Dr. Shawn Beaty, head pastor of Clovis Hills Community Church, joins Dustin and Jordan to discuss a commonly discussed topic for those in and outside of religion: hypocrisy. Whether the hypocrisy takes place on a stage or interpersonal relationships, it can cause people to question religion, but also more broadly questions aout what religion is here to do: if Christians do not differ in their actions from non-religious, what does that say about the claims about Christianity power to change people. Shawn, Dustin, and Jordan dig into these topics and more.

Dustin and Jordan are joined by Dr. David Tatum, who completed his PhD in Theology and Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and now teaches at Fresno Pacific University, to discuss the concept of hell, why it leads people to deconstruct, the history and landscape of the ideas about it, and how to think about reintegration where hell still remains a central tenet for many.

On today's episode of The Return, Dustin and Jordan are joined by Karen Huckaby, LMFT, who started a therapy practice called The Reclaim geared around working with people with experiences of religious abuse and spiritual trauma.

The Reclaim: A Therapy Collective Website

On today's episode, Dustin and Jordan share some book recommendations that have found helpful and believe might help you on your religious reconstruction journey.

Jordan's Recommendations:

1. Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious Ross Douthat

2. After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond Bruce Greyson, MD

3. Septology Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls

Dustin's Recommendations

1. When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes Brian Zahnd

2. Centered-Set Church: Discipleship and Community Without Judgmentalism Mark D. Baker

In the second in a series of episodes on the causes of people's religious deconstruction, Dustin and Jordan discuss one of biggest stumbling blocks for Jordan but many other religious people as well: the reality of a plurality of competing religious traditions in our world. In this episode, they discuss the various ways to think about and conceptualize about these other religious traditions: exclusivism, pluralism, and inclusivism.

If you have questions or are interested in sharing your story, please email us at thereturnreconstructionpodcast@gmail.com

In the first in a series of episodes on the causes of people's religious deconstruction, Dustin and Jordan discuss one of the thorniest issues in religion: the role of politics. In this conversation, they discuss the three main issues people have with politics role in the religious space, the history of the relationship between the two realms, a theological perspective on how these spheres intersect, and potential approaches to address this at an individual level.

If you have questions or are interested in sharing your story, please email us at thereturnreconstructionpodcast@gmail.com

In the first episode of The Return, Dustin and Jordan explore the premise of the show, what deconstruction is, and why reconstruction is challenging and complicated.

If you'd like to share thoughts, ask questions, or tell your story, please email us: thereturnreconstructionpodcast@gmail.com