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Unbelief

Jeremy Steele

105 episodes

4 days ago

The Unbelief Podcast is your space to question, explore, and release the beliefs that no longer serve you—or maybe even caused harm. Hosted by Jeremy Steele, the Skeptic Pastor, this podcast dives deep into deconstruction, offering progressive and thoughtful insights on ancient spiritual texts like the Bible. Through interviews with leading scholars and candid conversations with those navigating their own faith journeys, the Unbelief Podcast invites you to rethink, rediscover, and rebuild your spirituality on your own terms. If you've ever felt disillusioned by what you were told to believe, this is the podcast for you.

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Religion & Spirituality,

All content for Unbelief is the property of Jeremy Steele and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

The Unbelief Podcast is your space to question, explore, and release the beliefs that no longer serve you—or maybe even caused harm. Hosted by Jeremy Steele, the Skeptic Pastor, this podcast dives deep into deconstruction, offering progressive and thoughtful insights on ancient spiritual texts like the Bible. Through interviews with leading scholars and candid conversations with those navigating their own faith journeys, the Unbelief Podcast invites you to rethink, rediscover, and rebuild your spirituality on your own terms. If you've ever felt disillusioned by what you were told to believe, this is the podcast for you.

Show more...

Religion & Spirituality,

Episodes (20/105)

Unbelief

A New Year Ritual for People Who Don’t Trust New Year’s Resolutions

What if the new year isn’t about doing more, but about paying attention? In this guided episode, we explore a New Year version of the Ignatian Examen—reflecting on home, work, relationships, media, and time—to help you see where you’ve been, where you’re headed, and where you actually want to go. No resolutions required.

2 days ago

31 minutes 46 seconds

Unbelief

What Is the ACTUAL Date of Christmas?

Christians argue fiercely about the literal details of Jesus’ birth—even though the Bible never gives a date and early believers didn’t agree on one. In this episode, we look at how December 25 emerges from theology, symbolism, and later church decisions rather than historical memory, and why our modern obsession with certainty might be the least faithful part of the story.

2 weeks ago

22 minutes 5 seconds

Unbelief

Jesus Wasn’t Born in Bethlehem or a Stable (And That Changes Everything)

Turns out the Christmas story you defend like it’s a court transcript doesn’t even work on its own historical terms. In part one, we take apart Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the Roman census Luke uses to move Jesus across the map—spoiler: historians aren’t impressed. In part two, we go underground into caves, kataluma, and the version of Jesus’ birth the early church actually remembered before we swapped risk for rustic décor. This isn’t an attack on Christmas. It’s an attack on the idea that faith only works if the floor plan is literal and the facts are fragile.

3 weeks ago

34 minutes 55 seconds

Unbelief

Theatre Kids and the Pope: Origins and Legends of the Christmas Tree

Forget the “it’s pagan” nonsense. The Christmas tree’s story is far wilder: a pope’s missionary memo, a bishop with an axe, medieval theater kids hauling evergreens onstage, and Victorian influencers turning it viral. We dig into how this mash-up of pagans, priests, and actors became the most hopeful ritual of winter.

1 month ago

21 minutes 42 seconds

Unbelief

Revelation Isn’t About the Future or Microchips

Forget barcodes, microchips, and rapture charts. Revelation isn’t predicting the end of the world—it’s resisting it. We break down the Beast, 666, the four horsemen of the apocalypse and how this apocalyptic fever dream was really underground political poetry written by oppressed people under Roman rule.

1 month ago

43 minutes 35 seconds

Unbelief

Deconstructing without Losing Faith (kind of)

Ever been told that if you stop believing one thing, Jesus unfriends you? Yeah… same. In this episode, we unmask the “literalist playing field” that we didn't realize we were playing on, talk about why deconstruction isn’t the spiritual apocalypse your youth pastor warned you about, and even discover that Paul's writings are part pagan. We’ll walk through a real method for choosing beliefs that aren’t garbage—and explore rituals, practices, and meditation tools that actually help you grow. Basically: how to lose bad theology without losing your soul.

1 month ago

42 minutes 49 seconds

Unbelief

1946 and the Bible’s Big Gay Mistranslation (and How to Handle the Haters)

This one is equal parts history lesson and how-to. We talk about how to respond to homophobic people and have a big announcement about where you can view the movie. The director, Rocky, breaks down the 1946 “homosexual” mistranslation, the grind of getting the film to actual humans, and the spiritual discipline of not feeding the trolls—while still giving them something to think about.

1 month ago

43 minutes 1 second

Unbelief

Tower of Babel vs. Linguistics: What Really Happened to Our Languages?

If you still think the Tower of Babel explains why Spanish exists, this episode might hurt your feelings. Jeremy and linguist Gabby break down how languages actually evolved, why “proper” English is just colonization in disguise, and how Babel’s real message might be about human pride, not divine punishment. Spoiler: God wasn’t mad at skyscrapers.

1 month ago

49 minutes 12 seconds

Unbelief

The Theology of Algorithms (and Why Church is Boring)

If you think church has to happen in a building, brace yourself. There's no need to stream a guy in a guitar and a video of people sitting in pews... because that isn't community. In this podcast the tables are flipped and Jeremy is interviewed on the theology of algorithms, how to deal with social media comments and answers the question, "what is community?"

