Episode 238 Jon Willis of "Wayward Willis" Podcast

Everyone's Agnostic Podcast

Jon is a father, Army veteran, computer programmer, and host of The Wayward Willis podcast. He grew up in a military family with fundamentalist Christian beliefs and at the age of 5 he accepted Jesus into his heart and was baptized. He spent the rest of his childhood pursuing his relationship with Jesus but after reading the Bible from start to finish twice he began to have doubts about the accuracy of the text and the goodness of Yahweh. His deconversion began when he left his parents' home and started interacting with people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. Though it took nearly 10 years to complete, the availability of the Internet sped it along. While shedding religious belief, Jon also shed preconceived notions about sexuality, gender norms, and Conservative ideologies. At 27 years old, Jon started blogging, tried YouTubing, and eventually started up a podcast as a progressive, liberal atheist to publicize secular humanism and push back against the harms of organized religion and credulity. We discuss reconciling with kids raised religious when the parent deconverts later on. We get into gender and sexual orientation fluidity. And lastly, we celebrate the surprised delight in feeling fully human as opposed to a temporarily postponed angel.

We taped this conversation on February 17, 2019. Thanks for listening and "Be a Yes-Sayer to What Is".

We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the world is a better place when more people live by sight, not by faith. Please subscribe to our podcast, and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, we offer these podcasts freely. And your support truly makes a difference. You can support us monetarily in two easy ways: you can pledge a monthly donation through Patreon. that’s www.patreon.com/eapodcast, or leave a lump-sum donation through PayPal at our website, www.everyonesagnostic.com.

​Produced by Cass Midgley and Marie D'Elephant

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