Rapture Anxiety

By AJ Willingham from CNN September 27, 2022 Thirteen-year-old April Ajoy had a sense something wasn’t right. It was quiet in her Dallas house. Too quiet. Her brothers were gone. Her parents were gone. On her parents’ bed, a pile of her mother’s clothes signaled something terrifying. Ajoy’s mind began churning, trying to remember, trying to…

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Pondering the Death Penalty

In the wake of the recent trial for Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people in the Parkland, Florida school shooting, debate about the death penalty has reached new heights. He was sentenced to life in prison, and there is a loud outcry from those who feel that he should be put do death. The ACLU…

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Leaving Christianity is a Lot Harder than it Looks

by Clint Heacock, PhD   If you are in the process of deconstructing your belief system, and possibly thinking of leaving your Christian faith behind, be aware of one sobering reality: it is potentially far more difficult than you might think, for a variety of reasons. Disentangling oneself from one’s religion can be incredibly difficult and…

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What the Bible Says About Abortion

 by Dr. Terri Daniel Ooops. I did it again. I got caught up in a stupid argument on NextDoor.com. But my response was so good that I just had to share it here. Some guy posted about how “God said” something about some issue or another, quoting some scripture passage that he felt made a…

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Religious Trauma is Real

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash by Christine Greenwald Many folks are familiar with the kind of trauma referred to as “shock trauma.” This is the classic terrible-event-occurred and now the individual is suffering symptoms because of what happened. We call it “shock” because it is a shock to the nervous system. It can result in classic post-traumatic…

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Thank God I’m Atheist

  Meet Frank Feldman and Dan Beecher, hosts of the brilliant podcast, Thank God I’m Atheist.  Frank and Dan will be keynote presenters at our upcoming Conference on Death, Grief and Belief, and also guests of honor at our post-conference Atheist After-Party. From their website: You ever feel like the only rational, thinking person in…

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Grief and God: When Religion Doesn’t Help

  In many religious traditions, God is believed to be responsive to the needs of believers, and in difficult times, the faithful turn to God for comfort and guidance. When God is viewed as a benevolent protector that can shield us from harm, what happens to faith — and healing — when God fails to…

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The Thinking Atheist

Meet Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist podcast, and a keynote presenter at our 2022 Conference on Death, Grief and Belief. Plus, he’s one of the guests of honor at our post-conference Atheist After-Party! Seth  is a broadcaster, storyteller, author, activist, and thought leader in the Atheist community.  Originally the product of Christian fundamentalism,…

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Rituals for Grief and Loss

by Dr. Terri Daniel, CT, CCTP   Most of us go through our lives living with a set of assumptions about our sense of safety in the world. But when we face a profound personal loss or trauma, those assumptions can no longer sustain us, and our grief invites us to look for deeper meaning…

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