The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast

In this week's episode, I speak with Dr. Tina Schermer-Sellers about the damage caused by evangelical purity culture and religious sexual shame. Dr. Tina traces how her own body-positive upbringing contrasted with what she saw in her therapy students' stories — a dramatic shift around 2000 toward deep self-hatred and shame, driven by abstinence-only education and authoritarian religious parenting. She explains how these movements taught children to fear their bodies and desires, damaging their ability to give and receive love.

The conversation then covers paths to healing. Dr. Tina outlines her "MESS" model (Frame, Name, Claim, Aim) for erasing sexual shame, highlights sex-positive traditions within Jewish scripture that were never brought into Christianity, and discusses the added trauma of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ individuals. She closes by advocating for MDMA-assisted therapy as a powerful trauma-healing tool — when done within proper therapeutic and integrative contexts.

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In this episode, I interviewed Chelsea Kim Long about her forthcoming book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood Beyond Patriarchy. The conversation opens with a discussion of the Southern Baptist denomination's recent ruling restricting women from pastoral roles and the broader rise of Christian nationalism in the United States. Chelsea shares her personal story of growing up in non-denominational evangelicalism in the Midwest, where she was steeped in conservative patriarchal theology that framed gender hierarchies as benevolent.

She describes how her faith began to crack during college, first through questions about LGBTQ inclusion and social justice, and then more profoundly after becoming a mother — when pregnancy, a traumatic birth, postpartum depression, and infertility collided with a theology that had no framework for her embodied suffering. She recounts being told by church communities not to seek mental health medication, enduring years of shame and silence, and finally starting medication in 2020, which she describes as life changing.

Chelsea frames her deconstruction as an "hourglass" experience — everything she knew passed through a narrow, painful filter of grief and self-reckoning, but emerged into a more expansive, authentic faith. She now identifies as post-evangelical but remains a committed Christian, serving as a lay pastor and theologian in an intentional house church community.

Her book argues for a Christianity shaped by women's wisdom and embodied spiritual practice, pushing back against male-dominated theology and calling for spaces where women's bodies, voices, and leadership are fully affirmed. The episode closes with Chelsea describing the book's practical elements — journaling prompts, meditative coloring pages, a discussion guide, and chapters on embodied spiritual practices — and sharing where listeners can pre-order the book and connect with her online.

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Author Meg Calvin joins me on the podcast to share her journey from preaching at age 13 in the Methodist church to leaving full-time ministry in 2018. She reflects on how people-pleasing and unhealed childhood wounds drove her pastoral work, and we commiserate about the dysfunctional dynamics of church leadership—pedestals, underpayment, and unqualified boards blocking vision.

After leaving ministry, Meg spent eight years exploring mysticism and intuitive development, which culminated in a profound encounter with Jesus that led her back to church—this time integrating her mystical gifts alongside her faith. She now coaches spiritual leaders in writing their books and has just released her debut novel entitled There, He Holds Her.

Find a copy of Meg's book here on Amazon!

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In this week's episode, I welcome back a returning guest and good friend, Canadian author and former fundamentalist Christian, Janice Selbie. We discuss her upcoming book, The Guru Gene: From Blind Faith to Clear Thinking in an Age of Influence, dropping at the end of August.

We explore why intelligent, educated people are just as susceptible to cults, cons, and high-control groups as anyone else. To explain this, we touch on cognitive biases like pareidolia and apophenia, the role of certainty over accuracy, echo chambers, and cult dynamics evident in religion, politics (including MAGA and Trump-worship), and beyond.

Drawing on our personal deconversion experiences, we also discuss the destabilizing nature of deconstruction, the importance of community both within and after leaving high-demand groups, and practical tools—like Socratic questioning, intellectual humility, and tolerating uncertainty—for resisting manipulation and helping others find their way out. For those who have left a cult or high-control religious group, this conversation will empower you both to discover and rebuild your authentic self.

Religious Trauma Syndrome Coaching, Workshop & Support Group | Divorcing Religion

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This week's conversation features an interview with Josh Foster, a former missionary kid turned licensed therapist who specializes in helping people recover from religious trauma. Josh recounts how his life changed dramatically at age five when his parents converted to conservative evangelicalism, leading the family to give away all their possessions and spend nearly five years living on Operation Mobilization's missionary ships sailing through Europe and Scandinavia.

