Flawed Theology

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 
The Atheist Community of Austin https://atheist-community.org/  
https://youtube.com/@TheNonProphetsACA?si=aR9VmZsuZwHgeQTB 
https://youtube.com/@SkepticHaven?si=hcvsBRbJkxioSh9p
https://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
 
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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: 
8:40: Can you help me understand what the apologists think about verses such as “Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks?” And other garbage things? How do you not get bitter and angry as you deconstruct?
18:45:  What seemingly-trivial ways have you reclaimed your identity that was suppressed as a Christian? Examples: watching R-rated movies, swearing, celebrating Halloween, wearing bikinis, doing things just because you like doing them, etc?
24:13: I would love to hear about books you recommend on the subject of dealing with leftover fear of hell. Also, which of the sects would you consider most insidious, and which, in your opinion, is more insidious than the majority of people realize?
30:11: My question is how to cope with stress after leaving religion? A lot of people pray when things are going bad because they feel that faith will relieve stress. I think it would be good if you shared strategies for dealing with emotions like fear and anxiety without religion.
37:04: Why or what caused you to change your beliefs? How was the transition? (how long it took, how it felt during & how it impacted those close to you). If you experienced trauma due to religion, how that experience impacted your life at the time of impact up to present life. Coping mechanisms for dealing with ptsd.Why or what caused you to change your beliefs? How was the transition? (how long it took, how it felt during & how it impacted those close to you). If you experienced trauma due to religion, how that experience impacted your life at the time of impact up to present life. Coping mechanisms for dealing with PTSD.
48:20: How do you find solace in death without belief in an afterlife? (If you do find any sort of comfort regarding that! It’s one of the biggest reasons I turned to religion for a long time.)
53:36: How or should you even come out to family and friends and if you do, how do you navigate the experience and keep your sanity?  I live in a small Texas town which should say it all. I am also a small business owner which compounds my angst about this topic.
59.16: Why are women "second class" and why do they accept that? The whole serve your master, obey your husband is swallowed by so many SMART women. Religion is just so highly macho and being told from birth that you are there to serve must be so hard to recover from. For those who managed to escape, when was the seed planted that women are people too and what was the last straw that allowed them to get out?
1:09: Given that evidence suggests humans have no soul and therefore no free will, how should we change the way we treat others or hold them responsible for the harm they do?
Show Notes and Links
Graceful Atheist Podcast: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/graceful-atheist-podcast-1136736 
GAP Facebook Group/ Deconversion Anonymous: https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion 
The Thinking Atheist: https://www.thethinkingatheist.com/ 
Dangerous Questions Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousquestions 
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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"
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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/