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The Life After Leaving Podcast: An Ex-Christadelphian Podcast

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The Life After Leaving Podcast: An Ex-Christadelphian Podcast
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  • S3 Ep. 25 Fellowship with Vanessa R
    Today we’re chatting with (another) Vanessa! In this episode, we interview our first ex-Christadelphian raised in the ā€œOld Pathsā€ sub-group of the Christadelphian sect. Vanessa shares some stories from their community such as their caravan tent version of Bible School, the strict rules baptized members were required to agree to such as never going to the movies, and about how her family refused to fellowship with ā€œCentralā€ Christadelphians while visiting. However, Vanessa was always excited to learn and even startled her Sunday School teacher with the surprising facts she shared from reading Malcolm X. Despite her then-husband’s disapproval as a young woman, she continued to read and study outside of traditional domestic fields, eventually getting her PhD (and divorcing her Christadelphian husband). We also chat about wine so watered down that even thieves returned it, people pleasing and abusive relationships after being raised in high control religion, and the therapeutic creative project she undertook after leaving. Also, this episode is dedicated to our new podcast patron saint Keanu Reeves.Ā  Please join us for another episode of fellowship among the Heathens! Listener discretion advised.Ā  Ā  Resources and References: Ā  Speed (1994 Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111257/ Ā  Keanu Reeves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keanu_Reeves Ā  Goodreads- Cult Memoirs: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/cult-memoirs Ā  Vanessa’s first book ā€˜Holy Bible: https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Vanessa-Russell-ebook/dp/B085DLDJWF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12PM33O8KXBTM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.P2UQqnx3tzVC00lQZU8J1A.UwnyG3mR0ZIKtTEP206TUR3FytgSL6LAFRXG5D6N6jg&dib_tag=se&keywords=vanessa+russell+holy+bible&qid=1746401165&s=books&sprefix=vanessa+russell+holy+bible%2Cstripbooks%2C87&sr=1-1 Ā  Vanessa's second book ā€˜The World is Not Big Enough’ https://www.amazon.com/World-Is-Not-Big-Enough/dp/1743796838 Ā  Netflix: American Murder: Gabby Petito (2025) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35590630/ Ā  Netflix: American Murder: Laci Peterson (2024) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33079160/ Ā  Gary Schaefer (1951-2023), Christadelphian Serial Killer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Schaefer Ā  EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing):Ā  https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/eye-movement-reprocessing
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  • S2 Ep. 24 Fellowship with Mako
    Today we’re chatting with Mako! In this episode, Mako shares his experience traveling the world as a (white, male) Christadelphian before spending the years following his baptism serving in Jamaica as a missionary. After marrying his (Jamaican) wife and settling in America, his eyes were opened to racism & sexism among the Christadelphians when it became directed towards his family and as Christadelphians grappled with the Black Lives Matter movement. Mako also shares the story of how his small ecclesia split, how white Christadelphians online refused to even acknowledge racism in the Christadelphian community, and how he struggled to get distance from the Christadelphian community when they held the memorial service in his house every week! We also learn about his epic baptism, that time a Sunday School teacher crushed his dreams, and about his enduring love for the beach and ocean. Towards the end of the episode we also get philosophical as we speculate about ghosts, the Kingdom of God, and on the impact on society if everyone simply decided to ā€œlet God fix itā€. Please join us for another episode of fellowship among the heathens! Ā  Listener discretion advised. Ā  White Savior Complex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_savior https://www.health.com/mind-body/health-diversity-inclusion/white-savior-complex Ā  Microaggressions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression https://www.npr.org/2020/06/08/872371063/microaggressions-are-a-big-deal-how-to-talk-them-out-and-when-to-walk-away Ā  Black Lives Matter Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/BLM https://blacklivesmatter.com/ Ā  Pascal’s wager Ā  Barbie Movie (2023) Ā  Mako’s exhortation on Love:Ā  Available on our Facebook Page (too long for the show notes!)