Growing up among missionaries, handing out gospel tracts on the streets of New York and London, and being educated through field trips to historical sites gave Josh a uniquely global perspective — one that would later make it impossible for him to fit comfortably into American evangelical culture when the family returned to the States.

The conversation then shifts to Josh's long and painful journey out of the faith, a process that took over two decades despite his growing disillusionment. After spending 23 years in ministry — including a lengthy stint with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staffing college campuses — Josh began asking "what if" questions after encountering colleagues who were devout Christians yet voted Democrat, and after leading students through rigorous inductive Bible study that he couldn't reconcile with what he heard in American churches.

He eventually left ministry, retrained as a therapist at age 41, and now uses narrative therapy to help others who have exited religious systems — guiding them to reframe their life stories, externalize their problems, and build new tools for living outside the guardrails of the belief systems that shaped them.

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This conversation features Rob Thain Smith — author of Four and Twenty Blackbirds: The Trial of Paul Petry, the Beginning of the End of Mars Hill Church. We discuss the rise and fall of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, led by controversial pastor Mark Driscoll. Rob shares his first-hand experience as a long-time member who was in the process of becoming an elder when the church's governance crisis began.

The central conflict we explore is the 2007 bylaw changes at Mars Hill that consolidated power away from a plurality of 24 elders and into Driscoll's hands. Rob recounts the controversial trial of elder Paul Petry, who was fired and put through a deeply flawed, unjust internal process for minor infractions — largely because he posed a threat to Driscoll's growing authority.

Rob argues that the real failure of Mars Hill was not Driscoll alone, but the 24 elders who, despite knowing the trial was wrong, unanimously voted against Petry out of fear and self-interest. The conversation also covers the church's culture of shunning, Driscoll's continued platform at his Arizona church Trinity, and Rob's motivation for writing the book — to offer a more nuanced, leadership-focused account than the widely listened-to Christianity Today podcast series about Mars Hill.

Follow this link for more information about Four and Twenty Blackbirds!

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This week's episode features a conversation with Paule Patterson — a former pastor turned Christian mystic and recovering alcoholic — to trace the arc of his remarkable personal journey.

Paule shares how his struggles with addiction, the collapse of his ministry in Missoula, Montana, and how multiple stints in rehab ultimately forced him to confront the deeper fractures in his faith, his identity, and his sense of self.

Rather than walking away from spirituality entirely, Paule found that sobriety, AA, psychology, and a voracious study of both scripture and philosophy led him toward a richer, more honest relationship with the divine.

In the second half, our conversation broadens out into a wide-ranging discussion about the Western church's tendency to institutionalize and rigidify belief — from the Reformation to the present-day Christian nationalist movement in America.

We draw on such diverse elements as church history, René Girard's mimetic theory, Taoism, Buddhist mindfulness, and the work of Richard Rohr to argue that Christianity was always meant to be a living, transformative path rather than a doctrinal checklist.

Paule describes himself today as a Christian mystic, running a small business while quietly pursuing his passion project of helping others navigate deconstruction with intellectual honesty and spiritual openness.

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In this episode, I speak with Beth Granger, author of Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle. Beth shares her extraordinary story of growing up as a staff kid inside Grenville Christian College in Brockville, Ontario — a boarding school secretly operating as a cult under the influence of the Community of Jesus, a commune based in Cape Cod.

She describes the psychological control, public shaming sessions, draconian discipline, and spy networks that defined life inside the institution, drawing striking parallels between cult tactics and the dynamics of modern political movements.

Our conversation also covers Beth's long journey toward healing after leaving at age 31, including her involvement in a landmark lawsuit that became the first historical abuse case to win at trial in Canada. She reflects on the layers of recovery that followed: therapy, writing her memoir, and the validating experience of having her story taken seriously in a court of law.

The episode closes with a discussion of how the Community of Jesus continues to operate today--now aligned with Christian nationalist ideology--and why Beth wrote her book: to sound the alarm about the lasting, sometimes irreparable damage that weaponized, high-control religion can inflict.

For more information on the book, check out Beth's site.

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In this week's episode, I chat with Morgan Piercy, a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Kansas. She specializes in helping adults deconstruct from evangelicalism and Christian nationalism through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.

