Holy Heretics: Losing Religion and Finding Jesus

• Ep 89: We’re Done: Womanism in MAGA America w/Dr. Angela Parker

  Episode Summary:You need to sit down for this episode.Mercer University’s Dr. Angela Parker joins me today on the podcast for a heart-wrenching conversation about white supremacy, intersectionality, womanist theology, authoritarian Christianity, decolonization, Kamala Harris, and her sought-after book, If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I? According to Eerdmans Publishing House, “Angela Parker wasn’t just trained to be a biblical scholar; she was trained to be a White male biblical scholar. She is neither White nor male.” Thank God.Womanist theology is a methodological approach to theology that centers the experiences and perspectives of Black women, particularly African-American women. Emerging in the mid to late 1980s, it serves as a corrective to early feminist theology—which often overlooked racial issues—and Black theology, which predominantly reflected male viewpoints. In plain language, Womanist theology interprets the Bible, Christianity, and life here in the American empire through the eyes and lived experiences of Black women.As a Black scholar who traces her family history out of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and into the halls of higher education, Dr. Parker talks candidly about what it means to be an educated Black woman in both predominantly white higher education and Trump’s MAGA America.I know I say this a lot, but this is one of the most important conversations we’ve had to date on Holy Heretics.If the United States is to survive the MAGA cult, it will be through the embodied actions, wisdom, spirituality, and lived experience of Black women and men who understand what it takes to resist, regroup, and offer the world a beautiful invitation into God’s beloved, alternative community. In the context of Trump's America, characterized by racist policies and rhetoric, Womanist theology is particularly poignant. By offering a framework that not only addresses the intersections of race, gender, and class, “womanism” also actively resists the oppressive structures of White America.BIO:Rev. Dr. Angela N. Parker is associate professor of New Testament and Greek at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. She received her B.A. in religion and philosophy from Shaw University (2008), her M.T.S. from Duke Divinity School (2008-2010) and her Ph.D. in Bible, culture, and hermeneutics from Chicago Theological Seminary (2015). Before this position, Dr. Parker was assistant professor of Biblical Studies at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. She teaches courses in New Testament, Greek Exegesis, the Gospel of Mark, the Corinthians Correspondence, the Gospel of John, and Womanist and Feminist Hermeneutics unto preaching.In her research, Dr. Parker merges Womanist thought and postcolonial theory while reading biblical texts. Dr. Parker’s most popular book is titled, If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority. In this book, Dr. Parker draws from her experience as a Womanist New Testament scholar in order to deconstruct one of White Christianity’s most pernicious lies: the conflation of biblical authority with the doctrines of inerrancy and infallibility. As Dr. Parker shows, these doctrines are less about the text of the Bible itself and more about the arbiters of its interpretation—historically, White males in positions of power who have used Scripture to justify control over marginalized groups. This oppressive use of the Bible has been suffocating. To learn to breathe again, Dr. Parker says, we must “let God breathe in us.”Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏Show notes:http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/womanist-theology-in-maga-americaFollow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.comAdvertising inquiries: [email protected] our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction!https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction!This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

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• Ep 88: The Historical Jesus w/John Dominic Crossan

  Episode Summary:John Dominic Crossan is the world’s most prominent Jesus scholar. He joins me today on Holy Heretics to discuss what we can, and what we cannot, know about the life of this first century Jewish peasant. Unlike traditional theological portrayals of Jesus, which center primarily on his death and resurrection, Crossan’s scholarship focuses on the historicity of Jesus. Who was he? What evidence do we have to support his existence? Instead of asking why Jesus died, Crossan has spent decades unearthing the reasons Jesus lived.For Crossan, Jesus was a radical social revolutionary who confronted Roman oppression and attempted to live into an alternative version of reality. His portrayal challenges conventional Christian perspectives that see Jesus primarily as a divine figure who came to die for our sins.In books like The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (1991), Crossan presents Jesus as a figure who opposed both Roman imperial rule and the hierarchical structures of Jewish society. He describes Jesus' movement as one of radical inclusivity and nonviolent resistance. Crossan’s work has been controversial, particularly among conservative Christians, because he downplays the supernatural aspects of Jesus’ life, including the literal resurrection. Instead, he sees the resurrection as a symbolic event representing the triumph of Jesus' teachings.I’m delighted to share our conversation with you! If you are interested in learning more about the historical Jesus, this episode is a fantastic introduction. By challenging conventional wisdom and introducing his rigorous historical methods, Dom Crossan invites listeners to meet Jesus again for the first time.BIO:John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-born American theologian and former Roman Catholic priest best known for his association with the Jesus Seminar. Upon graduating from high school in Letterkenny, Ireland, in 1950, Crossan moved to Chicago, where he joined the Servites, a Roman Catholic monastic order. Ordained a priest in 1957, he returned to Ireland to study at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and received a doctorate in theology in 1959. He then studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome for two years before returning to his Servite community to teach.In 1965 he began study at the École Biblique et Archaéologie Française de Jérusalem (French Institute of Bible and Archaeology, Jerusalem). Two years later he returned to Chicago to join the faculty of the Chicago Catholic Theological Union. In 1969 he resigned from the Servite priesthood, citing a longing for academic freedom and his intention to marry. He soon joined the faculty of religious studies at Chicago’s DePaul University, where he taught until his retirement in 1995.Crossan continues to write and lecture today. His most insightful books include The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem, The First Paul, God and Empire, andJesus: A Revolutionary Biography.Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏Show notes:http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-historical-jesusFollow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.comAdvertising inquiries: [email protected] our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction!https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction!This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

