Unbelief

Brainwashing Techniques Used by Evangelicals to Teach Hell

08 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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Fiction Author and Human Trafficking Survivor: Dirinks and Deconstruction

22 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this Drinks and Deconstruction episode, I’m joined by River Polsgrove, a fiction writer and human trafficking survivor, for a conversation that s...

When “Modesty” Comes With a $10 Fine

15 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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Jesus Didn’t Have to Die: Escaping the Evangelical Blood-Requirement

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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Prayer After Deconstruction: Letting Go of the Cosmic Vending Machine

18 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If prayer has ever felt like a spiritual performance review, this episode is for you. Jeremy talks with Wes Ellis, author of Abide in Amen, about why ...

Drinks and Deconstruction: A Roman Catholic Doubting Thomas

11 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Young grew up Roman Catholic, got rushed through the sacraments because doctors didn’t think he’d live long, and still managed to be a skept...

Tribulation Survival Guide: Roasting Rapture Culture with Stuart Delony

04 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you grew up in rapture culture, you already know the feeling: one missing family member and your brain goes straight to “did I miss the rapture?”...

A New Year Ritual for People Who Don’t Trust New Year’s Resolutions

28 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if the new year isn’t about doing more, but about paying attention? In this guided episode, we explore a New Year version of the Ignatian Exame...

What Is the ACTUAL Date of Christmas?

14 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Christians argue fiercely about the literal details of Jesus’ birth—even though the Bible never gives a date and early believers didn’t agree on...

Jesus Wasn’t Born in Bethlehem or a Stable (And That Changes Everything)

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Turns out the Christmas story you defend like it’s a court transcript doesn’t even work on its own historical terms. In part one, we take apart Na...

Theatre Kids and the Pope: Origins and Legends of the Christmas Tree

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Forget the “it’s pagan” nonsense. The Christmas tree’s story is far wilder: a pope’s missionary memo, a bishop with an axe, medieval theater...

Revelation Isn’t About the Future or Microchips

23 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Forget barcodes, microchips, and rapture charts. Revelation isn’t predicting the end of the world—it’s resisting it. We break down the Beast, 66...

Deconstructing without Losing Faith (kind of)

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever been told that if you stop believing one thing, Jesus unfriends you? Yeah… same. In this episode, we unmask the “literalist playing field” ...

1946 and the Bible’s Big Gay Mistranslation (and How to Handle the Haters)

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This one is equal parts history lesson and how-to. We talk about how to respond to homophobic people and have a big announcement about where you can v...

Tower of Babel vs. Linguistics: What Really Happened to Our Languages?

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you still think the Tower of Babel explains why Spanish exists, this episode might hurt your feelings. Jeremy and linguist Gabby break down how lan...

The Theology of Algorithms (and Why Church is Boring)

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you think church has to happen in a building, brace yourself. There's no need to stream a guy in a guitar and a video of people sitting in pews... ...

No Historical Evidence that Jesus Existed?

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

No, we don’t have Jesus’ mugshot from a Roman archive. Also no, that’s not how ancient history works. We track the real markers: Paul’s letter...

Deconstructing Satan, Demon Possession and Halloween

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From youth-group exorcisms to YouTube deliverance rabbit holes, we trace how demon talk replaces science—and why that harms real people. We do a tex...

Does Jesus say people are going to Hell and Do I Have to Believe in the Bible to Believe in God?

26 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if the real scandal isn’t doubting hell—it’s discovering Jesus didn’t preach it? We push back on evangelical proof texts, tour the Bible’...

Progressive Youth Ministry?

19 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if youth group wasn’t about dodgeball, purity rings, and trauma bonding over mission trips? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Andrew Zirschky a...

Stopping the Exodus of Young Adults from the Church

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is a checklist of why young adults bounce. We tell the story of a would-be missionary crushed by the hell doctrine, trace early Christian...

Ruth: The Rated R Scene

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If the Bible were a Netflix show, this episode would come with a “viewer discretion advised” warning. Ruth takes the lead, flips gender roles, and...

Fictional Deconstruction with Brian McLaren

28 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if you stripped faith down to its essence—no megachurch stage lights, no fear-based sermons, no evangelical gatekeeping? That’s what Brian Mc...

What Really Happened in Jesus’ Last Hours and the Female Disciples of Jesus

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The gospels aren’t journalism—they’re theology. Dr. Helen Bond helps us dig into what the stories of Jesus’ final hours really meant to the ea...

The Historical Jesus: The Missing Pieces

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The “historical Jesus” isn’t the same as the Sunday school Jesus. Dr. Mark Goodacre shows us why there’s so little hard evidence, how scholars...