Together we explore the clinical reality of Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) — why it goes far deeper than the commonly used term "church hurt" — and how patriarchal church structures, purity culture, and high-control theology can create lasting psychological harm.

We also draw on our personal experiences with religious deconstruction, sharing candid reflections on growing up in fundamentalist and charismatic traditions, the fear-based theology of hell and the rapture, and the complex journey toward reclaiming identity outside the church.

Morgan also discusses the therapeutic tools she uses with clients, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to help people reconnect with their authentic values after leaving high-control religious environments.

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In this week's episode, I finally had the chance to interview investigative journalist Gareth Gore about his book Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Within the Catholic Church. Gore explains how he stumbled onto the story while investigating the 2017 collapse of Spain's Banco Popular, only to discover the bank had been covertly controlled by Opus Dei for decades — serving as its primary financial engine and funneling hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of dollars into the organization worldwide.

Our conversation traces Opus Dei's origins in 1920s Spain under founder Josemaría Escrivá, its symbiotic relationship with the Franco regime, and its evolution into a secretive, elitist global network operating in 70 countries. Gore details how the organization targets society's elite — law students, politicians, judges — to advance a conservative Catholic agenda, including its deep ties to figures like Bill Barr, Leonard Leo, and the conservative takeover of the U.S. Supreme Court.

We also expose the darker side of Opus Dei: cult-like control over members, psychological abuse, and criminal charges filed in Argentina for the enslavement and human trafficking of women recruited as "assistant numeraries" to serve in Opus Dei centers around the world.

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I've finally had time to get this special episode out: another chapter reading from my 2024 book, Not So Shiny Not So Happy People: How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work, edited by Tim Sledge.

In this reading--Chapter 4--I pick up the story that follows immediately after my first baptism at the age of 10. My pastor had recommended I get baptized after I'd seen that terrifying, end-times apocalyptic movie A Thief in the Night in the 1970s. Afraid of being left behind in the event of the Rapture, I submitted to his spiritual authority, and went ahead and got baptized.

Since he'd informed me that baptism was the key to salvation, after this important milestone event, I figured I was finally on safe ground with the Almighty. No longer terrified and suffering from Rapture anxiety, I went on to the next key step I was told I needed for my spiritual development: reading the Bible and praying daily, which I struggled to do on a consistent basis.

I was also told by important people in my life that I needed to develop a love for God too, I tried mightily to do that also, but with very limited success.

Link to Not So Shiny Not So Happy People: How Bill Gothard, Church, and Family Taught Me Christianity Doesn't Work on Amazon!

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Just in time for the aftermath of the Christian nationalist-fuelled "Rededicate 250," I welcome back Dr. Warren Throckmorton. We discuss his new book, The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking The Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History, which challenges the historical claims of Christian nationalism.

Dr. Throckmorton explains how Uganda's 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill — justified by its sponsors using the Bible and linked to "The Family" — sparked his journey toward strict church-state separationism. We then take aim at a number of these quasi-historical myths, such as the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation. Dr Throckmorton's rigorous historical research reveals that the Founders deliberately excluded religion from the Constitution, and that it is not in fact based on the Bible.

Dr. Throckmorton contends that today's Christian nationalism is less about history and more about political power, pointing to the Trump administration as a prime example of pro-Trump evangelical Christianity operating as a quasi-established religion. ​The question truly is: who benefits from promoting such mythology? ​ ​

Get access to the book at this link: The Christian Past That Wasn't

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This conversation features a return appearance by Dr. Terri Daniel of the Ask Dr. Death podcast. We discuss spiritual bypassing — a psychological phenomenon, originally coined by Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist John Welwood in the 1980s, which describes the use of spiritual or religious beliefs as a defense mechanism to avoid dealing with painful emotions, grief, trauma, and loss. Dr. Daniel draws from her academic research, as well as her experience as a hospice chaplain, offering case studies and clinical definitions to illuminate how people use religion to sidestep the hard work of emotional healing.

Out conversation is wide-ranging and candid, touching on the Hebrew Bible's "reward-and-punishment" theology, the Book of Job, cognitive dissonance in faith communities, and the concept of disenfranchised grief — the inability to mourn openly within a religious community when the deceased falls outside its moral framework.

