Still Unbelievable

EP148 - Tiffany Yecke Brooks - To Rebehold the StarsIn this episode Matthew is in conversation with Tiffany Yecke Brooks, author of To Rebehold the Stars — a book that doesn’t shy away from the hardest questions about faith, silence, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about God. Tiffany invites us into a space where certainty dissolves, where divine silence feels indistinguishable from absence, and where the work of knowing one’s authentic self can be both unsettling and necessary.She challenges us to interrogate our assumptions: about spirituality, about the body’s role in emotion and trauma, about whether mystical experiences require anything supernatural at all. This is a book that pushes us out of our comfort zones — not to destroy faith, but to examine it honestly. We're grateful to have Tiffany here to explore these tensions, and to talk about what it means to rebuild meaning when the old frameworks no longer hold.1) To Rebehold the starshttps://www.eerdmans.com/9780802884367/to-rebehold-th

Episode 147 James McGrath - Beyond Deconstruction.In this episode of Still Unbelievable! Matthew is in conversation with James McGrath about his book, Beyond Deconstruction. James extolls us all to be kind and considerate when facing the deconstruction of cherished beliefs. In a world where the extremes are becoming more fractured and the calm middle seems to no longer exist, James reminds us that progress is only made when we actually stop and consider our fellow humans and appreciate beauty and the nuance of existence.1) Beyond Deconstruction - Building a More Expansive Faith - James F. McGrathhttps://www.eerdmans.com/9781467468817/beyond-deconstruction/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Deconstruction-Building-Expansive-Faith/dp/08028845982) James F. McGrathhttps://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/2025/03/are-you-losing-your-faith.htmlhttps://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/https://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/3) Walter Winkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Wink4) James with Alex on John the Baptisthttps

Episode 146 - Suicide and the Communion of Saints. In this episode of Still Unbelievable! Matthew is joined by wife Sarah to talk with priest and author Rhonda Mawhood Lee. She writes compassionately about suicide in her book, Suicide and the Communion of Saints see the show notes for further information, where there are additional mental health and suicide resources.If you wish to send feedback on this collaboration contact us at reasonpress@gmail.com.1) Suicide and the Communion of Saintshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Suicide-Communion-Saints-Rhonda-Mawhood/dp/0802884717https://www.eden.co.uk/christian-books/theology-books/liberation-theology/suicide-and-the-communion-of-saints/2) more about Rhondahttps://faithandleadership.com/authors/rhonda-mawhood-leehttps://www.eerdmans.com/author/rhonda-mawhood-lee/https://thrivinginministry.org/authors/3) Alexander Murray - Suicide in the Middle Ages: Volume 2: The Curse on Self-Murderhttps://books.google.co.uk/books?id=trene_8DY10C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&a

Episode 145 Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism’s Nonessentials.In this episode of Still Unbelievable Matthew is in conversation with Michelle Van Loon, a writer with a Jewish upbringing who converted to evangelical Christianity as a teen. She gives her perspective on both traditions. Hear what drew her towards Christianity, what she carried from Judaism, and what she thinks people often misunderstand about Jewish identity and practice.They discuss:- her experiences inside evangelicalism, including patterns of spiritual abuse. Are these isolated situations or symptoms of deeper issues around evangelism and revival culture, that protect harmful behaviour. - religious trauma, what led Michelle to seek counselling, and how others might identify and recover from similar experiences.- What churches might need to let go of, how “downsizing” can compliment deconstruction and how a downsized community might look.- And of course her favourite bible character1) Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism’s Nonessenti

Episode 144 - Angela J. Herrington - Embracing the Old Witch in the WoodsIn this episode of still Unbelievable! Matthew interviews Angela Herrington author of Embracing the Old witch in the woods. Angela has written another book, Deconstruct your faith without losing yourself. She is a beautiful human being who puts enormous effort and thought into affirming others and guiding them into being validated versions of themselves. We found her book thought provoking and challenging as well as heart warming and helpful. When you've listened to this, please support her by buying her books. Links below.Angela, is the first of several author conversations that we will publish in 2026. This year is going to be a busy year here at Still Unbelievable!1) Embracing the Old Witch in the Woodshttps://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798889835233/Embracing-the-Old-Witch-in-the-Woods2) Angela's websitehttps://angelajherrington.com/about/https://angelajherrington.com/press/https://angelajherrington.com/books-by-ang

