Ep. 73-Miss Ashley: No Religion Required

In this episode, Miss Ashley and Bobby C from the No Religion Required Podcast join Steve in the studio. Ashley tells us her story of being baptized in more than one Baptist church. Then she talks about being in an abusive relationship and how turning to Buddhism helped her to overcome some of the anger she had toward her abuser. Now, she may or may not be an atheist, you'll have to listen to find out.

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In this episode, we chat with Bill and Suzy from the Bar Room Atheist Podcast. We talked about the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in South Carolina! Then Suzy tells her deconversion story from Nazarene Christian, and Bill tells us about how he was raised as an Irish Catholic.

http://www.barroomatheist.com/

After a long hiatus, A Matter of Doubt is back with an interview with the husband and wife co-hosts of The Atheists Next Door YouTube channel, Cory and Bridget Ludwa O'Hanlon. Bridget is a former Catholic and Cory is a former non-denominational Christian. In this episode we hear both of their de-conversion stories, a bit about coming out as atheists, and family troubles as they approach the birth of their first child.

Subscribe to The Atheists Next Door Youtube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAtheistsNextDoor/feed

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, we interview ex-pastor, Dan, known as The Apostate Pastor. (@apostate_pastor)
Dan grew up in a conservative Baptist home going to church 2-3 times a week. He had some rebellious teenage years, like many do. Later in life, Dan developed an insatiable desire to know God. This led him to reading tons of theology books along with the bible, and eventually to become a pastor for 5 years. One doubt led to another, and he left the church in 2012. Dan shares with us 15 things about Christianity that he could not reconcile. And those are the reasons he is a happy atheist today.

In this episode, Steve has a chat with DJ who writes a blog called Skepticism Over Salvation. While growing up, DJ’s parents where did not take her to church. But her cousin invited her to a Pentecostal church, and although she found it scary, DJ continued to attend. She recounts for us many tales from her time as a believer. She had to console a friend who was in tears after a pastor threatened them with hell fire for masturbating. At one church DJ attended, the head pastor had a problem with the youth pastor because his WIFE was pregnant. He thought that the youth would see how happy this couple was, and then go and have sex because of it. Hear those stories and more in DJ’s de-conversion story from Pentecostal to atheist.

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, our guest Bobby Cary, shares his de-conversion story. It is a story of many years of childhood physical abuse. Bobby struggled with the cognitive dissonance of pastors preaching about a god of love, compared with the constant beatings he received both at home, and even in church. The fear of hell was very real for Bobby, and he tells us about his long struggle to overcome that fear. Bobby’s story is a testament to the fact that life is so much better without God.
Visit Bobby’s Blog: http://noreligionrequired.wordpress.com/

In this episode, we ask Scott, a former monk of 14 years with Self-Realization Fellowship Monastic Order, how he deconverted from Catholicism to join an Eastern-Mystical religion. He discusses with us his daily metaphysical practices as a monk, his struggles with celibacy and ashram politics, and eventual escape out to become atheist. Be sure to check out Scott’s blog- Skeptic Meditations: a former monk’s journey from ashram to atheism (www.SkepticMeditations.com)
Explore these links for a peek and critique of Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF):
SRF cult and controversies: http://www.freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=552
Autobiography of a Yogi (the SRF bible by Guru, Founder, Paramahansa Yogananda)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autobiographyofayogi
Free Online: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi
Disclaimer: The interviewee, Scott, does not speak for any other person, organization, nor for Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) or it’s members or affiliates.

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, we hang out with former Jehovah's Witness, Donny Reed. He tells us tales of getting in trouble with church elders for saying fuck, and for going down on his own wife. One of the elders was spying on him with the suspicion that he might be reading apostate literature, and sharing it with other members of the church. Donny shares many of the strange beliefs held by Jehovah's Witnesses, including the collection of several past dates they've predicted as the end of the world. We hear about the importance of the governing body and how they claim that Jehovah's Witnesses are the "thinkingest people on the planet."

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, we sit down with Tim Kitevski as he shares his progression of religious beliefs from Seventh-Day Adventist to atheist. Even though Tim does not come from a fundamentalist upbringing, he tells of the psychological stress a person goes through with even a mild religious background.

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, we sit down to talk with Christopher Krzeminski, author of What Are You Without God?: How to Discredit Religious Thought and Rebuild your Identity and I Am: Marco’s Anthology. First, we talk about Christopher’s Catholic upbringing and his journey to atheism. Second, we discuss how his first book shows that rational thought is superior to religious thought. We end our discussion talking about how society has left us ill-equipped to understand our emotions, and Christopher thinks this is one reason why religion persists in modern society.