We both share personal anecdotes, including Clint's recent retinal detachment surgery and Terri's job loss, as real-world examples of resilience without divine intervention. The episode closes with a plug for an upcoming online symposium on spiritual bypassing, scheduled for July 25th, featuring six presenters including grief counselors, a Buddhist teacher, and researchers in trauma and religious deconstruction.

Contact Terri at https://deathgriefandbelief.com/

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After speaking recently with Peter Bell for the last podcast, I'm bringing you a bonus episode: a conversation Sarah Bader, co-host of the Sons of Patriarchy podcast and a longtime Moscow, Idaho resident.

We talk about what everyday life is like under the influence of Pastor Doug Wilson and his Christ Church. Sarah shares how she joined Peter after a failed NPR project, and how growing up in Moscow since 1998 gave her a frontline view of how Doug Wilson has systematically built a religious and cultural empire in the town. The conversation covers Wilson's dominionist agenda, his ties to the American Redoubt movement, Christian nationalism, and his growing national influence through figures like "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth.

The second half of the interview delves into specific scandals Wilson has survived, most notably the Steven Sitler child abuse case, where Wilson wrote letters of leniency to the court and later presided over Sitler's wedding despite his crimes.

We also discuss the cult-like hallmarks of Wilson's Christ "Kirk"--loaded language, self-ordained leadership, a self-contained publishing and education empire, and a culture of fear and bullying that has left local businesses, city officials, and even state institutions reluctant to challenge Wilson. Sarah reflects on the personal toll of living within 500 yards of Wilson's campus while fighting him publicly, expressing uncertainty about whether the battle is being won, but affirming her commitment to speaking out as long as she can.

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In this episode, I welcome Peter Bell from the Sons of Patriarchy podcast for a deep dive into the world of Doug Wilson. He's a self-ordained pastor from Moscow, Idaho who has spent decades building a network of Christian nationalist influence.

Together we trace Wilson's origins, his controversial "Southern Slavery As It Was" pamphlet, his founding of the CREC denomination and the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), and how his fringe ideas gradually moved into the mainstream — culminating in his recent sermon at the Pentagon.

The conversation then turns to Pete Hegseth, now U.S. Secretary of Defense (or War), and the web of connections linking him to Wilson's world through classical Christian education and the ACCS, Fox News, Christian nationalism, and the fringe CREC denomination.

Both of us, as seminary-trained theologians, share deep concern about a man with limited theological education wielding militaristic, crusader-inspired religious rhetoric--all the while overseeing the world's most powerful military engaged in an illegal war against Iran.

We argue that the through line--traced from R.J. Rushdoony's Christian Reconstructionism to Doug Wilson to Pete Hegseth--represents a genuinely dangerous convergence of weaponized theology, patriarchy, and political power.

For more information on Doug Wilson, check out this playlist of episodes I did on him a few years ago.

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This week, I had the pleasure to interview returning guest Tia Levings about her new book I Belong To Me: A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope After Religious Trauma. Tia explains that while her first memoir A Well-Trained Wife told the story of escaping an abusive marriage rooted in Christian patriarchy--and the teachings of figures like Bill Gothard and James Dobson--this new book is a self-help guide chronicling how she rebuilt herself over a decade of healing.

We also explore the broader reach of Christian nationalism, including Doug Wilson's growing political influence through figures like Pete Hegseth, and how fundamentalist movements groom people for obedience and abuse through purity culture, corporal punishment, and high-control dynamics.

Tia shares practical insights from her recovery journey, including EMDR, internal family systems therapy, somatic work, and grounding techniques. She emphasizes treating triggers as information rather than threats, the importance of tending to the "aftermath of shock" before making major life decisions, and how unhealed trauma can lead to "cult hopping" into new controlling relationships. She describes herself as "spiritually private," rejecting labels in favor of fluidity and self-discovery.

The book is written for religious trauma survivors but has resonated widely with anyone leaving high-control environments. Tia is currently working on a third book called How to Leave Anything.

Find Tia's book and also her writings on her site here!

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For those who missed our December 2025 DDP Zoom call, this is it!

I was able to reconnect with authors Kelsey McGinnis and Marissa Burt about their book The Myth of Good Christian Parenting. The conversation centers on Doug Wilson, a controversial Moscow, Idaho pastor who promotes Christian nationalism and authoritarian parenting-- including advocating spanking "reigns of terror" to guarantee children's "cheerful obedience."

