The Life After Podcast & Community: Recent Episodes
Brady Hardin, Chuck Parson
Corey Pigg, currently a project manager and producer for The Liturgists Podcast, joins Brady and Chuck to discuss his experiences as a full-time missionary that made way for his exit from toxic religion.
Corey has started his own podcast, which focuses on the dark underbelly of modern missions. He is joined by ex-missionaries to discuss what it means to be "called, not qualified" in an industry full of manipulation, crushed dreams, and abuses of power. Learn about what he is doing at failedmissionary.com.
Indoctrination is one very essential topic that sort of permeates everything we talk about on this show, but so far we haven’t really addressed it directly. It is so pervasive within religious systems that its almost impossible to talk about anything on this show without it looming in the background.
That makes it difficult to really define and nail down. OED defines it as “The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.” What you end up with is a long line of dominoes, each domino is one of the things you have to believe to in order for your religious system to remain whole. Indoctrination is the insistence that you don’t poke, prod, remove, or even too closely observe the any of the dominoes because what happens if you knock one over? The whole system is exposed.
Host Brady and Chuck sat down their friends, Tim Warzel and Jamie Lee Finch, to discuss the ever-present ghost called indoctrination.
What makes counseling good or bad? What ethical laws are in place to protect people from harmful counselors? Are pastors and "church counselors" held to the same standard? How can you know if you've been treated fairly by a pastor, church counselor, or therapist?
Ari Holtz, PhD is a licensed psychologist. He joined The *Life After Boyz in the studio to discuss how church counseling often works and derails. Brady and Chuck shared stories of church counseling and spiritual abuse, allowing Ari to give his valuable input. They ended with a game of "Evangelical View Point vs. Ari's Professional Opinion" that showed the contrast of the two worldviews and methods.
Mental Health Resources:
Find a Therapist: www.psychologytoday.com. It allows one to specify lots of search criteria - insurance, sliding scale, clinical issues, gender, location, etc.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). They will recommend free or low cost treatment options.
The Secular Therapy Project: Seculartherapy.org. Want to make sure you're getting a therapist who isn't going to push a religious worldview even unconsciously? Check them out here.
211: www.211.org. They also link people up with mental health resources.
Suicide hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You are never alone.
Chris Stroop, PhD created the #EmptyThePews Movement to ask Evangelicals to examine the fruits of their religion and walk away from its grip. Chris joins Brady and Chuck on this episode of The Life After, focusing on the community of ex-evangelicals, bound together through the WWW.
Chris discusses the history of how abortion became the foundation of religious right-wing politics, how his degree in Russian history has made him an unique expert in these unpredictable political times, and Chris shares their heart-breaking story of spiritual abuse.
You can find Chris's blog, Not Your Mission Field, at chrisstroop.com.
If you'd like to join our Facebook group, check out our Facebook page. Visit our website at www.thelifeafter.org. We'd love to hear from you.
TW: This episode contains stories of sexual, physical, and spiritual abuse (not in great detail).
The episode that kept growing! What started as a mini-project to release while Chuck worked on a more complex episode kept putting itself in our view as the news of sexual predators poured out. Much of the world has a problem knowing, defining, and respecting consent. Women, who were once made to feel powerless, have proven their predators wrong by coming forward while others, for a wide spectrum of reasons, remain silent. We speak with one of our favorite guests, Jamie Lee Finch, about consent, desire for power that leads to abuse, and sexual ethics.
Listener Kyla Bauer ends the episode with a powerful story of how her family did what was "right" in the eyes of the Bible, but it led them right back into the cycle of abuse.
While most of the episodes focus on deconstruction, this episode tackles reconstruction. James Croft, PhD, the outreach director of The Ethical Society of Saint Louis, joins Brady and Chuck to answer the extremely important question of what to do after leaving the faith. Many struggle with establishing a new set of morals and ethics after leaving dogmatic religion, but James shows how it can be done with logic and practical empathy.
Trigger warning: Episode starts with a John Piper audio clip.
Ashley Adams is a strong woman. She has overcome a lot including growing up with Brady, navigating youth group with undiagnosed depression and anxiety, the loss of her mother, domestic abuse, divorce, and more. She joins hosts Brady Hardin and Chuck Parson to tell her brave story of how she had enough and fought back hard for her own happiness and fulfillment.
