Season 2

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

In this episode, Phil and Susie talk with Caitlin, owner of Atheist Aesthetic.  Caitlin is from Texas and she shares a lot of wisdom about her journey away from faith, her thoughts on being an "angry atheist" and how she moved forward from that stage to being happy, fulfilled, and confident in who she is and how she can live a good and moral life without the overwatch of a deity.  She is passionate about many non-profit organizations and she shares a ton of good resources for anyone on a path of questioning their belief system.  Lots of links below for your reference.
Show Notes and Resources:
Atheist Aesthetic on Etsy:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/AtheistAesthetic?coupon=FLAWED  
FT listeners can use the code FLAWED and get 15% off their purchase at the shop.
Personal Values Inventory: https://personalvalu.es/  
https://www.oasisnetwork.com/
https://www.seculartherapy.org/ 
https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/gods-hearing-voices-and-bicameral-mind.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Skeptics-Annotated-Bible-Steve-Wells/dp/0988245108?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=21decb48-c904-4ec7-b2f1-6a3a9433bc9c 
Non-Profits to Support: 
Freedom from Religion Foundation https://ffrf.org/ 
Recovering from Religion : https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ 
Secular Therapy Project: https://www.seculartherapy.org/ 
Footsteps:  https://footstepsorg.org/
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In this episode, Phil and Susie talk with Todd "YoyoFox" Rollenhagen.  Phil met Todd through the yoyo community and discovered that he was an exBaptist agnostic with a big heart and some interesting life experiences.  Todd tells his story of how and why he left church, doesn't believe in a god, but still remains spiritual and open to other experiences.  He also has some thoughts about the church and how it's causing damage to humanity.  We hope you enjoy this wide ranging conversation. 
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In this episode, Phil and Susie "dig" into the power of music.  Harlan Howard in the 50’s used the phrase “3 chords and the truth” to describe his genre of country music and many other artists have used this phrase and allowed it to be their philosophy of songwriting.  This phrase is funny because most worship songs are 3 chords and purports to be truth, but what is the truth that is actually being conveyed? How does music actually work to affect our emotions and how is this exploited in worship/Xtian music and sold as the “Spirit”? Can “secular” music do the same thing that Xtian music does?  We will talk (and even sing) about some of the tactics that are used and even how chord structures and musical formulas can elicit certain responses.  
For those interested in skipping over the music, here are the timestamps:
31:27-32:25 lord, I lift your name on high
33:30-34:22 how great is our god
35:15-35:55 how he loves
37:00-38:00 you alone
40:48-46:03 from the inside out by Hillsong
 
Show Links and Resources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/29/1190374074/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social 
https://languageandreligion.com/2022/04/20/emotional-manipulation-in-worship-music/ 
https://blog.landr.com/emotional-chord-progressions/ https://reckersworld.jimdofree.com/religion/recker-s-writings-to-enlighten-and-entertain/how-churches-use-music-to-manipulate-you/ https://capuzzler.medium.com/emotion-effect-in-religious-music-9d383b34b24e 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17470218221075330
https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/choir-singing-improves-health-happiness-%E2%80%93-and-perfect-icebreaker 
https://www.praisecharts.com/blog/the-nashville-number-system-chart-for-bands/ 
Genetically modified skeptic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7btz0ocXDeg
Faith Free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoaknMByfRs
*From the Inside Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-9mUDbGsEk
Closing Poem: https://www.joniroseblog.com/post/strings-the-use-of-religious-song
 
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*We do not own the rights to the music in this episode. 

One of the most challenging aspects of deconversion for many of us was the decision to reveal our leaving the faith to our family and close friends and making it public, etc.  Since many of us come from Xtian households and have still believing parents, there can be some serious anxiety around the decision to tell our parents that we can’t believe what they brought us up to believe. 
We want to discuss the why and how of these difficult conversations and hopefully provide some semblance of community and a reminder that  you are not alone in your feelings about this part of the journey.
We are joined by a diverse panel of guests, Breanne, Miccah, and Lars, who share a bit of their deconversion story and how they approached the decision to share their journey with their closest people, like friends and family.  It's a wide ranging conversation with incredible wisdom that we hope will be beneficial for anyone on a deconstruction journey. 
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CW/TW: This episode contains discussion about sexuality, child sexual abuse, and other topics related to human sexuality. 
 
In this week's episode, Phil and Susie talk with Janis.  Janis is a long time friend of Phil’s from his days at moderately progressive Baptist Church in VA, where we both lived.  Janis was married to someone who was affiliated with the worship team and went through a very difficult discovery in her marriage, which led her down a pretty incredible life path.  She is a bona fide badass who is an flight medic/ EMT and was a medic and competitor on the TV series, Naked and Afraid.  We discuss Janis' faith background, her marriage experience, mental health, purity culture, and how she views faith and god now.  We hope that you find her story interesting, relevant, and powerful for you on your journey.  
Stay tuned to the end for some really foolish outtakes!! 
 
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