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• Ep 87: MAGA Christians and the Sin of Empathy w/Gary Alan Taylor

  Episode Summary:I wrote an article almost two weeks ago titled, Trump’s Willing Executioners. Drawing on my graduate work in Holocaust Studies, I compared and contrasted the MAGA movement and Nazi Germany, and in particular, the glaring lack of empathy championed by both cults. The article went viral, encouraging me to consider a more robust analysis of how cruelty, the lack of empathy, and propaganda drives ordinary men and women to commit extraordinary crimes against humanity. We saw it in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and we are witnessing it in real time in the United States.When comparing political movements like MAGA America and Nazi Germany, it's important to approach the discussion with sensitivity and academic rigor. The comparison between the two must be grounded in the analysis of both movements' ideologies, symbols, rhetoric, and policies. Without overstating things, both movements utilized nationalism to rally support, often with a focus on restoring a golden age of past glory. Both cults also exploited social unrest, attacked the intelligentsia, created an “us vs them” mentality, and enlisted the church to absolve their crimes. More sinister, both groups embraced xenophobic rhetoric and abject racism, identifying certain groups as threats to the nation’s purity and survival. While both groups rose to power legally, the Nazi Party and the MAGA cult quickly eroded the principles of democracy in route to a fascist regime.There’s a lot of talk these days comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. I understand the analogy, but what I find even more significant is the correlation between Nazi Christians and MAGA Christians. As I said in the article, “The same cast of characters and religious propaganda that created the Holocaust are alive and well in the United States.” MAGA Christians are cruel because the MAGA cult is cruel; and MAGA Christians are cruel because cruel people tend to become MAGA members. For Trump evangelicals, empathy is a sin because cruelty is the point.In todays podcast episode, I discuss:The intersectionality between fascism and the lack of empathy.How does the MAGA cult benefit from the idea that empathy and compassion are sinful?Why do ordinary men and women often commit the most heinous offenses when they believe other people aren’t actual people?Why are prominent evangelical Christians promoting cruelty and indifference?Why are white, conservative Christians almost always on the wrong side of history and morality?How did the historical Jesus center compassion as the foundational ethic of his life and ministry?Why is compassion, and not holiness, the core attribute of God?When cult behavior, hatred of the other, and a lack of empathy come together, you create a culture of death. And it’s happening in real time here in the United States. As Pastor Robin Meyers recently warned:“America is going fascist, and it's doing so with the help of religious zealots whose real passion is for the politics of privilege, not the radically disturbing presence of Jesus. This will sound alarmist to some, but the truth is that no country ever thinks it is going fascist until it wakes up one day to that indisputable reality. Then the people will say, ‘How did this happen?’ And the answer is ‘one day at a time, and with the blessing of the church.’”This is one of the top three most important episodes we’ve ever released. I hope you will take some time today to listen, and share it with a friend.Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏Show notes:http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-sin-of-empathyFollow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.comAdvertising inquiries: [email protected] our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction!https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction!This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

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• Ep 86: The Science of Spirituality w/Dr. Rupert Sheldrake

  Episode Summary:For ten years running, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has been recognized as one of the “most spiritually influential living people in the world” by Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine. His work has been featured in many magazines, newspapers and broadcast media, including New Scientist, The Guardian, Discover magazine, The Spectator, The Washington Post, Die Zeit, the Netflix original Cunk on Life, and on BBC Radio and television.Sheldrake, a Cambridge educated biologist and author, is best known for his controversial and pioneering work on the concept of morphic resonance, which suggests that there are inherent patterns of behavior in nature influenced by past occurrences of similar patterns, creating a kind of collective memory that transcends individual organisms and time. His ideas have sparked debate, especially within the scientific community, because they challenge the mechanistic worldview that traditional science holds. Labeled a heretic within the scientific community for his embrace of spirituality, Sheldrake’s research opens up a fascinating dialogue between science and spirituality, suggesting these realms are not as separate as we’ve been told.Sheldrake argues that science and spirituality can complement each other, rather than be in opposition. He believes modern science has become too reductionist, focusing solely on material explanations and overlooking the potential for interconnectedness and universal consciousness. Spiritual practices like meditation, singing, and pilgrimage, which have long been seen as purely subjective experiences, have positive effects on the human experience that can be understood and measured through scientific research.While Sheldrake’s work doesn’t directly “prove” the spiritual benefits of practices like meditation, singing, and pilgrimage, he offers a perspective that allows for these practices to be understood scientifically. For instance, numerous studies have shown that meditation has tangible effects on the brain, such as enhancing neuroplasticity, reducing stress, and improving emotional regulation. Singing has been shown to have positive effects on mental health and can trigger the release of endorphins and oxytocin, promoting feelings of well-being and connection. Pilgrimages are associated with transformative spiritual experiences, and research on this topic shows that they often lead to positive shifts in mental health, increased sense of purpose, and connectedness with others. Sheldrake believes pilgrimages are sacred journeys that not only connect us to sacred sites, but more broadly, to the universal field of human connectivity across space and time.I sat down with Dr. Sheldrake from his home in London to discuss how his background as a world-renown scientist impacted his spiritual quest. We discussed his journey in and out of the Anglican tradition, morphic resonance, why he’s been labeled a heretic in the scientific community, the transformational power of pilgrimage, why evolution and Christianity support one another, and other existential questions like, “What really is the meaning of life?”We’ve had some incredible guests on the show over the previous five years, but Sheldrake is by far the most prominent, globally recognized scholar we’ve been fortunate enough to know and engage. Pull up a chair, grab a pen and paper, and let this luminous conversation awaken you to the “more” that surrounds us on this living, beautiful planet. Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏Show notes:http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/the-science-of-spiritualityFollow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.comAdvertising inquiries: [email protected] our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction!https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction!This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

