The Life After Podcast
Indoctrination
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
#EmptyThePews (Spiritual Abuse x Deconstruction Movement) with Chrissy Stroop
Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
*Chrissy has since transitioned since this episode and the description has been updated to reflect it.
Chrissy Stroop, PhD created the #EmptyThePews Movement to ask Evangelicals to examine the fruits of their religion and walk away from its grip. Chrissy joins Brady and Chuck on this episode of The Life After, focusing on the community of ex-evangelicals, bound together through the internet.
Chrissy discusses the history of how abortion became the foundation of religious right-wing politics, how her degree in Russian history has made her a unique expert in these unpredictable political times, and Chrissy shares her heart-breaking story of spiritual abuse. You can find Chrissy’s blog, Not Your Mission Field, at cstroop.com. She is a common guest and contributor to our friends, the #Exvangelical community.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Friday Dec 01, 2017
Prey (Consent x #ChurchToo) with Kyla Bauer and Jamie Lee Finch
Friday Dec 01, 2017
Friday Dec 01, 2017
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.
To learn more about Jamie’s work, follow her on Twitter, @jamieleefinch or visit her website: jamieleefinch.com.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Friday Oct 06, 2017
Humanism (Ethics x Secular Community) with James Croft, Ed.D.
Friday Oct 06, 2017
Friday Oct 06, 2017
While most of the episodes focus on deconstruction, this episode tackles reconstruction. James Croft, Ed.D., 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 people 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.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Tuesday Sep 19, 2017
Enough (Domestic Violence x Mental Health) with Ashley Adams
Tuesday Sep 19, 2017
Tuesday Sep 19, 2017
Trigger warning: Episode touches on domestic abuse (and begins 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. It may seem impossible to leave, change your circumstances, or reach out and ask for 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.
For anonymous, confidential help, 24/7, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).
http://ncadv.org/learn-more/get-help
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
Get Out of My Head (Inner Dialog x Sexual Discovery) with Renée
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
NSFW Warning: The episode ends with two, wonderfully NSFW stories from Renée’s deconstruction story archives about her exploration of 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 of indoctrination.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
Conversion Therapy Dropout (Shame x Family Pressure) with Curtis G.
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
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.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Friday Aug 11, 2017
Out of Control (Church Control x Personal Autonomy) with Kristen H.
Friday Aug 11, 2017
Friday Aug 11, 2017
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.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
Black and White Thinking (Evangelicalism x Racism) with Prisca Jebet Kendagor
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
Thursday Jul 20, 2017
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.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Wednesday Jul 12, 2017
It’s Okay Not to Believe (Normalizing Questioning x Personal Evolution) with Caleb Doyle
Wednesday Jul 12, 2017
Wednesday Jul 12, 2017
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 the church, and Caleb describes life without a father. Caleb proves that not all exits have to be traumatic to be meaningful.
Also, Chuck oozes his love for end-of-time movies. Again.
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Tuesday Jul 04, 2017
God’s Only Forgotten Son (Family Trauma x Queer) with Brady Hardin
Tuesday Jul 04, 2017
Tuesday Jul 04, 2017
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).
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg