Category Archives: Podcast

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Julie Ferwerda Raises Hell and Puts the Doctrine Under Fire!

Julie Ferwerda, author of Raising Hell, joins Michael on The Spiritual Brewpub podcast for a fascinating conversation on what starts a person’s journey to question hell, what stages people go through to finally reject it, and how one’s life is changed for the better as a result. Julie shares what led her to see the emotional, logical, biblical, historical, and Jewish cultural evidence that debunks hell and how she was set free from fear-based faith and began to love people naturally. 

She also gives advice to people who are questioning hell or other beliefs, whether secretly or publicly. How does one get through stages of deconstruction? Hear from Julie on that question and more–and her plans for her next book on addressing “the problem of evil.” Grab your favorite brew and join us! 

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The Bible—A Record of Humanity’s Moral Development: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly



Coming out of evangelicalism years ago, I always struggled with how to reconcile parts of the Bible. When I started to study history, however, there were several mysteries I solved about the Bible that totally blew me away and helped me finally make sense of most of it. I’m going to share those with you on today’s podcast.

Buckle your seat belts and let’s take a ride together off the mythological Bible Belt Interstate and onto the road-less-traveled historic Bible Byway.


What You Will Learn:

  • Why the Bible can’t be inerrant and an altogether true record of history and God’s character
  • Why the Bible should not, however, be viewed as irrelevant for today
  • How the Bible is a collection of dissenting views on the character of God and human morality
  • The ways the Bible critiques itself, e.g. in the sacrificial system and violent retribution narratives
  • The stark contrast in the Bible’s narrative of violent sacrificial religion vs. social justice of the prophets and the non-violent love ethic of Jesus and Paul
  • How the Bible can be viewed as a record of humanity’s moral development
  • What narratives rise to the top that will help our local and global communities overcome conflict, violence, war, and harmful fundamentalist religion
Also, Michael shares plans and hopes of forthcoming interviews. Grab a brew and enjoy responsibly! Be sure to ask questions and make comments below, pro or con.
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Episode 2 – Contrasting the Original Jesus Movement with Christianity

Welcome to The Spiritual Brewpub Podcast, a safe haven for ex-evangelicals or anyone restless about their faith or religion in general. In Episode 2, the topic is: Contrasting the Original Jesus Movement with Christianity – or The Difference Between Jesus and Christianity. 

How it will help you: This episode will help you understand logical reasons you may have rejected evangelicalism, fundamentalism, church, and/or parts of the Bible, even though you still see the wisdom of Jesus. It will give you ideas on how to reconcile it all. Understand how the positive things you saw/see in Jesus got you into a religious system that turned out to be spiritually abusive. Then learn to differentiate the historical Jesus movement from the corruption found in modern religion and many churches so you can decide how to reconstruct or come to terms with your faith and experience. 

Bonus Blurb: Learn the pitfalls of religion by hearing the “10 Reasons Beer is Better than Religion.” 

Quote of the Week: The quote comes from Garry Wills, Author of “What Jesus Meant.” A critic of both evangelicalism and some liberal streams of religion, Garry helps us avoid religious traps and focus on what matters most. 

Follow Podcast Here | All Episodes Here

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Episode 1 – Why Understanding Good History Matters in One’s Spiritual Life

Welcome to The Spiritual Brewpub Podcast, a safe haven for ex-evangelicals or anyone restless about their faith or religion in general. On this Episode 1, the topic is: Why Understanding Good History Matters in One’s Spiritual Life – A Former Evangelical’s Discovery. Learn about the big idea that a sound study of history is critical to helping one form a spiritual worldview. 

Most Christians, and I suspect most people in any religion, tend to forget or never really know their own religion’s history. As Diane Butler Bass says, we get spiritual amnesia. Only by remembering one’s history – whether that’s history of the church, the Bible, its compilation, or the history of the cultures of antiquity, can one get grounded.

By forgetting its history (or never really learning it or just having a biased or selective history), religion comes up with some really, wacky and wild ideas that need to be debunked. This podcast will focus on using good, comprehensive history to debunk some of these crazy ideas. But also show how good historical study not only leads to debunking things, but also leads to a more authentic spirituality. Grab your brew of choice and join us.

Follow Podcast Here | All Episodes Here