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• Ep 85: Ecospirituality and ReWilding w/Dr. Rachel Wheeler

  Episode Summary:Dr. Rachel Wheeler joins me today on Holy Heretics to discuss ecospirituality and the practice of rewilding both our life and faith.Let’s be honest, Christians have a horrendous relationship with the natural world, best understood through a combination of harmful historical, theological, and cultural influences. Growing up evangelical meant believing the world was bad and, as a result, ecological well-being and the health of the planet were seen as secondary or unimportant compared to “getting saved.” In addition, an overt emphasis on the afterlife as well as a history of colonialism has often led to a devaluation of our earthly home.From a theological perspective, one of the most influential ideas shaping Christian attitudes toward nature is the concept of dominion described in Genesis 1:28, where humans are given authority over the Earth and its creatures. Historically, this idea was interpreted as humans being granted the right to exercise control over nature and exploit its resources. Western Christianity interpreted "dominion" not merely as stewardship but as mastery or ownership over creation. This led to an anthropocentric (human-centered) worldview, where human needs and human desires were placed above the health of ecosystems and non-human creatures.Thankfully, we are evolving.Ecospirituality has gained significant attention and popularity in the modern world due to a convergence of ecological, spiritual, political, and social challenges. It refers to a spiritual perspective that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life and emphasizes the sacredness of the natural world. It involves an awareness of the Earth’s ecosystems, the understanding that human beings are part of a larger web of life, and the recognition that spiritual growth is inherently tied to the health and well-being of the planet.Ecospirituality often incorporates elements from various spiritual traditions, including indigenous wisdom, pantheism, animism, Buddhism, and environmental ethics. It seeks to address the environmental crises through spiritual practices, such as reverence for nature, rewilding, meditation, forest bathing, and radical kinship with all sentient beings.This rising interest reflects a growing recognition that environmental issues cannot be addressed solely through scientific or political means, but also require a profound shift in our worldview, values, and spirituality.So, where do you start? How can you change your relationship with the natural world as an integral part of your faith journey?Dr. Rachel Wheeler invites us to see ourselves and the world around us in radically new, yet ancient ways. Drawing from the deep wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, Dr. Wheeler reminds us that we humans aren’t separate and distinct from creation, but in fact we are mutually dependent. While still emphasizing our human responsibility to steward the Earth and its resources, Dr. Wheeler sees human beings not as masters but caretakers and co-creators with nature. Her book, Radical Kinship: A Christian Ecospirituality, is available now!Bio:Professor Rachel Wheeler teaches courses on the Bible, Christian spirituality, ecospirituality, and spiritual practices at the University of Portland. She earned a PhD in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union Berkeley and her other degrees reflect interests in monastic studies, literature, and music. She is particularly interested in the so-called desert Christians who lived in Egyptian, Palestinian, and Syrian deserts during late antiquity and her first book, Desert Daughters, Desert Sons: Rethinking the Christian Desert Tradition, offers a feminist critique of these Christians' practices. She is also interested in how people interpret their pro-environmental behavior as spiritual. An enthusiastic knitter and cyclist, she enjoys very much living in Portland, Oregon, with her spouse and two cats.Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials 🙏Show notes:http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/ecospirituality-and-rewildingFollow us on social media! Twitter: @holyheretics | Instagram: @holyhereticspodcast | Facebook: @holyheretics | Substack: holyheretics.substack.comAdvertising inquiries: [email protected] our work on Patreon or Substack and get early access to episodes and premium content like our online class on deconstruction!https://www.patreon.com/holyheretics or subscribe to our Substack to gain access to Holy Heretics Shorts, premium content, and our online class on faith deconstruction!This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.

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