Pharisees Are Good Guys and Jesus Gender Bending

14 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you grew up thinking Pharisees were hypocrites and Jesus was all about purity culture, buckle up. Dr. Amy Jill-Levine joins us to dismantle the myt...

Why People Are Leaving the Church and How to Stay Engaged in Spirituality After Leaving

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People aren’t leaving the church because they “hate God.” They’re leaving because the church keeps begging for cash, propping up patriarchy, j...

Virginity Rocks: Deconstructing Purity Culture

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Virginity isn't real. We unpack how purity culture weaponized the concept of virginity to control women, why the biology doesn’t back it up, and how...

Ruth: The Art of Seduction

24 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This isn’t your Sunday school Ruth. Naomi sends her in to seduce Boaz and secure a future for them both. It’s raw, risky, and very much not the ev...

A PhD in Religious Trauma!?

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when theology is weaponized? We talk with someone actually getting a PhD in religious trauma—yes, that’s a thing—and leading a supp...

Ruth: The Mystery Revealed

17 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Boaz feeds Ruth like she actually belongs—because she does. That’s the point. His generosity breaks the scarcity mindset and shows what it means t...

Jesus Unarmed aka Make Jerusalem Great Again

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Jesus said “turn the other cheek,” He wasn’t telling us to be doormats—He was giving oppressed people a blueprint for resistance. From ci...

Ruth: The Holiness of Social Welfare and Hard Work

10 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Forget the “God helps those who help themselves” nonsense. Ruth’s story proves God built a social welfare system and stamped it holy. In Ruth 2,...

Q&A: Buddhist Christians, Inclusive Reading of the Bible, Hell Isn’t in There, and the True Translation of the Bible

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You asked, we answered: How do you make sense of the Bible after learning how it was written? Can someone follow Jesus and also find truth in Buddhism...

Ruth: The Relationship We Are All Looking For

03 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes God feels absent. Bitter, even. Naomi gets that. But Ruth shows us that when everything collapses, the right person by your side can be sacr...

Old Maid at 22 Comes Out a Decade Later

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

She was told her worth was tied to being a wife and mother—and that at 22 was practically a geriatric bride. So she got married, made sure “obey”...

Ruth: an Anti-patriarch Bible Book about Inclusion and Political Protest

27 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ruth isn’t your typical Bible heroine. She’s a Moabite, a woman, and the star of a book that basically tells Ezra and Nehemiah to sit down. This e...

Deconstructing Purity Culture: Masturbation Addiction

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They said if you masturbate, you're broken. They lied. We dive into the toxic shame of purity culture’s “masturbation addiction” claims, clear u...

Deconstructing Purity Culture: Damaged Goods

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you ever felt guilty for making out, this one’s for you. We tear into abstinence-only education, the purity ring industrial complex, and the horr...

Parable of the ten bridesmaids and being open

13 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Turns out the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids isn’t a warning about heaven’s velvet rope. It’s a call to be ready for the unexpected. We unpack t...

Deconstructing Purity Culture: Cohabitation and Living in Sin

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Purity culture wants you to believe marriage solves everything—except it doesn’t. We dig into stories of people rejected for cohabitation, the dan...

The Parable of the Weeds and Why People Aren't who You Think They Are

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Parable of the Weeds isn’t about judging people’s souls—it’s about waiting before you yank people out of your life. We break down the cult...

Purity Culture Damage from Being "Unequally Yoked’"

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s talk about that time purity culture told you dating a non-Christian would ruin your soul. We dig into the myth of being “unequally yoked,”...

When Jesus Threw Wine in the Pharisee’s Face

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jesus didn’t just forgive the woman—they had a whole theological mic drop right in the middle of dinner. We unpack the ancient hospitality customs...

What is Religious Trauma?

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Religious trauma isn’t just in your head—it lives in your body. In this episode, we talk to a religious trauma therapist about what it is, how it ...

The Rapture isn’t Real: a Verse-by-Verse Guide

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve heard the Left Behind version—but what if the Bible never promised a cosmic vacuum sucking up all the good Christians? We walk through ever...

Ancient Jewish Secret for Reading the Bible

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Turns out, the rabbis were way ahead of their time. In this episode, we take a deep dive into PaRDeS. This multi-layered way to read scripture embrac...

The Only Gay Kid in Town: A Story of Communally Inflicted Trauma

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when the Baptist pastor in your town preaches an entire sermon about you, because you’re the only openly gay kid? Our guest tells the s...

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: Read It However You Want—That’s the Point

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Universal salvation, anti-authoritarianism, and maybe a warning about neat little spiritual clichés—all from one tiny seed. In this episode, we dig...