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  • S2 Ep. 23 Fellowship with Chloe
    Today we’re chatting with Chloe! In this episode, Chloe shares her experience being raised to be homeschooled by Christadelphians and sent to a Canadian Christadelphian Heritage College before being discouraged from pursuing higher education and having to learn how to navigate the ā€œoutside worldā€ once she hit adulthood. We also discuss mental health issues she experienced while she was a Christadelphian, how the Arranging Brothers refused to accept her resignation, and her method of using note taking to lure in a godly man. Chloe also shares her childhood ghost stories, discusses the anxious thoughts she had about the ā€œKingdom of Godā€, and opens up about the peer pressure around her baptism. We also ask, why would we ever want to be like the angels? Why is it so hard to develop close relationships as a Christadelphian? And how can we get the best roast dinner recipes now that we’ve left?Ā  Ā  Please join us for another episode of fellowship among the Heathens! Ā  *Please note that we had a technical difficulty about 58 minutes in which interrupted the conversation, whoops! Ā  Listener discretion advised.Ā  Ā  Resources and References: Ā  Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus Ā  Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell Ā  Thought Terminating Cliches:Ā  Ā  https://psychology.org.au/about-us/news-and-media/aps-in-the-media/2024/explaining-thought-terminating-cliches-and-why-we Ā  Cult Signs- Keeping Members Busy and Exhausted: ā€œ#11 Time Domination- Members are kept constantly busy to prevent independent thinkingā€ https://blog.earkick.com/25-signs-youre-in-a-cult-how-cult-leaders-keep-you-hooked/ Ā  ā€œIf you experience pressure to take part in any (or all) services, rites or rituals, and feel it would be socially costly not to take part (i.e. you might be excluded from other things, disapproved of or left out of friendship groups), you should be concerned.ā€ https://secularliturgies.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/the-25-signs-youre-in-a-high-control-group-or-cult-by-anastasia-somerville-wong/ Ā  Neville Goddard Ā  Harry Potter and Apparating: Ā  History episode mentioning ā€˜being like the angels’: Episode 13: Hypnosis, Telepathy and Ghosts Ā  Ex-Christadelphian website: Ā  Ā  Ear Biscuits Podcast: Rhett’s Spiritual Deconstruction (2020): Ā  Ear Biscuits Playlist on Spiritual Deconstruction: Ā  Ā 
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  • S2 Ep. 22 Fellowship with Sylvia
    Today we’re chatting with Sylvia! In this episode, Sylvia tells us about growing up in a family that read (and debated) the Bible together every day as ā€˜a little hippie kid’. She discusses her ā€˜radical’ experience as a Christadelphian starting in the 1960’s and ā€˜70’s in Canada where she helped found a new ecclesia, create a new bible school, and push for women to teach. She also turned heads in her meeting when her parents approved her underage marriage to an unbaptized First Nations ā€œoutsiderā€. Zinnia and Sylvia also discuss how her ideas were plagiarized for exhortations, the beliefs of First Nations people, and how David is definitely the sexiest Bible character! We also speculate about what we would want to see at an Ex-Christadelphian event. Come join us for another fellowship among the heathens and to hear about the ecclesia that was created to be ā€œjust a lot more funā€! Listener discretion is advised.Ā  Ā  Resources and References: Ā  Sylvia’s Website Ā  Sylvia’s Blog Ā  Sylvia’s Blog Post on being ā€œThe Zealot’s Daughterā€ Ā  Christadelphian ā€œTruth Corpsā€ via the Christadelphian Bible Mission of the Americas and Canada Ā  Wrested Scriptures by Ron Abel (1990) Ā  Christendom Astray by Robert Roberts Ā  Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Ā 
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  • S2 Ep. 21 The History of Christadelphian Bible Prophecy with Zinnia
