: http://eepurl.com/cpzXOD Follow Blake on Twitter: twitter.com/brchastain Follow the show on Twitter: twitter.com/exvangelicalpod Follow the show…
No guest this week. It's been a few days since the election. These are some of my thoughts on it, as well as some stories from my youth. Discuss this show with the hashtag #byourlove. "The Real Origins of the Religious Right," by Randall Balmer: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133?o=1 - Follow me on…
This week's episode features a conversation with Dr. Chris Stroop. Chris is an historian and a Provosts's Postdoctoral Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of South Florida, and the co-editor of the upcoming anthology By the Rivers of Babylon. We discuss his experience with K-12 Christian…
This week's episode features a conversation with Dr. Keisha McKenzie, aka @mackenzian on Twitter. She shares her story of growing up in the UK, attending school in Jamaica, as well as her time living in the US, all while engaging her Adventist faith and finding communities that helped her continue…
This week’s guest is the anonymous blogger Heretic Husband. He tells his story, which begins in Catholicism and continues through evangelicalism and agnosticism. This story does include a discussion of spiritual and sexual abuse, so if that is triggering please bear that in mind. Also there is one F bomb.…
Today’s guest is Kevin Garcia, a writer, podcaster, and all around thoughtful guy. It’s hard to summarize Kevin’s story. Ultimately it’s s story of self acceptance and finding God’s love, but it took time to get there. It’s very moving, but it’s best told in his own words. A couple…
This week’s episode features a conversation with Nathan Cleveland. We discuss his evangelical childhood, our time at the Mystery College, the mystery and power of the Eucharist, the limitations of certainty, and perhaps most importantly, he and I relish in the proper pronunciation of the word ‘evangelical.’ This talk features…
This week's episode features a conversation with Emily Joy & Hannah Paasch from The Flawless Project. They discuss the impact their experiences with purity culture and sexism has had on their lives. The Flawless Project: theflawlessproject.org Emily Joy Poetry: emilyjoypoetry.com Ida Grey: idagrey.weebly.com Follow Emily Joy on Twitter @emilyjoypoetry Follow…
This week's episode includes a wonderful conversation with Ryan Johnson, a friend from college. We met up in Chicago to talk about his upbringing, our shared experience in the social sciences department at the Mystery College, and the fraught marriage of evangelicalism and Republican politics in the United States. Follow…
Shorter show notes for this one, everybody. Kyle Parton, Director of Epiphany Publishing, talks with me about teenage adventures in Wal-Mart evangelism, key markers of evangelicalism, war, other faith traditions, and alternate models of salvation (the more serious show title was "Finding a Substitute for Penal Substitution"). Check out Epiphany…
In this week's episode, I talk to Brandon Whitmore about his journey from Christianity to agnosticism. The conversation covers all sorts of topics, from the historical record of Jesus & science's relationship w/ religion to a qualitative ranking of The Muppets television shows. It's great. Follow Blake on Twitter @brchastain.…