How to Have Relationships with Unaffirming Friends and Family (and when to let them go) Interview with Sharon Roggio Director of 1946 the Movie

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when your evangelical dad reads your diary and finds out you’re a lesbian—and he’s also your pastor? Sharon Roggio, director of 194...

Jesus Told a Story About Classism, and We Made It About Hell... It's Not

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re not here to scare you with hellfire—we’re here to tell you this parable is about injustice, privilege, and how hard it is to see your own ...

Deconstructing the LGBTQ ‘Clobber Verses’—and Our Own Deconstruction

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the conversation every deconstructing queer (or ally) eventually has: what does the Bible actually say about LGBTQ people? We bring receipts, c...

Excuses, Entitlement, and Why You Might Get Uninvited

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the parable of the great banquet, Jesus roasts the self-important by showing what happens when entitled people flake on an invitation: God gives th...

Altar Calls, Emotional Manipulation, and the Psychology of ‘Come Forward’

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Altar calls aren’t always about salvation—sometimes they’re about control. In this episode, we break down the psychological tactics behind the ‘...

Why Matthew Probably Didn’t Write Matthew: unlocking the Four Soils and the Mystery of the Kingdom,

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The parable of the four soils isn’t about locking you into ‘good’ or ‘bad’ forever—it’s about staying open to transformation. In this ep...

The Faith Healing Was Fake—But the Damage Was Real

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode gets personal. We share two raw, painful stories of being hurt by faith healers and talk about the long-term spiritual damage that comes ...

The Petty Soap Opera of Herod and Cleopatra — The Parable of the Talents

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Spoiler: The parable of the talents isn’t about investment advice or religious performance—it’s about empire. We follow the messy political hist...

Burning CDs for Jesus—And Other Regrets

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Christian music good. Secular music bad. That’s what we were told. But it turns out, that binary cuts us off from art, from emotion, and from unders...

The Parable of the Two Hot Mess Brothers

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been reading the Prodigal Son all wrong. It’s not just about a ‘bad’ kid and a ‘good’ kid—it’s about two lost sons: one outward...

Hell Houses, Fistfights, and Breaking the Cycle for Our Kids

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Step one: convince a 10-year-old she’s actually dead and headed for eternal damnation. Step two: act shocked when she punches a racist in church and...

The Ten Commandments—You’ve Been Reading Them Wrong

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You think the Ten Commandments are about judging everyone else? Wrong. They’re written to you. In this episode, we break down how the commandments a...

What the Hell Is Hell, Anyway?

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you died tonight, do you know where you’d spend eternity? We open with that classic evangelical guilt-trip and immediately start breaking it down...

Easter’s Pagan (kind of), Words Change, and the KJV Is Horrible

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re talking pagan goddesses, changing language, and why the King James Version is definitely not the most accurate Bible translation. Gabie (our...

Romans: The Book That’s Been Misused for Centuries

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever felt like Romans was used against you? You're not alone. This episode dives into a conversation with Keith Giles and Matthew DiStefano the author...

Why You Keep Making the Same Mistakes—And Why You Can’t Fix Them Alone

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode has it all: people whining in circles, Moses burning out, and a surprise intervention from his father-in-law. We talk about how to spot t...

Deconstruction, Patriarchy, and the Atheist Boyfriend Who Got It

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It started with one book. One idea: maybe the Bible wasn’t written outside of    patriarchy. That thread pulled Gabie’s faith wide open. In this...

The Wilderness Sucks - Even Moses Needed a Dance Break

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Israelites just escaped Egypt, and what do they do first? Throw a party. In this episode, we dive into the songs of Moses and Miriam, explore how ...

The Bible: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why Constantine Didn’t Make It

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

No, Constantine didn’t choose the books of the Bible. No, the Bible isn’t a culture manual for modern life. And no, you’re not supposed to just ...

God is not a Magical Genie

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the part of the Exodus story everyone remembers—God parts the sea, the people escape, Pharaoh gets wrecked. But this week, we dig deeper into...

Leaving Mormonism, Preaching Atheism, and Finding a More Chill Path

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Beecher was this close to spending two years knocking on doors for Mormonism—then he decided he didn’t believe any of it. In this episode, w...

This Story Is Not a Children’s Lesson—Boils, Hail, and the Final Plague

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Locusts, darkness, and a final plague so brutal it makes everyone uncomfortable—yep, we’re in the deep end of Exodus now. In this episode, we wre...

