In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Jon Ward to discuss his new book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation. We discuss his role as a border-stalker between cultural and religious boundaries, why the Evangelical movement struggles with understanding minority experience, his own religious journey after leaving Evangelicalism, and much more.
Continue reading “How To Be a Border-Stalker | Jon Ward”
In this episode I speak with Jon Steingard, former frontman of the Christian band Hawk Nelson. Jon made waves in 2020 by announcing his departure from Christian faith, and I invited him onto the show to talk about his journey. Along the way we discussed philosophy, growing up Christian, the Christian music industry, Satanism, how we relate to Christians as non-believers, and much more. You can find Jon Steingard here.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Losing Faith With Jon Steingard”
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I speak with pastor, author, and astrophysicist Paul Wallace about his journey as an astrophysicist who can’t shake his faith in God. We discuss Galileo, quantum physics, the interactions between faith and science, why I personally don’t believe in God, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Love and Quasars, feat. Paul Wallace”
I have a track record of alienating my fans, and I think we are in the middle of another mass departure. Over the past 2 weeks, there has been an alarmingly high number of unsubscribes from my work, and many people who were once vocal supporters have now withdrawn. Where once there was standing ovation for my work on LGBT equality in the church, there are now crickets.
For those of you who are still with me, thank you. For those of you who have just discovered my work by way of atheism, Satanism, and the occult, I’m delighted to have you along for the ride. And for those of you have have decided to opt out, I hold no ill will towards you. I thank you for your time with me, and I wish you all the best.
Continue reading “I Don’t Care What you Think About My Satanism”
When I was deep in the Evangelical fold, doubt was sometimes discussed as a temporary and seasonal necessity. Doubt was talked about as a period of testing, in which we just had to lean in to prayer and trust, even in the face of an insurmountable void of evidence. Inevitably, they said, this season would come to an end, the winter would turn to spring, and you would know without a doubt that God is real. In other words, doubt was understood as a sort of spiritual flu — a seasonal disruption that builds our immune systems.
Continue reading “When Doubt is Terminal”
I’ve spent a great deal of time on this blog exploring the ways in which my faith has transformed from the reassuring, cozy, traditional Christianity of my childhood. I’ve wandered far from home into nontheism, flirted with blasphemy, and questioned the existence of the supernatural altogether.
Continue reading “Why I Still Call Myself a Christian”
In this episode I talk to film-maker Christopher Maloney about his latest documentary, In God We Trump, which explores the confounding relationship between Trump and the evangelical world.
Around this time last year, I buried my cousin. Ian was a vegan, atheist, and environmentalist so dedicated to the cause of caring for the earth that his principles extended even to his death. After a physicist gave a science lesson on what would happen to Ian’s body, and how he would nourish the tree that would be planted over him, we took shovels and buried what was left of Ian. He was wrapped in purple linen, and the cancer had reduced his frame to a frail shadow of his former fit, powerful, athletic self.
The ceremony was void of any spirit, symbol, or God. I was disquieted by the that, and yet I was moved. I was moved by Ian’s commitment to science, and his care for the earth. I was tempted to call the funeral hopeless, but realized that wasn’t right. The funeral was full of love, conviction, and hope, and didn’t need to say anything about an afterlife. That wasn’t the point of Ian’s life – Ian was about the here and now, the earth, the injustices that plagued the planet now. He didn’t believe in the afterlife, and that lack of belief thrust him headfirst into the present. Plus, it wasn’t my funeral. Who was I to cast judgement on Ian’s wishes? That would be tasteless.
Continue reading “Does an Afterlife Make This Life Meaningful?”
Last week, as I was talking to another fellow deconstruction survivor, I had a realization. I suddenly understood that what made my falling apart of faith so painful, so overwhelming, was not just the trauma of an unprecedented paradigm shift, but a breaking of myself.
I recently had a fun, engaging, meeting-of-the-minds conversation with former Scientologist Chris Shelton for his Sensibly Speaking show. In our conversation we discussed struggling with atheism, deconstruction of faith, inner truth vs. outer truth, speaking in tongues, yoga, and much more. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I hope you enjoy listening to it.
Continue reading “An Esoteric Christian and a Former Scientologist Have a Conversation”
Stephen Bradford Long 