Cultish: Deconstruction: Understanding the "Ex-Evangelical" Movement W/Alisa Childers 

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As the parent of an adult child in full deconstruction, who is claiming she was raised in an “abusive cult” and wants no contact with her father or I, this was extremely helpful. This revelation from her just came a few days ago and we are so raw, angry, hurt and guilt-ridden. This discussion really helped me see things more clearly and offered some hope to a very dark situation. Thank you

Alisa has really been eye opening for me over the past few years: especially during Covid. Covid was my time to get reconnected with Christ, apologetics, and my faith, such a great guest.

Alisa’s book “Live Your Truth and Other Lies” is one of the best (and, I think, most important) books I read in a long time! It’s one that every believer (and even every non-believer) should read!

Great episode! I love Alisa Childers. I appreciate that she communicated the truth boldly yet kindly.

Alisa is right! There is a huge flux of 30 somethings who grew up on the cusp of the Internet boom who are working hard to hold onto the "before" time, and raising their children outside of today's chaos as much as possible.

Wow! I just got in a conversation with my housemate yesterday. And I told him that I don't care about a persons opinion of me! So many people care about what people think about them. I don't care!

Excellent show. I have read, Another Gospel, and started, Live Your Truth and Other Lies. So good. Amazing! So full of Truth!

I guess because of my age I’ve never heard of this “ deconstruction” agenda! It seems to fall along the same lines as deconstructing the family, deconstructing what we’ve held to be true, deconstructing, whatever, also including traditional Christianity… Am I on track?

Amazing episode. Thanks again Alisa and Cultish Crew! 🕊️

Wow, what a breath of fresh air! Great truths shared by the 3 of you, thanks so much.

When I hear about deconstruction, I'm reminded of a quote from the late Tim Keller... To paraphrase, he said: *When a young adult comes to me and starts bringing up these contradictions in the Bible, I usually find myself asking that person, "What's their name and how long have you been sleeping with them?"* This is so, so, so accurate to this very day.

Loved this episode. Alisa is brilliant.

I remember reading 1984 and thinking “no way! This would never happen” too. The erasing of news and changing it… we’ve seen this.

Thanks you all. God Blessed You all

Been following Alisa’s work for a good bit now. She is fantastic! Thanks!

Great advice from Alisa on how to engage with them

This was awesome! Some of my favorite people to listen to right here!

Love this podcast -- don't love the response to people being called back to the land, connecting it to Marxism and wokeism. There are nuts in every trend but by and large, the "homesteading" or self-sufficiency trend is a rejection of wokeism/Marxism.

Alisha Childers is a trusted source for sharing the truth. I love her!

Fascinating topic, great interview! Thx

This was an incredible podcast! Alisa hit EVERY nail right on the head when it comes to this topic! Very insightful!

Alisa is awesome

Great point about those deconstructing saying that they're being shunned. There's always two sides to a story but the slander on social media always paints orthodox Christianity as evil and hypocritical

True situation. About 30 years ago I was invited by a precious Christian lady to come and have dinner at her home and share the gospel with her husband who was dying. During the dinner, not just her husband but his best friend received Jesus Christ as their savior. The couple were so blessed they asked us to visit them on a regular basis and share the Word of God with them. We became very very close to that family and enjoyed many wonderful moments with the extended family. about 5 years ago, One of the spouses became involved in a special statewide program for up-and-coming leaders. That person dedicated themselves every weekend to attending conferences on how to be successful. Somewhere along the line they began to drift away from solid Biblical principles and I began to engage them via the Internet. That was when I first heard the word Deconstruction. that they had joined this new group of Highly Successful and educated people that were reviewing the Bible to establish what they really believed. in fact, it became a leading away from the word of God as being the authoritative Source in their lives. As you mentioned on the show, my friend established their own private group that was interested in pursuing the deconstruction progrm and I was eliminated from the conversation. What went from a loving relationship has now dissolved the one that is non-existent and I am now seen as an enemy to that couple.

Many things done in the name of Jesus is not of Jesus. Because good people stood by and neither said or did nothing.

I must not be exposed to any of this deconstructionism or any of these influencers because I've never heard of this, good for me I guess

Interesting, (puzzling maybe) Alicia's quoting Josh Harris.

It's no surprise that, in a consumerist society like the U.S., a self-centered secularism would (like the self-centered New Age movement and the self-centered Prosperity "Gospel") be marketed and sold to people who don't even CONSIDER putting others first. Even heroism and self sacrifice are marketed by figures like Jordan Peterson along self centered, Joseph Campbell-like lines ("be the hero of your own story" etc). American Evangelicalism had similar issues, in its obsessive focus on individuals and their sins as opposed to the Christian community as a whole and the privilege of service to others in a spirit of gratitude.

De conversion, truly means there was never a real conversion in the first place!🙏❤️.

I left pentecostalism coz I was sick of strange doctrines and the gospel of success and money.

John10:29NKJV"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. " Note please that the GOD and Father of our Lord is greater than ALL ,not most others, and thus has NO co equals.