This episode mentions domestic abuse without going into detail. If you are being abused by your partner, know there is nothing you have done or are doing to cause the abuse. It is solely the choice of the abuser to abuse. It may seem impossible to escape your abuser, change your circumstances, or find the help you need, but it is possible. However, you know your abuser best, so think carefully through your situation and circumstances and do what is the best for you.
If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
This week, Evangelical superstar Kirk Cameron tried his hand at speaking for God on why God "sent" Hurricane Irma. Needless to say, it didn't go so well, and we couldn't wait for the next episode to address it. Even many Christians agree that his tone-deaf response is a "Growing Pain" in the ass. Brady and Chuck counter his points and show why Cameron would have been better off keeping his mouth shut.
NSFW Warning: The episode ends with two, wonderfully NSFW stories from Renée's deconstruction story archives about her exploration into sexuality.
Our hilarious, mutual friend, Renée, joins us in the studio to reflect on the indoctrination she experienced growing up as a precocious, thoughtful child. We talk about the fears we had as Christian children and how we grew as we left Church culture in the areas of sexuality, social justice, and more. We discuss the regrets we have by making decisions that were heavily influenced by a faith we no longer hold on to and how the ripples of those decisions still affect us. This episode describes the mindf*ck so many people encounter as they work on ridding themselves from indoctrination.
Curtis G. joins Brady and Chuck to discuss this family's efforts of "fixing" him by sending him to conversion therapy. He reads from his notes, followed by how he recovered, accepting who he is.
This episode was recorded on the one day that major Christian leader, Eugene Peterson was thought to have come out as pro-gay marriage. The episode ends with Brady's reflection on the aftermath of that announcement and almost immediate retraction.
Kristen retells her story of moving across the nation to join a religious community that eroded away her freedoms. After bouncing back from rock bottom, Kristen tells of how she got her life back.
Also, Brady and Kristen reflect on their horrible date from over a decade ago, on which he tried (and failed) to hold her hand in a Wal-mart parking lot.
Here is a quick update from Chuck explaining the dead air. We will have a new episode releasing in a day or two. We miss you all.
Prisca was brought up in white, Christian suburbia. At times, her skin contrasted with the world around her. Chuck and Brady talk to Prisca about her experiences in church and how those events made the way for her exit from evangelical Christianity. The three ask this question: Why does it seem that those who claim to have Holy Spirit orchestrating their lives are historically and generally speaking often the last to accept civil rights?
Also, Brady and Prisca retell how they became friends over the message board for Brady's former cable, Christian sitcom.
TW: A racial slur is used within the context of a true story.
Caleb Doyle joins Brady and Chuck. Brady was Caleb's church camp counselor as a kid. The three discuss their shift in politics after leaving church, and Caleb describes life without a father. Caleb proves that not all exits have to be traumatic to be meaningful.
Also, Chuck oozes about his love for end-of-time movies. Again.
In this episode, Chuck executes a hostile show-takeover!
Instead of a regular guest, Chuck interviews Brady, host and founder of The Life After, about his childhood and exit from religion. Brady opens up about his difficult childhood, growing up gay in church, and the spiritual abuse that eventually led to his faith's demise (but the birth of this podcast).
This episode includes an honest, frank conversation about sex.
Brady Hardin and Chuck Parson take the show on the road to Nashville, TN to interview Jamie Lee Finch on the subjects of sexuality, the dangers of Purity Culture, and the downfalls of Patriarchy. Jamie describes how much of her journey after leaving religion involves understanding her body. She gives life-changing advice on how to become a whole person and heal from trauma.
Bonus: Listen to Jamie reading her own original poems throughout the episode.
To learn more about Jamie's work, follow her on Twitter, @jamieleefinch.
Hosts, Brady Hardin and Chuck Parson, interview Zach B. about his two close encounters with death. The first was of a friend. The second was his own.
Hosts, Brady Hardin and Chuck Parson, interview Marnie K., a former member of the same church Brady was kicked out of. Marnie retells her experience of discovering homeschool as an option for her daughter that needed an one-on-one approach to education. Eventually, she was influenced into church and was given toxic instruction regarding her marriage. She tells her story of coping with mistreatment, divorce, and resiliently fighting for herself and children.
Listen to the first episode of The *Life After Podcast. Host, Brady Hardin, describes his exit from a toxic, religious environment. He interviews Chuck Parson, a friend he had while a practicing Christian. Chuck, like Brady, had left his faith. Together, they discuss Religious Trauma Syndrome, Christian Mysticism, sexuality, things they miss from their "previous lives," and much more.