Religious Trauma, Healthy Spirituality, and the Psychology of Deconstruction w/ Jef Caine [Episode 107]

The Intentional Clinician: Psychology, Philosophy, Therapy, & Change

Paul Krauss MA LPC and Jef Caine take on the heavy and controversial topics of religious trauma, healthy spirituality, and the psychology of deconstruction. In this 2.5 hour long-form episode, Paul and Jef discuss both the larger zeitgeist of religion and spirituality in the culture as well as their personal experiences with Christianity and other religions. Paul and Jef dive deep into the deconstruction of the Christian faith and theology and many other topics (listed below). This is an episode you are going to want to take time to listen to.

Jef Caine, is a skeptic and a host of the podcast: The Forest and the Trees (A Pastor and a Skeptic Read the Bible Together. It’s not as boring as it sounds.) Jef is also an amazing graphic designer and former megachurch employee and evangelical.

• All Books, Resources, and Articles mentioned available here.
• Deconstruction: a method of critical analysis of philosophical and literary language which emphasizes the internal workings of language and conceptual systems, the relational quality of meaning, and the assumptions implicit in forms of expression.

Also Discussed: Growing up with the Christian Faith, Deconstructing one’s experience, Losing the Christian Faith, The Forest and the Trees Podcast, Sapiens (Book), Humans seek meaning, Reason & Logic, Age of Enlightenment, Scientific Method, History of the Christian Church, Violence, Sacred Texts, Reinterpretation of Texts, Biblical Literal-ism versus Metaphor, Creationism, Evolution, Monotheism, Homo-sapiens, Neanderthals, Anthropology, Storytelling, What is a Safe Community, What is Religious Trauma, Power, Control, Abuse of Power, Relationship Advice, Secular Therapy versus Christian “therapy”, Jesus’ teaching, Christianity’s opinions on divorce, marriage, Evangelicals, LGBTQIA issues and Christianity, How therapy works versus “telling people what to do”, a power stance from a religions, prayer rooms, Christian therapists, Deconstructionism, the big questions: Why are we here? What are we doing?, Joseph Campbell, Tribal rituals, Mythology, hedonism, what truly satisfies people, What is practicing Spirituality, Alcoholics Anonymous, Higher Power, Interfaith, What is Hell, Tribalism, Us versus Them, God is Love, Competing Religions, Nationalism, Cults, Dehumanizing others, God is an idea, Book Clubs, Historical Context, Hermeneutics, Spiritual Practice versus co-opting religion for power, cherry picking versus and issues, historical contexts of the Bible, King James Version, Concordant Version of the Bible, Cultural Context, Learning from the stories, David & Goliath, The Good Samaritan, “The one truth”, heretics, “lost souls”, Hell, Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, Jonathan Edwards, the religious right, yes we talk about Trump, inner work, Transcendental Meditation, Contemplative Prayer, rites of passage, ritual sacrifice, cultism, selling something, Spiritual Bypassing, Healthy Spirituality, Self Reflection, Colonization, St. Francis of Assisi, Healthy Spiritual Practices, Open-minded Interpretations, Introspection, Dogma, Critical Thinking, Synchronicity, Loving Others, and more!

--->Resources for further learning:

Books:

• Hope Beyond Hell multiple FREE books and audio books by Gerry Beauchemin, Protestant Missionary.
• The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
• That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation by David Bentley Hart
• The Story of Christianity: An Illustrated History of 2000 Years of the Christian Faith David Bentley Hart
• Bitten By a Camel: Leaving Church, Finding God by Kent Dobson
• What is the Bible? By Rob Bell
• Love Wins by Rob Bell
• The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
• The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca
• The Bible as a Dream by Murray Stein
• A People’s History of The United States by Howard Zinn

• 11 Books to Read If You’re Deconstructing Your Faith

• Deceptions and Myths of the Bible The True Origins of the Stories of Adam and Eve, Noah's Flood, the Tower of Babel, Moses and Mount Sinai, the Prophets, the Judges and Kings, and the Story of Christ Will Shock and Amaze the Faithful, Atheists, and Agnostics Alike! By Lloyd Graham

Resources:

• The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers (audio/ video program)
• What is Biblical Literalism?
• https://tentmaker.org/ --lists of books, some books free online, articles, good historical info about Christian universalism and other subjects.
• concordant.org -- lists of books, free online audio & books, articles, books for purchase, free study tools for Greek & Hebrew
• Young's Literal Translation of the Bible; Rotherham's Emphasized Bible
• A documentary on the Gnostic Gospels
• Eternal Conscious Torment discussed by Emerson Green (lecture)

Writers and Scholars Referenced:

• Joseph Campbell
• Joseph Campbell Foundation
• Matthew Fox
• Rainn Wilson
• Richard Rohr - The Center for Action and Contemplation
• Rob Bell
• martinzender.com --free video & audio, articles, books by MZ for purchase. Lesser known critic and Bible scholar.

Articles Referenced:

• Universalism was the dominant theology of the first 500 years
• The Crusades: The Complete History
• Context about “hell” quotes from Christian Leaders
• If Hell is Real?
• Religious Trauma and Leaving the Church
• How do I know if I am in a cult?
• Why Do People Believe in Hell?
• Hell has shaped modern thought
• Modeling the Future of Religion in America
• Lots of Americans Are Losing Their Religion. Have You?
• The Psychology Of Cults
• Understanding the basics of Cults
• Amount of Christian Denominations in The World

Podcasts:

• The Forest and The Trees Podcast
• You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Jef Recommends:

• Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

• Get involved with the National Violence Prevention Hotline: 501(c)(3)
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• Preview an Online Video Course for the Parents of Young Adults (Parenting Issues)
• EMDR Training Solutions (For all your EMDR training needs!)

Paul Krauss MA LPC is the Clinical Director of Health for Life Counseling Grand Rapids, home of The Trauma-Informed Counseling Center of Grand Rapids. Paul is also a Private Practice Psychotherapist, an Approved EMDRIA Consultant , host of the Intentional Clinician podcast, Behavioral Health Consultant, Clinical Trainer, and Counseling Supervisor. Paul is now offering consulting for a few individuals and organizations. Paul is the creator of the National Violence Prevention Hotline (in progress) as well as the Intentional Clinician Training Program for Counselors. Paul has been quoted in the Washington Post, NBC News, and Wired Magazine. Questions? Call the office at 616-200-4433.

If you are looking for EMDRIA consulting groups, Paul Krauss MA LPC is now hosting weekly online and in-person groups. For details, click here.

For general behavioral and mental health consulting for you or your organization.

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Original Music:

”Alright" from the forthcoming album Mystic by PAWL (Spotify)

"My Sweet Lord" from All Things Must Pass by George Harrison (Spotify)

"Myth" from Bloom by Beach House (Spotify)

"Satanist" from The Record by Boygenius (Spotify)

"Gotta Serve Somebody" from San Francisco 1980 by Bob Dylan (Spotify)

"Get Up, Stand Up" from Burnin' by Bob Marley and The Wailers (Spotify)

"Pure Comedy" from Pure Comedy by Father John Misty (Spotify)

"Chocolate Jesus" from Mule Variations by Tom Waits (Spotify)

"Awaiting On You All" from All Things Must Pass by George Harrison (Spotify)

"Whatever Happened to Paul Sand" from Reggae Film Star by Damian Jurado (Bandcamp)

"Portrait of God" from Smalltown Stardust by King Tuff (Spotify)

"Say God" from Say God by Daniel Higgs (Spotify)