Pulling The Thread Podcast: Tracing Jesus Before Christianity Emerged, Jesus the Jew within Judaism! · Jeramiah Giehl

A Candid Conversation with Former Pastors Wife, Apostate Anne on Faith and Relationships: Episode 11

August 21, 2023·1 hr 2 min·5 clips

A prophecy that Trump would be re-elected failed, causing Anne to question God's will and the Bible's truth.

This episode features an interview with Anne from the Apostate Mind podcast, a former pastor's wife who shares her journey out of evangelical Christianity. The host, who also deconstructed his faith, explores her experiences in charismatic ministry and her path to atheism. Anne describes being recruited for a worship team in college, where she learned the performative aspects of leading music to prepare congregations for sermons. She participated in mission trips to San Francisco, Nashville, and Juarez, Mexico, serving homeless populations and building houses. Her husband pursued degrees in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and became a pastor, immersing them both in church leadership. Anne recounts specific practices like intentional lighting, chord progressions to evoke emotion, and social pressure during altar calls and speaking in tongues. She references visiting the Brownsville revival in Pensacola and encountering alleged demon possession on missions. A pivotal moment was her husband being let go from his pastoral position, which allowed them to step back and see the extensive "behind the scenes" production of church services. Anne states a failed prophecy about Donald Trump's re-election and cognitive dissonance over biblical stances on homosexuality prompted her initial doubts. Her husband began consuming content from scholars like Joel Baden, learning about the Documentary Hypothesis and historical inaccuracies, such as the lack of evidence for the Exodus narrative. She explains they ultimately applied an evidence-based framework, finding biblical claims about the soul or miracles unproven compared to scientific understanding. Anne reveals that telling her husband about her disbelief initially threatened their relationship, but he later embarked on his own deconstruction journey. They had to explain their changed worldview to their daughters, who experienced relief from religious anxiety. She contrasts raising children with factual discussions about health and relationships instead of sin-based morality. Anne argues that biblical stories are often not moral and that people possess an innate moral compass separate from scripture. She reflects that church relationships felt superficial and "performative," noting they lost contact with almost all their Christian friends after leaving. Anne finds current guidance in logic and reason, leading to less inner turmoil than waiting for divine direction. She emphasizes the importance of healthy boundaries, a skill she feels Christianity undermined by teaching excessive forgiveness and self-sacrifice. Anne concludes that the Jesus of the Bible is a myth, citing archaeological contradictions and parallels with older myths like the Epic of Gilgamesh. The tone is a candid, conversational exchange between two people with shared experiences in high-commitment evangelicalism. The style is reflective and analytical, focusing on personal narrative and ideological evolution. Listeners interested in deconstruction stories, critiques of charismatic church practices, or secular parenting perspectives would appreciate this episode. Those firmly within evangelical Christianity or uncomfortable with challenges to biblical historicity might find it disagreeable.

As heard by us

Church performance, deconstruction, and the machinery beneath both.

Apostate Anne's story moves from a Southern religious upbringing into marriage, church life, ministry, and the moment faith starts to feel less like devotion and more like performance.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a front-row view of church machinery and belief, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Pulling The Thread Podcast: Tracing Jesus Before Christianity Emerged, Jesus the Jew within Judaism!