In this episode of still unbelievable, Matthew reviews an episode of the Unbelievable? podcast. It's an episode that features Stephen Law and Michael Jones in conversation. He'll mostly focus on the things that Michael Jones says, because through his channel, Inspiring Philosophy, he says things about Christianity which are Unbelievable!, at least to the listener who is prepared to fact check things. Which sadly, most christians are not, so let us do that job for you so we can all see how Christianity always was, and is Still, Unbelievable!1) original episodehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UOwOCGIPzQhttps://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/does-humanism-or-christianity-offer-the-world-a-better-future-mike-jones-inspiring-philosophy-vs-stephen-law/19875.article?fbclid=IwY2xjawMFQvhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHn10xC1NvdZ0kJ4DK7W0wbeHoLbQEzThrFMsbk6TOJmSPwV_cM7ThYeErj5m_aem_DpmX3nw7Y91-weiovn7nqw2) Dr Stephen Lawhttps://lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/profiles/stephen-law3) Michael Joneshttps://www.inspiringphi

In this episode of Still Unbelievable!, Matthew reviews an episode of J Warner Wallace's Cold Case Christianity podcast where he tries to make a case for objective morality being explained by his preferred god. J Warner Wallace is infamous for his cold case Christianity book, which allegedly claims to be his story of discovery by investigating god like a detective. His podcast is not a good example of honest detective work and in this review of his case for objective morality, we'll see why. Word of warning, there is so much to comment on in this episode that we have added more interjections than any other other episode. if this is too much for you as a lister, please do let me know. Feedback on what is good and bad is always useful, and on that note, please do add a review of still unbelievable to wherever you get your podcasts, it helps others and it certainly helps us.1) the original episodehttps://coldcasechristianity.com/podcasts/podcasts-about-gods-existence/why-objective-moral-truth-is-best-explained-b

In in this episode of Still Unbelievable! Matthew reads the Christmas narratives from the gospels. To show that as each gospel is written, the story gets embellished.Unlike the death and resurrection narratives, see our 2025 Easter bonus episodes for thoughts on those, link in the show notes. The birth story of Jesus is not told in all four of the gospels. Like the Easter episodes, we will be looking at each of the gospels in the order written, which means starting with Mark chapter 1.1) Easter 2025 Bonus episodes on the death and resurrection of Jesushttps://youtu.be/f31UpncgmQkhttps://youtu.be/wgZhMPE-kx0https://youtu.be/bvtp-REH9oo2) extra biblical account of the birth of Jesushttps://earlychristianwritings.com/infancyjames.html#google_vignetteStill Unbelievable! book: https://amzn.eu/d/fmsN1CwApostate book: https://amzn.eu/d/9RIUZYxTo contact us, email: reasonpress@gmail.comour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonpress2901Our Theme Music was written for us by Holly, to support her and to purchase her

Matthew is joined by David from Skeptics and Seekers to answer Braxton Hunter's 5 questions for atheists 2025.Join us for answers, spattered with laughing and swearing!1) original youtube videohttps://youtu.be/gsma6UT3rwk?si=2jdJVDlqIMjuuFxy2) Robin Collinshttps://www.messiah.edu/homepage/1662/robin_collinshttps://www.messiah.edu/info/20003/faith_and_values/5/statements_of_faithhttps://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil201/Collins.pdf (1999) source of the freemon dyson quotehttps://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=0d385016fc615624829568172ae73c5ac695155ahttps://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/Phil383/collins.htm#N_1_3) Freeman Dyson Quote - (1979). Disturbing the Universehttps://archive.org/details/disturbinguniver0000dyso/page/250/mode/2up?q=%22water+could+not+exist+as+a+liquid%22https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article-abstract/32/12/51/432255/Disturbing-the-UniverseFreeman Dyson went on to say:"I conclude from the existence of these accidents ... that the universe is .