We then extend that out to include the broader ecosystem of figures like Bill Gothard and James Dobson, major Christian influencers who built empires promising that formulaic Christian, "biblically-based parenting" guarantees godly outcomes.

We explore how these harmful ideologies are cyclical--repackaged by new evangelical influencers for each generation. Using fresh aesthetics and modern platforms, the core pattern remains: exploit parental fears, promise a formula based on their interpretation of the Bible, and then blame "user error" when it fails.

We also connect all of this to the evangelical purity culture, the "stay-at-home daughter" movement, and today's social media influencers pushing increasingly extreme positions. We also note that even movements like Gothard's IBLP had retention rates as low as 3% — yet somehow, the same ideas keep getting recycled for a new generation of impressionable Christians attempting to pattern both their marriages and child-rearing practices on what turns out to be deeply flawed theology.

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Find My Book Not So Shiny, Not So Happy People here on Amazon.

Email me: dismantlingdoctrine@gmail.com

This week, I welcome new friend Timmy Joe Gibson for a deep dive into our parallel journeys: from passionate Christian ministry to atheism. Both former pastors, we share our experiences in faith: me as a Bible college teacher and PhD scholar who spent over 20 years in ministry across the US and UK, and Timmy as a charismatic pastor who grew his church from 10 people in his living room to 300 members.

We discuss our theological education at institutions like Rhema Bible Training Center and Western Seminary, our involvement in word-of-faith movements and dominion theology, and the gradual "death by a thousand cuts" that led us to question--and ultimately abandon-- everything we once believed, preached, and taught to so many others so passionately.

Our conversation explores how deeper biblical scholarship paradoxically led us away from fundamentalism, as we touch on topics like the authorship of the Gospels, the problem of slavery in scripture, conspiracy theory mindsets in Christianity, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.

Both of us reflect on what we've salvaged from our past. My public speaking skills now serve me as a teacher and builder, while Timmy has built a successful wedding officiant business in Kansas City. We also candidly discuss how we're now happier as atheists than we ever were as believers, focusing our energy on helping others navigate the deconstruction process, rather than engaging in angry debates with those still in the faith.

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This is a two-part podcast conversation between me and Nick from The Autistic Pod. To hear Part 2--where he interviews me--you'll have to head over to his platform to catch it.

Our discussion begins by discussing Nick's experiences with ADHD and autism, exploring how neurodivergence affects relationships, communication, and daily life. Nick shares his journey of self-diagnosis at age 42 after watching "Love on the Spectrum," and discusses the concept of "masking" - the exhausting practice of hiding one's authentic self to fit neurotypical expectations. He opens up about experiencing severe depression, the importance of honesty as a core value, and how his racing thoughts (three times more than neurotypical people) create both challenges and unique perspectives.

The conversation then delves into Nick's "Nine Rules for Life," which include principles like personal growth, accountability, avoiding toxic people, and living authentically. Both of us share relatable experiences about relationships, with Nick discussing his fiancée's C-PTSD and how they navigate their neurodivergent partnership, while I reflect on my past relationship challenges with someone likely on the spectrum.

Nick and I bonded over shared values around honesty, heavy metal music, and the struggle to balance directness with social expectations. Nick helps us to emphasize the importance of understanding neurodivergence, respecting different ways of processing the world, and finding communities that accept you for who you truly are.

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I had a great opportunity to interview Brian and Troy from the now-retired "I Was a Teenage Fundamentalist" podcast. They discuss why they ended their successful podcast after five years, with both hosts explaining they felt exhausted and had covered what they wanted to say about leaving evangelical Christianity.

The conversation explores their personal journeys of deconstructing their faith, including Troy's pivotal moment during a Buddhist meditation retreat and Brian's gradual realization over many years that the beliefs no longer held up.

Our discussion delves into several major topics including the Hillsong Church scandals in Australia, particularly Brian Houston's cover-up of his father Frank Houston's pedophilia, and the broader issues of abuse within patriarchal religious structures.

They also discuss their eye-opening episode about Keith Green and Last Days Ministries, which revealed cult-like practices that shattered their last remaining positive associations with evangelical Christianity.

The conversation concludes with reflections on rebuilding life after leaving religion, emphasizing the importance of finding new communities, being patient with yourself, and accepting that life after faith won't have the same certainty that religion once provided.

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