Sacred Tension

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I talk to Reverend Lori Walke : a badass lady preacher, public theologian, and social activist who is prominently featured in the new documentary American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel.  We discuss her work as an activist fighting against encroaching theocracy in Oklahoma, her journey to becoming a heretical female pastor, and her work to provide sanctuary...

This is an episode of my patrons-only podcast House of Heretics. If you like what you hear, please go support my work on Patreon , and you will help me grow this show and pay the bills.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

In which I explain why Satanism works for me. Find the full transcript of this mini episode and comment on it here .  Find other Rock Candy Podcasts here . Read my dozens of articles, comment on this episode, or contact me here . Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you interesting content every week. Also, don’t forget to sign up for...

In this episode of Sacred Tension, Kodiak joins us once again to explain his sudden and unexpected conversion from Odinism to Christianity.  Find other Rock Candy Podcasts here . Read my dozens of articles, comment on this episode, or contact me here . Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you interesting content every week. Also, don’t...

Find the full transcript of this mini episode here . Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you interesting content every week. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my  mailing list  so you don’t miss another podcast, blog post, or cat picture. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I talk to my longtime friend Kodiak about his journey into Odin worship. Along the way, we talk about the significance of ritual, blood sacrifice, and the rise of white nationalism in some pagan circles. Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you interesting content every week. Also, don’t forget to sig...

In this episode of Sacred Tension I sit down with author and logic professor Ben Burgis to discuss his latest book, Give Them an Argument , and what figures on the right like Peterson, Harris, and Shapiro get wrong. Other Rock Candy Shows: Bible Bash , Eleventylife .  Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you interesting content every w...

In this episode of Sacred Tension, Jack Matirko joins me to talk atheism, nontheistic religion, and Satanism.  We discuss the rise of the Satanic Temple, what his own personal Satanism looks like, why religion does not mean supernaturalism, and much more.  Jack Matirko is a Satanist, activist, and creative professional in Arizona. As a member of The Satanic Temple, he tries to champion ideals of r...

Chris Kratzer wants you to know that conservative evangelicalism is destroying the world. In this episode of Sacred Tension, he tells us why. Chris Kratzer is a husband, father, pastor, author, and speaker. Captured by the pure Gospel of God’s Grace, his focus is communicating the message of wholeness, equality, affirmation, and the beauty of Jesus particularly as it relates to life, culture, and...

The excellent film Hail, Satan? released to select theaters over the weekend (Easter weekend, no less) and to celebrate I had director Penny Lane  come onto Sacred Tension to talk atheism, religion, and Satanism. Hail, Satan? is a marvel of a film: funny, provocative, beautifully shot, and unexpectedly moving. It chronicles the rise of The Satanic Temple (of which I am a member) and it was everyth...

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I talk to Corey Pigg, producer and host of the excellent Failed Missionary podcast. We discuss our post-Christian journeys, Buddhist spirituality, and his harrowing experience as a missionary in Youth With a Mission. Other Rock Candy Podcasts: Eleventylife Love my work and want to support it? Please consider becoming a  patron  so I can continue to bring you inte...

In this episode of Sacred Tension I talk to multi-faith activist Tahil Sharma about white supremacy, violence, and overcoming oppression.  Tahil Sharma is a Southern California native born to a Hindu and Sikh Indian family. He is a nationally recognized leader promoting religious and secular pluralism, human rights, social justice. Tahil works as the Faith Outreach Manager for Brave New Films, an...

J Mase III is a Black/trans/queer poet & educator based in Seattle, by way of Philly. He is the author of “If I Should Die Under the Knife, Tell my Kidney I was the Fiercest Poet Around”, as well as “And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer’s Reflections on Grief, Unemployment, and Inappropriate Jokes about Death”.  As an educator, J Mase has worked with thousands of community members in the US, the U...

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I talk to Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, PhD about the process of dismantling toxic power within our culture. We talk about my gradual journey of understanding what, exactly, racism and sexism are, and the process of overcoming them. Robyn ultimately advocates for radical courage and imagination, and I found this conversation deeply moving. Knowing intimately that the...

The history of the United States is dotted by moral panics: delusional mass hysterias over complete fictions like the Illuminati, 9/11 trutherism, Stranger Danger, and Pedophilic Satanists. Now, in a climate in which the fertile jungle of the internet seems to produce new conspiracy theories by the day, we need to understand the importance of moral panics, how they warp minds, and destroy lives. J...

In March of 1997, Heaven’s Gate committed ritual suicide to the astonishment and horror of the world. Over 20 years later, we are still piecing together the mystery of this fringe UFO religion: who were they, what did they believe, and why did they end so horribly? Joining me for today’s Sacred Tension podcast is Benjamin Zeller, widely considered the leading authority on Heaven’s Gate. Zeller wal...

Our culture is rife with unproductive conversations about God and religion. Donald and I attempt to rectify this by sitting down and talking about our belief and unbelief in God.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

Despite the social taboo against certain psychedelic and psychoactive drugs, the medical world is now experimenting on previously forbidden drugs with promising results. In this episode of Sacred Tension, I speak with Maggie Eli about her clinical trial on MDMA, AKA Molly or Ecstasy. We talk about PTSD, living with mental illness, religious trauma, Christianity, and how MDMA helped her heal from d...

https://stephenbradfordlong.com/2019/01/24/on-not-believing-in-god-but-experiencing-him-anyway/#more-5805 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

Find the full transcript of this mini episode here:  https://stephenbradfordlong.com/2019/01/17/why-i-still-call-myself-a-christian/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Joseph Laycock joins us again to discuss demon possession. What is it? why do humans experience it? What does the experience of demon possession say about religion and human nature in general? Joseph and I discuss these issues and more. Love this show and want to support it? Please support my work at Patreon.com/stephenbradfordlong Other Rock Candy podcasts: EleventyLife   This is...

Find the link to this blog post here . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Sacred Tension, Donald and I sit down to answer questions from patrons of the show. We talk about why I went into yoga, what parts of my faith remain intact after going through deconstruction, how straight allies can better serve the LGBT community, what we wish someone had told us about gay sex, and much more. You can become a patron of Sacred Tension by going to patreon.com/st...

Find the full transcript to this mini episode here:  https://stephenbradfordlong.com/2019/01/03/this-is-what-i-mean-when-i-say-i-dont-believe-in-god/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I talk to Douglas Lain about his latest novel Bash Bash Revolution: a young adult novel that explores Marxism, revolution, artificial intelligence, and the gamification of human society. We discuss utopia, mental health, the consequences of digitization and gamification on the mind and spirituality, and much more. Douglas Lain is the publisher of Zero Books, a novelist, a podcaste...