In this episode of Still Unbelievable!, Matthew reviews Sean McDowell and William Lane Craig being shitty about Rhett's deconversion. When Christian apologists review the deconversion of a high profile Christian, it's a given that they will miss the point on the things they say and misdirect their adoring Christian fans on the negative aspects of Christianity that cause the person to leave. This conversation is no exception and we're going to have fun highlighting all the predictable and unsurprising ways that Sean and WLC achieve this. Link 1 takes you to the Sean McDowell interview with WLC and Link 2 going to the Alex O'Connor interview with Rhett. It is very interesting that Sean does not provide a link to Alex's show in his YouTube notes. What is he afraid of?1) original Sean McDowell conversationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75gT-lEgRRw2) The original interview between Rhett and Alex O'Connor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9wjVLKy8Xk3) The Web of Belief - By W. V. Quine, J. S

In this episode Matthew reviews a conversation that Lee Strobel had with Justin Brierley in April 2022. In that discussion Lee tried very hard to make a case for heaven, and Matthew examines the points he makes and revealing why his case is utter bunk. It literally is wishful thinking gone wild.The original you tube video of the conversation is at link 1, it's not long, about 20 minutes. Lee's Case for heaven movie is at link 2. It's longer at almost 2 hours.1) Original conversation between Lee and Justinhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Oeh8L-87U2) case for heaven moviehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbkwdT3Tq403) hyponatraemiahttps://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/hyponatraemia/https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/hyponatraemia/background-information/complications/4) Being Close to Death can Transform Your Life.https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/understanding-grief/202411/can-being-close-to-death-transform-your-life?msockid=312d907b5d7169080dc782295cba68f75) Sharon Dirckxhttps://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/1

Episode 138 - Gavin Ortlund takes 5 minutes to Shoot Christianity in the foot.This episode is the audio only of a video review that is available on the Still Unbelievable! YouTube channel. See show notes for a link.the originalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QWcKjIKf0kdid the universe begin?https://youtu.be/4Ps9-u0KfG4?si=1ew1M2-TI8rODbkqapparent fine tuning does not mean a god did ithttps://youtu.be/jJ-fj3lqJ6M?si=CRVg4At1mXpK-qd6consciousnesshttps://youtu.be/MASBIB7zPo4?si=6JK-no1XeIdj1k9oprayer does not workhttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-31-sci-prayer31-story.htmlTo contact us, email: reasonpress@gmail.comour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonpress2901Our Theme Music was written for us by Holly, to support her and to purchase her music use the links below:https://hollykirstensongs.com/https://hollykirsten.bandcamp.com/

1) Anna Clark Miller - services, podcast, and bookhttps://www.empathyparadigm.com/martyrshewrotehttps://www.empathyparadigm.com/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Religious-Trauma-Survival-Guide-Professionals/dp/B0CHL5FGBM2) Beyond Belief: the Coercive Power of High Control Religionshttps://www.questioninglds.com/lds-articles/g6m1k7bpggn42irn5oyoirpwb16wll3) Reclamation Collectivehttps://www.reclamationcollective.com/4) Anna on the Life Unwasted Podcasthttps://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/life-unwasted/anna-Y5IWraHvF9i/5) What's the Relationship Between Neurodiversity and Trauma?https://welldoing.org/article/whats-the-relationship-neurodiveristy-trauma6) Matthew on the Life Unwasted Podcasthttps://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/life-unwasted/matthew-C4ZD9NcP_6T/To contact us, email: reasonpress@gmail.comour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonpress2901Our Theme Music was written for us by Holly, to support her and to purchase her music use the links below:https://hollykirstensongs.com/https://hollykirsten.bandcamp.co

Episode 136 - Transhumanism - with Revd Dr Stephen Goundrey-SmithIn this episode of Still Unbelievable!, Matthew chats with an old friend about Transhumanism. Stephen and Matthew have known each other since they were in a church 18+ group more than 30 years ago. Stephen trained as a pharmacist and then as a minister for the church if England and now combines them both in his work at Ripon College Cuddesdon. We raise several topics in this conversation, so please as always check the show notes for essential links. And if you have any thoughts Steve and Matthew are both happy to receive them, reasonpress@gmail.com.1) Revd Dr Stephen Goundrey-Smith - items and bookshttps://www.rcc.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/revd-dr-stephen-goundrey-smithhttps://www.ethicsandmedicine.com/ethical-evaluation-of-new-biomedical-technologies-using-past-case-studies-in-pharmaceutical-medicine/https://amzn.eu/d/8lW8qvM2) Transhumanismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism3) CRISPRhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR4) Upload TV_serie

