Deconstructing From Our First Love
Elizabeth Stoeckel Elizabeth Stoeckel

Deconstructing From Our First Love

Liz and Debi both fell in love with Jesus and The Evangelical Christian Church when we were young. We met the men we would marry in church, raised our babies in the faith, and built relationships we thought would last a lifetime. But those relationships didn't last and our faith has been tested and tried again and again.

So, why do we still care about the institution that broke our hearts and shook the faith right out of our families? We believe there's still good to be found and hearts to be mended. Perhaps the American Evangelical's view of Biblical inerrancy ought to be re-examined.

For more about global Christianity and the way the world’s view of God and the Bible differs from American Christianity, check out the works of Australian theologian Michael Bird.

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Dancing With Abortion
Elizabeth Stoeckel Elizabeth Stoeckel

Dancing With Abortion

In the 1970's most conventional American Christians believed that abortion in some cases should be legal and safe. Most mainstream Christians supported Roe vs. Wade because they recognized that women getting "back-alley abortions" were being maimed and even killed.

In the early 1980’s the “anti-abortion” coalition worked to change its messaging. The “pro-choice” side was perceived as positive, while the “anti-abortion” side was perceived as negative. As soon as they successfully changed their marketing to “pro-life”, they were seen in a much more positive light. Today “pro-life” doesn’t mean “one who defends all life”, but rather it means, “one who doesn’t believe in a woman’s right to choose her own medical care”. In this episode, Liz expresses her anger at learning the extreme hatred that was taught to her kids by their Sunday School teachers when they were little. They were taught that women who had abortions were murderers and AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. In her naïveté, she believed her kids were simply being taught to love God and love people, but she was wrong.

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Deconstruction With Pastor Paul
Elizabeth Stoeckel Elizabeth Stoeckel

Deconstruction With Pastor Paul

Paul Swearengin grew up in a conservative Evangelical Christian home. His dad was a pastor, and after a rebellious period, he too became an Evangelical Christian pastor. Paul and his wife Ashley planted a church in Fresno, California, but his heart was unsettled.

Spiritual deconstruction is hard and it involves losing friends and family you never thought you’d lose. Living with peace and integrity, however, is worth it all.

Get Paul’s book, “When Joseph Comes To Town”

www.pastor-paul.com

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