It is my pleasure to present a new voice in our Dispatches column. Self-proclaimed "ex-fundie" Andrew Pledger reached out to me this week to see if I was interested in sharing his story at Surviving the Spirit; after reading his "testimony" (maybe it's time for exvangelicals to take that term back), I was deeply moved and knew …
Continue reading Dispatches: “Religious Trauma is Trauma” by Andrew Pledger
The Christian mystic Instagram page Gnostic Alchemy just published a really interesting overview about sacrificial god folklore in many cultures before Christianity utilized it for its Christ liturgy. Their brief essay reads: "Among those connected historically or allegorically with a crucifixion are Prometheus, Adonis, Apollo, Arys, Bacchus, Buddha, Christna, Horus, Indra, Ixion, Mithras, Osiris, Pythagoras, …
Continue reading Exvangelical Meditation: The Many Faces of Good Friday
Read Part 2 -- "Only Humans" here. It is February of 2006. I'm living in Juneau, Alaska – and I sit in anxious anticipation of the conversation that I'm about to have with Earl, my friend and pastor of the last few years. He's currently on the phone in the other room, and our chat …
Read Part 1 -- "Sea of Sin" here. It is fall of 1998. We've moved again – we do that quite a bit in my family, due to Dad's music minister job. I'm not sure if it is the nature of all ministers to move their family around so much, or if it is just …
It is 1994, and I am thirteen years old. My family is living in Mill Valley, California, where my father is attending Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. It's an island of conservative evangelicalism surrounded by a sea of sin. San Francisco is just across the bridge, and we are very careful when we venture out …
"The Global Center for Religious Research (GCRR) has established the world's first and most comprehensive psychiatric research group to study the causes, manifestations, and treatment options for those suffering from religious trauma (RT). GCRR has built a team of approximately 30 licensed psychiatrists, therapists, sociologists, university professors, religion scholars, and Ph.D. candidates from around the …
Continue reading Exvangelical Meditation: Global Center for Religious Research
For many of us in the exvangelical and deconstruction communities, navigating the holidays can be a very tricky and even triggering time. Even though it is considered to be a season in which we are expected to be giving off the perpetually positive vibes of holiday cheer – “peace on Earth, good will toward men,” …
Earlier this year, a poet friend of mine and I had a conversation about returning to normalcy after the chaos of 2020 and beyond. It stirred some speculations on what "normality" looks like and how it is defined. I was in therapy at the time for work-related PTSD, which I was processing both in its own …
One of the most common phrases that the evangelical church likes to toss around is, “The greatest trick the Devil pulled is convincing everyone that he doesn't exist.” I'd actually like to beg to differ. I think one of the most horrible tricks the Church ever pulled was convincing everyone within their walls that he …
It may surprise you to learn that the concept of Biblical Inerrancy is a relatively new movement in the Christian church. In fact, it isn't even as old as America – when Thomas Jefferson distributed copies of the Gospels to the other founding fathers, he left out all the miracles. He is on the record …
Continue reading Exvangelical Musings: When Scientists are Satanists – Biblical Literalism in Action
Surviving the Spirit 