Religious belief--and unbelief--is never entirely intellectual. There is always a corresponding emotional investment. Those who "walk away" from Christianity have had their expectations of God crushed, and their apostasy is a reaction. In other words, their faith wasn't about glorifying God but rather about having their felt needs met.

I hope the pendulum will swing the other way, but I don’t believe in secluding ourselves from the world (like the Amish or the cult communes).

rapture anxiety moment

Feeds pride

What do yall think about Jesse Lee Peterson? He's fake in my opinion but what about Isaiah saldivar?? I agree with most of what he says but something seems off to be honest. Please look into these men 🙏

This might be a radical thought... but I'm pretty sure Jesus hasn't lost a single sheep to the deconstruction movement. Noone ever had Jesus as their mediator one day, deconstructed, and lost him as their mediator the next. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Why are we giving this movement so much credit? At the start of Covid lockdowns, I had begun "deconstructing" my faith. One day, while running in the park, I came across a small local church that was meeting there. I stopped to listen, some men invited me to come back. A week later, the pastor invited me to breakfast and I started regurgitating some of the nonsense I'd come to believe about the historicity of the Bible, the church etc. You know, the Jordan Petersonesque "the Bible is true but it's not really true it only contains truth yadayadayada." The pastor stopped me, mid thought and said, "No. The Bible is true." And I believed him. Now, I was raised in a Christian home and genuinely loved the Lord for as long as I can remember. But once I went to college and was bombarded with the indoctrination, I quickly "fell away". Never denied God. But I did find myself starting to believe what I now understand to be heresies. My faith was genuine but it was weak. If I'd never started to question my beliefs, I never would have accepted their invitation. The enemy was hell bent on using my doubt to get me to turn away from the faith. But praise God, the Lord was able to use even my sinful doubt for my good. I wouldn't recommend we start preaching the usefulness of doubt from the pulpit. But I think we need to trust God in his sovereignty to save and sanctify his people no matter what "movement" or fad is making its way through the culture. The true believer, in the end, will never go full apostate but God might allow them to be turned over for a while so that they might be granted repentance. I can't speak for everyone who ever deconstructed. But I tried pretty hard to convince myself that liberal Christianity was true. And Yah was like "nah." Since that day in the park I can't think of a time when my thoughts weren't bombarded by how good he is to his people even when we go astray.

When you walk in the light Calvinism that's no place in your life

All I would lovingly ask them is " what if you are wrong ?". Only the Holy Spirit can reach them and if they were ever truly saved God will not let them go without revealing to them the truth of where they are choosing to go. Praying these will repent lest they become reprobate and lead more astray. They really are treading on thin ice.

This is terrifying! Man thinking he knows more than God. Christianity does not exist without Christ and the cross and resurrection and who he is and what he says. The Bible says God is sovereign, penal substitutionary atonement is true, all people are equal and made in God’s image, we are all wicked sinners from birth by nature because of the fall, all people deserve hell but God is merciful and gracious and made only one way through his Son on the cross through repentance and faith in Christ alone. If we do not like it or accept it, we are being very sinful and must repent or perish!🙏❤️.

I Hate, yes hate this current world!!!

I made it another 20 minutes in.... "my kids think that way but not because im indoctrinating them." "maybe it happens that I think that way about America." "my kids feel that anxiousness about the world." very interesting. And then, is Jonestown really truly "progressive christianity"??????? I really liked your video about the Duggars and how homeschooling is potentially harmful. I appreciated your critique of Bill Gothard. it made me really hopeful about this show. but as someone who left the American church for historical, doctrinal reasons as well as abuse, its really frustrating seeing reactionary grifters appropriate peoples experiences and use them to reinforce White Christian Nationalism. the table is set. we are here and willing to engage with you. when you're ready to talk about real issues like trans erasure, climate crisis, and Christian Nationalism, feel free to come join us. In the meantime, while you sit at the kids table and use code language to talk about the culture war, us big kids are gonna be doing real work to help the homeless, heal abuse, and create hope for the future.

I think you are misrepresenting Derrida. One of Derrida's points is a word is not the thing. It is a symbol of the thing. The word "rose" is not the "rose" itself. All language is a second-degree description rather than a direct experience of the thing. (Augustine taught the same thing in On Christian Doctrine). In fact, even Thomas Aquinas, when speaking of God, understood that any language around the concept of God is analogical. It is ok to not agree with someone and not like their ideas, but be sure to present their actual ideas before criticizing them. Also, there is a deep irony in your quoting the nature of a cult and reading the words of Jesus, who says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, even their own life-such a person cannot be my disciple."

Word salad episode !!!

Sounds like blasphemying of the Word of God

Christianity is dying. The age of islam has come.

Depends how you view deconstruction. I deconstructed eternal damnation, penal substitution, and predestination because all these 3 interpretations are false and unbiblical.

The common theme seems to be that people are not objectively truthseeking and that they are hurt.