leaving religion
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Deprogramming with Gillian Jenkinson
Read more: Deprogramming with Gillian JenkinsonJust got an update from Gillian Jenkinson: Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army BBC2 27 July and 3 August 9pm I had the privilege of being filmed delivering Post-Cult Counselling in a Recovery Workshop for a documentary “Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army” with four amazing survivors. This was filmed at my house…
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Be like Cathy
Read more: Be like CathyWhen I was 14 or 15 years old and still a Christian, a boy who was older than me (17, I think) told me that God wanted me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t reciprocate but I was worried enough about it that I asked an older female friend, Cathy, what she thought. Luckily for…
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A healing journey
Read more: A healing journeyA new book from Moss Matthey, An apostate’s guide to witchcraft: finding freedom through magic, explores his personal journey from fundamentalist Christianity to witchcraft. Moss writes: This book is about my journey from a fundamentalist Christian cult to the joyous and freeing world of Witchcraft. Blending my personal experience with gentle exercises, this book is for anyone who is…
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ExVangelical solidarity
Read more: ExVangelical solidarityFantastic article from John Beckett (polytheist UU Druid) on the rise of the ExVangelical movement and how to get the tentacles of Christianity out of your brain.
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Alanah Sabatini
Read more: Alanah SabatiniBeautiful music for deconstruction from toxic religions by Alanah Sabatini, who has just released an EP of reclaimed hymns. It’s available on Bandcamp and YouTube now, and on all the major streaming services next Friday: It’s very calming and could be sung as a group. It would work well in Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, and Pagan…
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Repost: Should I stay or should I go?
Read more: Repost: Should I stay or should I go?Should I stay or should I go? Exploring a journal prompt from chapter 2 of “Changing Paths” Excellent post from Jarred reflecting on one of the journal prompts from Changing Paths. Hello dear readers! It’s Friday morning so that means once again exploring a journal prompt from the wonderful book, Changing Paths… Should I stay…
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State funding removed from Norwegian JWs
Read more: State funding removed from Norwegian JWsIn Norway, subject to rules about not being coercive or oppressive, all religious groups can apply for state funding. Due to the JWs’ practice of disfellowshipping and shunning people who leave, including children, the Norwegian government has removed their funding. Friendly Atheist: Norwegian court upholds ban on state funding of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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We need to talk about miracles
Read more: We need to talk about miraclesThere are many wonderful things that we could classify as miracles: the capacity for love, the beauty of a sunny morning, dew on roses, the ability to paint or compose a masterpiece, and many other natural wonders. Many Pagans believe in healing energies and such; but we tend to regard them as supplementary to conventional…
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Religious trauma workbook
Read more: Religious trauma workbookI’m excited to see that Gillian Jenkinson’s book is out! Gillian Jenkinson is a therapist with extensive experience in helping people break free of harmful beliefs dinned into them by cults. I quoted her work in Changing Paths (my book) and I’ve been looking forward to her book coming out. It’s also very reasonably priced,…
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Wobbling
Read more: WobblingChanging Paths challenge day 26 — wobbling Spiritual wobbles can happen when your spiritual path becomes out of synch with your religious community. They can be dry spells, when it feels as if the source of your spiritual life has dried up, or the wobble can propel you out of your old path and into…
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Wandering
Read more: WanderingChanging Paths challenge day 25 — wandering Wandering, like wavering and wondering, is a good thing. There is a whole genre of songs in German called Wanderliede, about hiking. And as JRR Tolkien wisely remarked, not all those who wander are lost.
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Anger is valid
Read more: Anger is validI said that anger is valid because it helps to propel us out of dangerous and abusive situations in Changing Paths (the book). I love that Jo Luehmann has talked about the neurological aspects of processing your anger in this post, and most importantly talking about it—absolutely brilliant. I think that if you turn anger…
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Things I don’t miss
Read more: Things I don’t missChanging Paths challenge day 12 — things I don’t miss about the traditions I have left.
Changing Paths 