
75 episodes

I was a Teenage Fundamentalist. An Exvangelical podcast. Brian McDowell & Troy Waller
-
- Religion & Spirituality
-
-
4.7 • 87 Ratings
-
This honest and often hilarious podcast peeks behind the curtain at the weird, the worrying, and sometimes traumatic world of Evangelicals and Pentecostals.
Shortlisted at the 2022 Australian Podcast Awards.
Exvangelical. ExChristian. Religious trauma. Recovery.
-
073 - I was a Pentecostal Theologian with Shane Clifton (Progressive Christians Part 5)
Shane Clifton taught Theology and Ethics at one of Australia's leading Pentecostal Bible Colleges from 1999 to 2018. During this time Shane had an accident that left him with a C5 spinal cord injury (quadriplegia) which radically altered his life and his faith. After a lengthy and traumatic fight over academic freedom and his support for LGBTQI+ inclusion in the church, he left the college and his Pentecostal denomination. Shane is today an honorary associate at the Centre for Research Development and Policy at the University of Sydney and Director, Policy with the Australian Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation against People with Disability.
You can connect with Shane via his blog: Shane Clifton – Riding the current.
---
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ -
072 - Was Keith Green a Cult Leader?
Keith Green was one of CCM’s most revered and loved music superstars of the 1970s and 80s. Spoiler alert! Tracey Phalen thinks he was a cult leader! She was a member of Keith and Melody Green's Last Days Ministries in the 1980s. She joined as a teenage fundamentalist and left after five years of living and serving on the Texas ranch. In this episode, Tracey shares her story and helps Brian and Troy deconstruct Keith Green and Last Days Ministries.
You can follow Tracey on Instagram.
Melody Green's biography of Keith Green and memoir of life at Last Days Ministry, No Compromise is available here.
---
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ -
071 - Fear of Hell (The Afterlife Part 2)
In this first episode of Season 4, Brian & Troy unpack some of the most problematic and ridiculous aspects of the doctrine of eternal torment, aka Hell. They also give some suggestions on how to overcome your fear of Hell.
The resources suggested in this episode are:
Christian
That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation: Hart, David Bentley
Grace Saves All: Christianity and Universal Salvation Podcast
Love Wins: At the Heart of Life’s Big Questions : Bell, Rob
Post-Christian
Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife : Ehrman, Bart D
Bart Ehrman on the Humanize Me Podcast
Am I Going to Hell?: Bart Ehrman
--
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ -
(REPEAT) - Jobs for the Boys! Nepotism in Megachurches
If there's one thing that characterises megachurches in Australia and around the world, it's nepotism. Brian & Troy cite some tangible examples of nepotism in the Australian Christian Churches and Hillsong, discuss why this needs to change and what members can do about it.
Note: It is this New York Post article that reported Michael Guglielmucci, 'and his spouse, or “Team Gug,” should resign their roles at his father Danny’s church, Edge Church International, and sell their home and relocate to Port Adelaide.'
We'll be back February 17th, 2023.
---
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Email: hhandhillsong@gmail.com
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ -
070 - Falling Out with a Teenage Fundamentalist
Elgen Strait is the host of Falling Out, a podcast about and for people who grew-up in, and later left, abusive cults. Elgen was born and raised in the Unification Church, a.k.a. the Moonies. Elgen invited Troy & Brian on to his special Christmas episode, where they swapped stories and examined the similarities and differences between the Pentes and the Moonies. They also talked about how both groups celebrate Christmas and some of the wackier beliefs.
You can find Elgen's podcast here: https://pod.link/1550448436
---
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Email: hhandhillsong@gmail.com
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ -
069 - Season 3 Q&R Finale
This is it, the end of Season 3! Troy & Brian reflect on 2022 and some of the milestone episodes they released. They also field listener questions from social media and reveal what they have planned for Season 4 in 2023.
In this episode, Brian suggested the following from one of his favourite podcasts, Oh No, Ross and Carrie.
How the Ross Stole Christmas: Jesus’ Birth Narrative Edition: https://pod.link/425328515/episode/6eef1d266ef352aba825b9db256e4f72
---
Transcript of the episode is here.
Podcast links: https://linktr.ee/iwatf
Email: hhandhillsong@gmail.com
Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help. Please visit: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/
Customer Reviews
Therapy for ex-fundies
I love this podcast and the Facebook group that accompanies it. It’s raw and honest. It’s like therapy for ex-fundies. It’s so powerful to listen to the podcast and realise that the path to the deconstruction of the harm religion does is not unique.
Listen, be informed but don’t give up on your spiritual journey
This show can become compulsive listening. If you have been in fundamentalist religion and Pente /evangelical circles for a long period of time you will relate to the stories they tell and the revelations that unfold. There will be lots of aha moments as you discover what was going on.
But, it will not help your faith especially if it’s hanging on by a thread. You may end up atheist or agnostic as the producers are and might simply want to wipe that period of your history. Thing is you were not a fool, you were very sincere in your desire to follow Jesus. Narcissistic leaders let you down big time and organizational structures fostered co- dependent and abusive behavior. What happened can be viewed in the cultural context of that time. You were going through recognizable stages of faith.
To be Terribly Honest, this show will not help you in your journey to spiritual wholeness. It may leave you feeling cynical and deeply wounded. There are better podcasts out there to help you do that.
Great if you’ve been in this kind of church
This podcast is a revelation for people who have never been in this type of church but to those who have been, it rings true.