Tag: Church culture
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Mental Health and Religion: Do Demons Cause Depression and Anxiety?
Do demons and demonic forces cause depression and anxiety? If you grew up in certain church circles, you may believe the answer is yes. In the past, before we had a more accurate understanding of depression and anxiety as mental illnesses, the Church’s answer has been to pray away the demon causing someone to feel…
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How To Deconstruct Your Faith Without Losing It
It was 9 years ago now that I unknowingly started my journey of deconstructing. It all happened when God told me to move to Texas and volunteer at a little church in Houston. I didn’t know a soul in Texas, yet I packed my bags, left my native country (Canada) and started on an adventure…
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Gender Equality in the Bible: Why is it Important?
When I was growing up, I was raised by parents who thought that I could do anything and be anything that I wanted. My father actually hoped that I would become a pilot, like him. At that time, there was a lot of talk about equality. In the church that I grew up in, one…
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What is Faith Deconstruction? Let’s Make it Less Scary
If you’ve ever worked on a car engine, you know that it’s a messy process. You have to take it apart piece by piece, clean up the parts, repair them, or even replace them completely. However, when it’s all done, you can put it back together and have a working engine again. Faith deconstruction is…
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What Is Spiritual Abuse and how do you recover?
Are you a victim of spiritual abuse? Unfortunately, many people are, but they may not realize it. When you grow up in a strict religious culture, some things that seem normal can actually be abusive, but it’s hard to recognize if you’re used to it. What is spiritual abuse? I’m going to share my personal…
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How to Set Healthy Boundaries With Your Time
Having healthy boundaries is really all about managing the time, energy and resources that we have available to us, so that we can prioritize those things for the things in our lives that are important to us. Managing our boundaries is a form of self-care. In this guide, we’re going to talk about what healthy…
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Spiritual Bypassing
The woman stood at the end of the potluck table, staring down at the casseroles. The cancer had come on so quickly; her Ed hadn’t stood a chance. He was gone. Another woman walked up next to her, setting a dish on the overflowing table. “Aw, I’m so sorry about Ed,” she said. “But you…
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Discovering Your True Self
WHO DEFINES YOU? Who defines you, and defines your identity? Are you defined from the inside out, or from the outside in? Do you feel secure and confident in who you are? Or have others told you who you are? Have you created an identity based on being yourself, or based on being accepted by…
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Reflections From The Wilderness
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“But I will court her again and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her tenderly there.” Hosea 2:14 (The Living Bible) “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her Beloved?” Song of Songs 8:5 (NIV) There have been several times of my life that I would call times in…
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Excuse Me, Your (Southern) Roots Are Showing
Depending on your background and where you grew up, you may find it hard to believe that many churches in the United States, especially in the South, still teach that women cannot be pastors or leaders in the church. They also believe that in the church, women cannot teach men or hold positions of authority.…
