Almost Heretical
Are you ready to rethink the Bible and challenge easy answers? Join guests like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Marianne Williamson, Tim Mackie (BibleProject), Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Rob Bell as we dive into complex conversations about faith, moving beyond conservative and liberal camps. If you don’t fit neatly into either space, you’ll fit in just fine here. Hosted by Nate Hanson (former Crazy Love pastor) and Shelby Hanson (MA Biblical Studies & Dead Sea Scrolls), Almost Heretical invites you to explore Christianity without subscribing to tribal ideologies. With over 2 million downloads, this is a space for those asking tough questions and seeking honest answers. You’re not alone.
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#114 – Teaching Your Kids While Deconstructing ...
What if I still want to pass on faith to my children, but I'm not sure what I believe? What do kids need to be learning about Christianity at different stages? What do kids have to teach us about holding uncertainty. We talk with Sarah Swartzendruber, a pastor passionate about empowering parents in deconstruction to create spiritual practices for their kids.
74 min
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#113 – Cindy Wang Brandt: Raising Children Duri...
Do formerly fundamentalist parents project their own trauma on their children? What kind of “stability” do kids of deconstructing parents actually need? Is it okay to not ever get community back?
62 min
53
#112 – From Outreach to Outsider: Katherine's S...
In this episode, we hear from listener Katherine about her disillusionment with Christianity due to Trump, hell, and bad biblical interpretations on women. What was your breaking point? Join us as we discuss the cracks in our experience of Christianity and explore how to move forward.
35 min
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#111 – Canon: Extra-Canonical Text
What kinds of texts were rejected from the New Testament canon? Are extra-canonical texts as dangerous and bad as we used to think? How does history and archaeology affect how we read the Bible today?
56 min
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#110 – Canon: The Criteria of the New Testament
How did the early church determine which texts would go into the canon and which would not? Are all texts outside the New Testament heretical or dangerous? Does the truth of the canon formation process change how we think about the Bible we have?
65 min
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#109 – Canon: Is the Bible Inspired, Inerrant a...
Is the Bible the inspired words of God? What does it mean for the Bible to be infallible? If the Bible isn't inerrant, is it worthless?
58 min
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#108 – Canon: Timeline of New Testament Writings
When were the documents of the New Testament written? Does it matter that details of the Gospels changed over time? What did “Bible,” “scripture,” or “canon” even mean in the first century?
50 min
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What is Almost Heretical?
Do you feel alone and crazy as you reimagine your faith? There are so many people on this journey or reexamining Christian faith and doctor, and we provide resources to help you see the Bible in its true ancient and history context.
1 min
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#107 – The January 6th intersection of politics...
On January 6, thousands of people breeched the US Capitol. While in the Senate chamber, the said a prayer. The words of the prayer shocked us.
45 min
60
#106 – Barbara Brown Taylor: Religious Pluralism
Is there a way for Christianity to exist without rejecting other religions? Is the Bible actually against religious pluralism? What can we learn from people of other faiths to help us be better humans, or even better Christians?
67 min
61
#105 – Matt Chandler's Views on Deconstruction
What are pastors getting wrong about deconstruction? Do we need more grace for church abuse? Is there ever a good reason to leave church?
56 min
62
#104 – Woman: Jesus, Paul and Mary Magdalene
Was Jesus a perfect example of how to treat women? Did Paul actually tell women to be silent in church? Why did Mary Magdalene disappear after the four gospels?
77 min
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#103 – Woman: Sexual violence and God's silence
Why is the rate of sexual violence the same inside and outside the Church? Does God condone rape in the Old Testament? What has the Bible taught us about the value of women's bodies?
70 min
64
#102 – Woman: Silenced voices of the Bible
How can the Dead Sea Scrolls help us recover women's voices? What are the implications of women's voices making up 1% of the Bible? Was the first #MeToo movement really 2,000 years ago?
58 min
65
#101 – What Bible translation should I use? (Bo...
Is there a translation of the Bible that most accurately reflects the original texts? What even are the original texts? Did Jesus actually say the words in red? Why do Bible translations have to be approved by a committee, and who is on the committee? Are there things that simply cannot be translated?
13 min
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#100 – Woman: Men wrote the Bible
What does it change knowing that the authors of the Bible were men? What about gender-neutral translations? Have we missed a foundational part of Jesus' gospel?
67 min
67
#99 – Woman: The Gender of God
Why do we call God "He"? What if Paul was wrong about women having authority over men? What do we lose by treating God like a single father?
48 min
68
#98 – Audrey Assad - Psychedelics, Christian Mu...
What does it feel like to change your beliefs? What can we teach our children when we're not sure what we believe? Nate talks to Audrey Assad who was part of creating and then leaving the evangelical culture through conservative Christian music.
49 min
69
#97 – Dr. Mario Livio - Galileo and science den...
Why is science denialism more prominent in the Christian church? What are the consequences of the Church suppressing scientific curiosity? How do we have conversations with friends and family who deny scientific findings and new information?
60 min
70
#96 – Krispin and D.L. Mayfield: Mister Rogers,...
Why is Mister Rogers' message to children better than Sunday school? How did Dave Ramsey make the accusation of money a christian value? How can Attachment Theory shine a light on shame-filled messages we often hear in the church? Nate chats with Danielle and Krispin Mayfield.
93 min
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#95 – Julie Anne Smith - Spiritual and Sexual A...
In light of the sexual abuse scandal involving Ravi Zacharias, Nate talks with Julie Anne Smith about Lori Anne Thompson's survivor story and power structures in the Church that allow for both sexual and spiritual abuse.
72 min
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#94 – Kristin Du Mez: From Jesus to Trump
Nate talks with Dr. Kristin Du Mez about her book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation..
63 min
73
#93 – What happened in 2020
Why did we take a break from the show for almost a year?
22 min
74
#92 – Unequally yoked
What does it even mean to be unequally yoked? And does any part of the New Testament actually forbid Christians getting married to people who aren’t Christian? And if so, why?
57 min
75
#91 – The Disappointment of the Spirit
God’s spirit living inside of our bodies. That is the central, climactic idea of the New Testament. But what if this grand climax also turned out to be a little disappointing? And what if much of the New Testament actually seems to acknowledge and deal with that disappointment?
68 min