    In today’s episode, Zinnia does a deep dive on the history of Christadelphian ā€œpropheciesā€ and apocalyptic predictions! She starts with the origins of the ā€œprophetic arithmeticā€ methods by a rather infamous American in the 1840’s, follows the early prophecies by John Thomas and Robert Roberts, and leads into conversations around prophecies, high control groups, and cognitive dissonance in the modern era. Ready to learn some Christadelphian history? Let's get into it! Listener Discretion Advised. Resources and References: ⁠Toy Story (1995) ā€œThe Clawā€ā  ⁠William Miller and the Great Disappointment⁠ ⁠The Great Disappointment of William Miller⁠ ⁠Millerism⁠ ⁠The Seekers⁠ ⁠The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance and the book ā€œWhen Prophecy Failsā€ā  ⁠Wikipedia: History of the Seventh-day Adventists Church⁠ More Millerite History: ⁠https://st.network/analysis/top/the-second-coming-files-a-2000-year-investigation-part-vii-adventism-after-the-great-disappointment-adventist.html⁠ ⁠https://lineagejourney.com/read/the-advent-movement-beyond-the-great-disappointment/⁠ ⁠The Disappointed: Millerite Adventists and Their ā€œNew Worldā€ā  ⁠The Advent Movement Beyond the Great Disappointment⁠ ⁠The Christadelphian Magazine/ The Ambassador of the Coming Age⁠: January 1866, October 1893, May 1893, October 1897Ā  ⁠John Thomas: His Friends & His Faith by Peter Hemingray⁠ ⁠Joseph Marsh⁠ Eureka: An Exposition of the Apocalypse by John Thomas ⁠https://www.antipas.org/pdf_files/eureka_vol_1_lg.pdf⁠ ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka:_An_Exposition_of_the_Apocalypse⁠ ⁠Elpis Israel, 7th edition 1897⁠ ⁠Elpis Israel with Publishers Comments (2000)⁠ ā ā€œMy Days and My Waysā€ by Robert Roberts⁠ ā ā€œRobert Roberts: A Study of Life and Characterā€ by Islip Collyer⁠ ⁠Whose line is it anyways⁠ ā€œThe show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matterā€ ⁠Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett⁠ ⁠Christendom Astray by Robert Roberts⁠ (including Chapter 16 and the prophecy on page 271) ⁠Wikipedia: ā€˜Christendom Astray from the Bibleā€ā  ā€œIn the 1951 edition published by ⁠The Christadelphian⁠ Office, chapter 16 entitled 'Evidence that the End is Near' was deleted because the start of the millennium age did not start as predicted by 1910.ā€ ā ā€œWhat They Said Would Happen: A Review of Christadelphians Predictionsā€ā  by John Hutchinson, January 2000Ā  ⁠Emperor Nicholas I⁠ ⁠The Crimean War⁠ ⁠A Timeline of the Crimean War⁠ ⁠The Life of John Thomas (1985)⁠ The Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, September 1861. Quote recorded in ā€œThe Life of John Thomasā€ ⁠The Princess Bride (1987)⁠ ā€œHave fun storming the castle!ā€ ⁠World War I Timeline⁠ ⁠Scooby Doo⁠ ⁠Godzilla⁠ ⁠Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (Netflix)⁠ ⁠Clifford the Big Red Dog⁠ The Bible, Matthew 24:34:Ā  "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled" ⁠Willy Wonka Golden Ticket⁠ ⁠Finding Nemo (2003)⁠ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ1KDf3O-qU⁠ ⁠Dictionary.com definition of a Christadelphian⁠: a member of a Christian millenarian sect founded in the US about 1848, holding that only the just will enter eternal life, that the wicked will be annihilated, and that the ignorant, the unconverted, and infants will not be raised from the dead ⁠Millenarianism⁠: ā€œMillenarianism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed" ⁠Apocalypticism⁠: ā€œApocalypticism is the religious belief that the end of the world is imminent, even within one's own lifetimeā€ ⁠Doomsday Cult⁠: ā€œA doomsday cult is a cult that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianismā€ ⁠Instagram: video by abbiesr⁠
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About The Life After Leaving Podcast: An Ex-Christadelphian Podcast

A podcast by ex-Christadelphians for ex-Christadelphians. Together, we dive into the history of the Christadelphians, share stories of former members leaving the sect, and cultivate community among ex-members worldwide.
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