Why Purity Culture Messes Up Kids—And Why Atheists Might Be Onto Something

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Purity pledges? Bad idea. Arguing with atheists? Also bad idea. This episode features two chapters from How to Not Suck as a Christian, covering why p...

From Church Pews to the Solstice - a Theatre Kid Rediscovers God

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

She loved church. The rituals, the architecture, the sacred feeling of it all. But then came seminary—a place where evangelical theology goes to die...

No, the Bible Doesn’t Say Being Queer Is a Sin—Let’s Prove It (also it's Pro-Trans)

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Step one: debunk every anti-LGBTQ verse with actual biblical scholarship. Step two: show how the Bible is pro-trans. Step three: remind ourselves that...

Southern Baptist Illuminati outs a Gay Deacon and Ruins His Life

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Austin was just living his life—deconstructing, working as a deacon, and making spicy tweets—when the Southern Baptist Illuminati™ (okay, not th...

Snakes, Plagues, and Denial—The Real Exodus Story

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It starts with a giant snake, gets messy with blood and frogs, and finishes off with gnats and flies—classic Exodus chaos. But what if these plagues...

A Reformed Southern Baptist Comes Out - Yeah, You Read that Right

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You know what’s fun? Realizing your theology says you’re predestined for hell and still showing up for staff meetings. Austin tells us about growi...

The Bible: Now with 100% More Dysfunctional Families and Insecure Leaders

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

God reminds Moses of His promises, but Moses is still struggling—this time, with his old insecurities and a speech impediment that won’t stop haun...

How to not Suck as a Christian

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Evangelicals love a good debate, but maybe we should just stop arguing and start being decent humans instead. In this episode, we dive into my book Ho...

How to Make an Authoritarian Really Mad

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lesson of the day: If you want to make an authoritarian really mad, tell them they’re not actually in charge. Moses demands freedom, Pharaoh retalia...

Time is a Lie, the Universe is a Mess and Religion is a Paradox

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Time is fake, particles don’t know what they are, and reality is a mess—but don’t worry, your GPS still works. In this episode, astrophysicist B...

Moses, Murder, and a Mystery Foreskin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing says ‘divine calling’ like running from murder charges, getting ambushed by God, and being saved by your wife wielding a freshly cut fores...

And then I had an Out of Body Experience

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rob’s faith journey had everything: church corruption, Christian heavy metal, deep philosophy, and an existential crisis. Oh, and an out-of-body exp...

Speech Impediments Freee Slaves

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Moses wasn’t exactly Pharaoh’s first pick for a TED Talk, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of history’s most legendary leaders. This...

The Faith of a Nerd, Geek and Gamer

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Become part of the "Not Church" community: patreon.com/skepticpastorHilarious, irreverent merch: noomacommunity.com/storeNathan Webb is leveling up co...

An Introvert Saves the World

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most famous stories in the book of Exodus reveals something profound bout one of Moses' secret powers, and it pushes back hard against one ...

Life After Doom and Should You Stay Christian with Brian McLaren

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever wondered how to deal with the immense number of things in the world that are on fire or are in the moment when you are trying to answer...

Moses the Murderer and the Basket Baby

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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A Mars Scientist Becomes a Medium

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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Attempted Genocide Thwarted by Two Unlikely Women

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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An Ancient Ritual to Make 2025 Better then 2024

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Don't make resolutions. They suck and don't work. You need to set intentions, that's where the power is. This episode uses a ritual that is over 50...

A Feminist Geneology? In a Patriarchal Culture?

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Murder, prostitution, and even a verse that has been used to tell people masturbation is a sin are all wrapped up in the Geneology of Jesus that is fu...

The Christmas Story through a Queer Lens and The History of the LGBTQ Relationship with the Church

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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When Santa Claus Slapped a Guy in a Church Meeting

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Join the Not Church community: patreon.com/skepticpastorGet some great merch: noomacommunity.com/merch Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...

Drinks and Deconstruction: Kali and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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The Pagan Origins of Christianity and Exactly How Many Year's It's Been Since the First Christmas

15 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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Drinks and Deconstruction: A Japanese Deomon, Tarot Cards, and the Celtic Fire Festiva l.

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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Biblical Sitcom and Why Sodom and Gommorah is not about Homosexuality

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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Drinks and Deconstruction: Rocking the Boat with Doubts and Justice - a Conversation With Craig Mendoza

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You can find our wonderful "Not Church" community of people trying to find beliefs that work for them by subscribing for $3 to out Patreon. patreon.co...

Circumcision, Anxiety, and the Origins of Islam

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes we act out of our anxiety and make rash decisions. That's part of the insight we get in these two chapters of Genesis. Also, the story of Is...