The Unlearning Curve

84 - Tebow's Upsold Gospel Tim Tebow has gone from evangelical football hero to the stage at Life Surge, where worship, motivational speaking, and financial education all share the same billing. And apparently, the same checkout line. This week on The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and Jordan examine the business behind Life Surge and the Christian celebrity machine that helps sell it. From expen...

83 - You Don’t Owe Everyone a Relationship Some relationships are chosen. Others arrive preloaded with expectations, roles, and a quiet assumption that you’re supposed to keep showing up forever. In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart Delony, Karl Forehand, and JD talk about relationships, autonomy, and what happens when connection starts feeling more like obligation than choice. The conv...

82 - If God Wrote the Bible, It Should Be Better If the Bible is supposed to be the perfect word of God, why does it look so much like something written by people? In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart Delony, Karl Forehand, and JD take on biblical authority, inspiration, and the assumptions many Christians inherit about scripture without ever being encouraged to examine them. The conver...

Dolly Parton: Faith, Generosity, and a Life Bigger Than Dogma Dolly Parton spent her life talking openly about faith. Somehow, she also avoided turning it into a weapon. In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart Delony, Karl Forehand, and JD reflect on Dolly Parton’s life, legacy, and the version of Christianity she embodied—one built less around policing other people and more around actuall...

What happens when the faith meant to save you becomes the thing you need to escape? In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, we sit down with Rev. Heather Foy—writer, podcast host, and advocate for people navigating life beyond high-control religion. Heather grew up in her father’s church, surrounded by rigid theology, authoritarian structures, and religious abuse. Her eventual path through decons...

79 - VBS Is Grooming? The Double Standard of Indoctrination When does outreach become indoctrination—and who decides? On this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and JD dig into the argument behind Stuart’s article, VBS Is Grooming, and the uncomfortable similarities between religious outreach, indoctrination, and the broader process of shaping children’s beliefs before they’re equipped...

78 - Your Faith Is Not My Law What happens when religious freedom turns into religious rule? On this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and Jordan start with Jordan’s recent trip to Malaysia and its dual legal system, where civil law exists alongside Sharia law for Muslims. That leads to a larger question: if Christians in America want laws based on their religious beliefs, why should...

77 - When Churches Handle Crimes Like Sin Sexual assault is a crime. Somehow, inside many churches, it gets turned into a discipleship issue. On this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and Jordan dig into how churches—particularly high-control evangelical environments—have handled allegations of sexual abuse, and why the process so often protects institutions and people with power rath...

76 - Caleb Mayfield - What Outlasts the Church Some friendships survive distance, changing beliefs, adulthood, and all the strange machinery of life. Sometimes loss reminds us they’re still there. On this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Caleb Mayfield joins the conversation to talk about old friendships, sudden loss, and what pushed him to start reconnecting with people he’d let drift away. Along...

75 - Naming the Chaos Thanks for joining us again on the Unlearning Curve podcast. Today, we dive deep into the complexities of understanding chaos and how our perceptions shape our reality. With me are Carl the Great and Jordan, and together, we explore the intricate relationship between naming concepts and our ability to understand them. This conversation is particularly vital given the current...

What is Love? (Baby, don’t hurt me) In today's fast-paced world, finding genuine love seems harder than ever. With the rise of dating apps and a culture of instant gratification, many struggle to forge deep, lasting connections. In this blog post, we'll explore insights from a discussion among hosts Stuart Delony, Karl the Great, and Jordan as they delve into the complexities of love, based on Eri...

73 - How Dumbasses Rise to Power In today's world, we often find ourselves questioning the intelligence and competence of those in leadership positions. Whether in politics or religion, the rise of figures that seem to lack depth and critical thinking is alarming. In this post, we'll explore the concept of the "dumbass" in leadership, particularly within the context of mega churches and political...

72 - Why Do Aliens Hate Christianity?  In today's episode of the Unlearning Curve podcast, we tackle a provocative question: Why do aliens seem to reject Christianity? This intriguing topic stems from an article by Joseph Jordan, who has researched over 600 abduction cases. In this blog post, we explore the intersection of faith, extraterrestrial beliefs, and cultural narratives, providing insight...

71 - Compliance, Control, and Culture Wars This episode of The Unlearning Curve moves from faith and deconstruction into community, politics, power, and the strange religious machinery that keeps rewarding the wrong people. The conversation starts with a critique of big systems and the way institutions often treat mature faith as a threat. Real growth asks questions. Institutions prefer slogans. R...

70 — Copied Faith Faith was never supposed to be a copy machine. In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, JD, and Karl use the idea of cloning to talk about inherited beliefs, religious conformity, and what happens when people keep reproducing systems they never seriously questioned. The conversation moves from science to church culture, examining how copies of copies can become weaker, st...

69 — The Church is not a Skinner Box Many systems don’t help people grow. They train people to comply and then call it transformation. In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and Jordan discuss behaviorism, Skinner boxes, operant conditioning, and how schools, churches, workplaces, families, and algorithms shape behavior through rewards, punishment, shame, and repetition. The group...

68 — Who Taught You That? Religious certainty often presents itself as humility, but a lot of the time it functions more like control with a Bible verse taped to it. In this episode of The Unlearning Curve, Stuart, Karl, and Jordan dig into the shaky foundations beneath loud religious confidence: biblical inerrancy, inherited assumptions, groupthink, fear, ego, and the systems that reward people f...

67 - JD Forehand - Fahrenheit 451   The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As we move away from organized religion, we begin to recognize patterns. We believe that addres...

66 - Stuart - The Problem with God's Plan   Stuart discusses inconsistencies in the “God’s Plan” narrative   The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As we move away from o...

65 - Karl Forehand - Spiritual Atrophy   Karl talks about having a stroke and how religion can cause spiritual atrophy   The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As we move...

64 - Bob Minor - What Makes Us Human Bob Minor brings his expertise in world religions to the show.   The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As we move away from organize...

63 - JD Forehand - The Politics of Looking Away JD talks about the current climate of supporting evil within our own groups.   The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As w...

62 - Stuart Delony - The Suspension of Disbelief Stuart talks about what we give up to believe in something specific The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine freedom in our everyday lives. As we move awa...

61 - Karl Forehand - The Sound of Coming Back Karl talks about the heart event that almost killed him, and the benefit of humming during that traumatic time. The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine free...

60 - Kyle Butler - Leaving the Church Stage Kyle, a former pastor, talks about leaving religion and his role as a church leader to find something more authentic. The Unlearning Curve Podcast Copyright 2025 - Stuart Delony & Karl Forehand theunlearningcurvepodcast@gmail.com While many of us yearn for truth and understanding, the systems we participate in often prevent us from attaining genuine...