A Matter of Doubt Podcast

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.

Welcome to another episode of A Matter of Doubt. In this episode we sit down with Ben Donahue, co-host of the No God Cast podcast, and Co-Executive of the Secular Coalition for Colorado. Ben is a former Catholic who left his beliefs behind to pursue his interest in secular activism. Topics of our discussion include; the crusades, the inquisition, the meaning of life, and men’s rights in regards to abortion.
Be sure to check out Secular Programming!

Welcome back to A Matter of Doubt. In this episode we speak with Jason about his once all-over-the-place beliefs, the turmoil they’ve helped cause, and the joy he now feels having stopped holding on to them. Hear how he went from Seventh-Day Adventist to Mormon to Baptist to Atheist. Be sure to stay tuned for our next episode!

www.recoveringfromfreligion.org

RR Tri-Cities, WA https://www.facebook.com/RRTricities

https://www.facebook.com/center4reason

https://twitter.com/CenterForReason

http://secularprogramming.org/

Purchase the live stream of the Florida Humanist Conference.
http://floridahumanist.org/live-stream/

Welcome listeners to another episode of A Matter of Doubt. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Christian Anderson, a former Mormon believer and author of the following blogs, http://christiankanderson.blogspot.com/ and http://swearingelders.blogspot.com/. He discusses at length his de-conversion story and in the process, reveals many of the hidden ceremonies and practices of the Mormon church. Be sure to check out the links below for more in depth facts about the Mormon faith.
List of 613 Mormon Rules - http://www.afterallwecando.com/
PBS Frontline Video “The Mormons” http://video.pbs.org/video/1460817958/

In this episode we speak with John, the Counter Apologist, to discuss his thoughts on the Moral Argument and Euthyphro's Dilemma. In addition, he offers his own version of the Argument from Hell and we discuss the merits of both in great detail. Be sure to check out his blog and Youtube channel! http://counterapologist.blogspot.com/

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt we speak with David from the Gamma Atheist blog. David does not really have a deconversion story so we spend the time freely discussing any and all things related to religion and atheism. A majority of our discussion centers on parenting tactics as a secular person with children. We conclude our discussion with the importance of local activism. Be sure to check out David’s atheist hangouts available on his blog! Follow him on Twitter @GammaAtheist

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt we speak with cognitive neuroscience Ph.D. candidate, Matthew Facciani. Matt describes how interests in neuroscience eventually caused him to doubt his Catholicism. We conclude our discussion with his involvement in the Feminism movement.

Welcome back to another episode of A Matter of Doubt. In this episode we speak with Rich and Deanna Joy Lyons, hosts of the podcast Living After Faith. Living After Faith is the official podcast of Recovering From Religion.org. Rich and Deanna share with us their stories of deconversion. Deanna explains how her troubled upbringing as a foster child brought about her disdain for religion. Rick wraps up our discussion with his struggle with PTSD as a result of terrible and conflicting experiences as a former pastor and believer.

This episode of A Matter of Doubt features an interview with Noah Lugeons, host of the incredibly hilarious podcast, The Scathing Scathing Atheist. Noah tells his story of being raised by his parents with a complete lack of religion. But later in his life, his mother fell seriously ill and his father turned to the church for support. Noah witnessed a man he has known and loved his whole life, go from content, to a curmudgeonly old man. This changed Noah’s attitude toward religion from being somewhat apathetic, to anti-theist. Noah says that revealed religion will always be a problem because it gives fallible human beings the authority of God.

In this episode of A Matter of Doubt, we sit down with Amy Monsky and her son Jake to tell us all about Camp Quest South Carolina, which is a summer camp for humanist and freethinking families. Amy also explains how her parents tried very hard to raise her to be a good Catholic, but she just had too many doubts. Amy Monsky is the Camp Director of Camp Quest South Caolina and President of Secular Humanists of the Low Country in Charleston, SC.

Welcome back to another installment of A Matter of Doubt! We are very pleased to speak with Kenny Wyland, creator of the Liberal Geek blog. In this episode Kenny shares with us his deconversion from being a Jehovah’s Witness and sheds light on some of the perceived peculiarities of the religion. We conclude our discussion with some thoughtful and candid observations about the religious and speak in general about religion and atheism.