Escaping Christadelphianism - an Interview with Zinnia
Totalitarian control is popular in religious groups. Zinnia escaped the Christadelphian church a few years back, and now she hosts a podcast (Life After Leaving) all about supporting ex-Christadelphians to tell their stories and find support. Zinnia tells us about the history of the movement, from the magazine-selling origins of John Thomas, who finally named his cult to get conscientious objector status during the American Civil War. The ecclesia wields a lot of power over its members, much of it s terrifying overreach. Warning: content includes abuse, murder, and sexual misconduct.All this and more...You can WATCH this interview on YouTube.Support us on Patreon to listen to the rest of this interview.You can get our merch at Spreadshop.Join the Community on Discord.Learn more great religion factoids on Facebook and Instagram.
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Torah! Torah! Torah!
Previously a Patreon Exclusive episode: We're opening the vault to showcase some of our older subscriber content.For the first time, Katie reads the Torah (The Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses), the first chunk of the Hebrew Bible (AKA Old Testament).Join us for this sacred journey through the most significant books in all of human history--according to the western perspective.The Torah includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For good measure, we also discuss the direct sequel: Joshua.These books describe the origins of the Jewish people and their religious identity.All this and more.... This episode was originally published on Patreon , 9 August 2021.Support us at Patreon and SpreadshirtJoin the Community on DiscordLearn more great religion facts on Facebook and Instagram
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Reviewing Belief
Is belief a choice, or are our beliefs inherent to us? How do we decide whether something is true or not? With more than 8 billion people on the planet, there are about 10,000 different types of religious beliefs. How do we come to our conclusions? Epistemology is a complex area of philosophy that deals with how we process information and decide if something is fact or fiction. We explore the difference between proof and evidence, and the various kinds of evidence that we use to support our beliefs.All this and more.... This episode was originally published 12 April 2021Support us at Patreon and SpreadshirtJoin the Community on DiscordLearn more great religion facts on Facebook and Instagram
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Can't Buy Me Love
Martin Luther is a hero to countless Christians around the world. The birth of European Protestantism and the Lutheran Church cannot be expressed without citing the 95 theses that Martin Luther posted to the church door on Halloween 1517. A diet of worms follows.Whether you want to celebrate Fred the Wise or Pope Leo X, big changes came to Western Christendom because of Martin Luther's refusal to back down from a fight he believed in. He also believed that God wants people to suffer, so we'll take the whole thing in parts, favoring some things and not others.... We examine the Five Solae: Fidae, Scriptura, Gratia, Christus, and Deo Gloria; and how Protestantism differs from the Imperial tradition from which it was born. We also take a look at contemporary protestors, like Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Menno Simons, the anabaptists of Zurich, and the dramatic climax of Guy Fawkes' treasonous Gun Powder Plot.All this and more....Support us on Patreon or you can get our merch at Spreadshop. Join the Community on Discord. Learn more great religion factoids on Facebook and Instagram.
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Sufi-Caliph-Rajah-Mystic-expialidocious
Tasawwuf is the old word for dressing in wool, the typical identifier for a monk, ascetic, and mystic. Today, we pronounce it Sufi.The Sufi tradition dates back to the foundation of Islam, though both adherents and opponents have claimed that it's even older than Islam--certainly some of the ideas are....The Goal is Tawhid, the perfect union with Allah (the God of the Hebrew Bible). The Prophet Muhammad is also revered as a god because of his achievement in this pursuit. The most well regarded traditions have master-apprentice chains that can be traced as far back as the best hadiths, and can be compared to the Jedi--or, we try, anyway.We explore some Sufi poetry, and note that Rumi is the most popular poet in the world. Rumi is also the founder of a Sufi tradition known as the Whirling Dervishes--a phrase coopted by insensitive parents in the 80s and 90s. Sufis, like many other groups, have been the object of abuse and even terrorism around the world.All this and more...Support us on Patreon or you can get our merch at Spreadshop. Join the Community on Discord. Learn more great religion factoids on Facebook and Instagram.
Welcome to the Holy Watermelon podcast, where a Christian and an atheist talk about the weird and wonderful things that people do because of what they believe. It's a show about religious studies.
Join us, Katie and Preston, as we dive into the world of comparative religion. We use humor and research to have real, challenging, and uproarious conversations about the world's religious traditions and behaviors.
If you're interested in religious studies, learning about other people and cultures, or fun facts for your dinner conversation, tune in to our monthly episodes.
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