1 month ago

50 minutes 13 seconds

Unbelief

No Historical Evidence that Jesus Existed?

No, we don’t have Jesus’ mugshot from a Roman archive. Also no, that’s not how ancient history works. We track the real markers: Paul’s letters, Gospel tradition layers, two grumpy non-Christians (Josephus and Tacitus) who mention him, and archaeology that matches the story’s stage. Then we run the historian playbook—embarrassment, dissimilarity, coherence, context—and the scorecard lights up. Historians across the spectrum agree, but what do they conclude?

1 month ago

40 minutes

Unbelief

Deconstructing Satan, Demon Possession and Halloween

From youth-group exorcisms to YouTube deliverance rabbit holes, we trace how demon talk replaces science—and why that harms real people. We do a text-level audit (Job’s ha-satan, Isaiah’s “morning star,” and the God-of-the-gaps habit), contrast Catholic exorcism rules with charismatic chaos, and ask whether “the devil made me do it” just dodges responsibility. Then we reclaim Halloween with a grab bag of “things we weren’t allowed to watch” that won’t send you to hell: Lucifer, The Craft, Scream, and a certain bespectacled wizard.

2 months ago

42 minutes 7 seconds

Unbelief

Does Jesus say people are going to Hell and Do I Have to Believe in the Bible to Believe in God?

What if the real scandal isn’t doubting hell—it’s discovering Jesus didn’t preach it? We push back on evangelical proof texts, tour the Bible’s vocabulary (Sheol = all the dead, Gehenna = a real valley, Hades = Greek myth), and read John 14:6 without pretending Jesus defined “through me” as “agree to our statement of faith.” Then we talk adult faith: you can love God without pretending Genesis is a lab manual. Less fear, more honesty, and a community that won’t shame your questions.

2 months ago

28 minutes 52 seconds

Unbelief

Progressive Youth Ministry?

What if youth group wasn’t about dodgeball, purity rings, and trauma bonding over mission trips? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Andrew Zirschky about Progressive Youth Ministry—what it looks like to raise teenagers in a faith that’s inclusive, justice-oriented, and actually reflects Jesus. We unpack the damage done by purity culture, gender roles, and shame-based theology, and talk about how to spot a youth pastor red flag from a mile away. This is the guide every parent, pastor, and ex-youth-group kid wishes they had.

2 months ago

39 minutes 16 seconds

Unbelief

Stopping the Exodus of Young Adults from the Church

This episode is a checklist of why young adults bounce. We tell the story of a would-be missionary crushed by the hell doctrine, trace early Christian views that weren’t eternal-torment, and drag the hypocrisy of flag-waving “martyr” talk. Finally, we map out how to rebuild—open-handed spirituality, evidence-honoring skepticism, and a supportive digital community that doesn’t pass the plate or police your beliefs.

2 months ago

42 minutes 21 seconds

Unbelief

Ruth: The Rated R Scene

If the Bible were a Netflix show, this episode would come with a “viewer discretion advised” warning. Ruth takes the lead, flips gender roles, and all under the cover of darkness. Turns out the Bible’s big sex scene is also one of its most feminist. It’s possibly the sexiest, most subversive story in Scripture—and it pushes back hard against purity culture’s shame game. This is an episode you don't want to miss.

2 months ago

35 minutes 40 seconds

Unbelief

Fictional Deconstruction with Brian McLaren

What if you stripped faith down to its essence—no megachurch stage lights, no fear-based sermons, no evangelical gatekeeping? That’s what Brian McLaren does in his new novel set on Mars. We talk about how families fight over religion, why the fight doesn’t have to mean dehumanizing, and how spirituality survives once the institutional scaffolding is gone.

3 months ago

41 minutes 26 seconds

Unbelief

What Really Happened in Jesus’ Last Hours and the Female Disciples of Jesus

The gospels aren’t journalism—they’re theology. Dr. Helen Bond helps us dig into what the stories of Jesus’ final hours really meant to the earliest Christians. Along the way, we uncover the often-overlooked women who followed Jesus, the strange ending of Mark’s gospel, and what ancient burial customs can tell us about Good Friday.

3 months ago

45 minutes 39 seconds

Unbelief

The Historical Jesus: The Missing Pieces

The “historical Jesus” isn’t the same as the Sunday school Jesus. Dr. Mark Goodacre shows us why there’s so little hard evidence, how scholarship challenges evangelical readings, and why most pastors never share this from the pulpit. Plus: Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet and the one book you need to make sense of the gospels.

3 months ago

37 minutes 36 seconds

Unbelief

Pharisees Are Good Guys and Jesus Gender Bending

If you grew up thinking Pharisees were hypocrites and Jesus was all about purity culture, buckle up. Dr. Amy Jill-Levine joins us to dismantle the myths: Pharisees were good people, the Bible doesn’t record “what happened,” and the New Testament has space for asexuality, transgender identity, and radical body positivity.

3 months ago

29 minutes 14 seconds

Unbelief

Why People Are Leaving the Church and How to Stay Engaged in Spirituality After Leaving

People aren’t leaving the church because they “hate God.” They’re leaving because the church keeps begging for cash, propping up patriarchy, justifying abusive marriages, and trashing LGBTQ people. In this episode, we talk about the real reasons people walk away and how to stay rooted in spirituality through safe, inclusive community that actually exists.

3 months ago

48 minutes 27 seconds