Episode 135 - Allan Chapman - The Victorians and the Holy LandIn this episode of Still Unbelievable! Matthew chats with Allan Chapman, who teaches history of science at Oxford University, and has written extensively on history and science, including the relationship between the two. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a founder member of the Society for the History of Astronomy. He is the author of several books, including the one we will be discussing this episode. If you have any interest in the history of Christianity, then we recommend this book as an enjoyable read. As always, see the show notes to for links to the book and topics that are referenced in the book. There are items in the links that we do not specifically cover in this conversation, so please to check them out for a taste of what the book covers.1) The Victorians and the Holy Land: Adventurers, Tourists, and Archaeologists in the Lands of the Biblehttps://amzn.eu/d/j7QAYC52) Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelley - referenced i

Episode 134 - Apostate - Jo Lloyd JohnsonIn this episode of Still Unbelievable, Matthew chats with Jo, one of the contributors of the book Apostate, Stories of Deconversion. Jo is already an author and has written her own memoir of deconstruction. Please be aware that this conversation touches on sexual violence from the opening minutes, but it is not all that is talked about, other topics are covered as well. Jo's book does talk about her experience of sexual violence and proceeds from her book go to the fantastic charity, Louder Than Silence, see the notes for links to the books and the charity.1) Silenced in Eden - Jo's bookhttps://a.co/d/cap1YWt2) Louder than Silencehttps://www.louderthansilence.org/3) Apostate Bookhttps://apocryphilepress.com/book/apostate-stories-of-deconversion/4) The Inverse Cowgirlhttps://msmagazine.com/2023/09/25/inverse-cowgirl-book-intersex/https://www.waterstones.com/book/inverse-cowgirl/alicia-roth-weigel/97800632952855) Pidgeon Pagonis - Nobody Needs to Know: A Memoirhttps://pi

Episode 132 - How to Kill God the easy WayIn this episode of Still Unbelievable!, Matthew chats with Alan Bondar about his provocatively titled book, How to Kill God the Easy Way. We enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is seeking to engage with a critical review of Christian apologetics. If you have any sympathies for Christianity and it's proponents, then this book will challenge those thoughts. If you have doubts about Christianity, then this book will help you to focus your thoughts and put words to those doubts.We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did recording it.1) Contact Alan:https://howtokillgod.com/alan@howtokillgod.com/2) Buy the Book - How to Kill God the Easy Wayhttps://a.co/d/6BC6C243) Other books by Alanhttps://a.co/d/3vNyo3shttps://a.co/d/cppZcPQ4) Apostate: Stories of Deconversionhttps://youtu.be/_hKSjwfnfms?si=yK6mbvfHUqWJVTMn5) Alan on Jen Fishbourne's YouTube channelpart 1: https://youtu.be/Pq3zh5Od55I?si=5JombE2Iofgsv9rIpart 2: https://youtu.be/PyYUQk9vLK

In December 2024 Matthew asked Amy and Greg who made them experts on what makes someone a Christian. They answered.In this episode Matthew takes their answer and explains why he's unimpressed. Especially because of the way their comments negatively affect LGBTQ+ people and those who want abortion to be a valid choice.1) The Jan 2025 episode being responded tohttps://www.str.org/w/-strask-who-made-you-the-experts-on-what-makes-someone-a-christian-2) the Dec 2024 episode that prompted Matthew's questionhttps://www.str.org/w/-strask-how-can-so-many-professing-christians-support-things-that-are-anti-christian-3) When the ‘Biblical View’ for Evangelicals Was That Life Begins at Birthhttps://religiondispatches.org/when-the-biblical-view-for-evangelicals-was-that-life-begins-at-birth/4) EP105 Answering the STR challengehttps://open.spotify.com/episode/54nXmumqLbErTTXE4PtYWD?si=glUJty8XTVadUfNvJwWW7g5) Godwin's Lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law6) Gay Men under the Nazi Regimehttps://encyclopedia.ushmm.o

1) Full text of the rulinghttps://supremecourt.uk/cases/judgments/uksc-2024-00422) legal cheek commentaryhttps://www.legalcheek.com/2025/04/supreme-court-rules-woman-has-biological-meaning/3) Lauren on the T Elders podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO4_9hJCQFITo contact us, email: reasonpress@gmail.comour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonpress2901Our Theme Music was written for us by Holly, to support her and to purchase her music use the links below:https://hollykirstensongs.com/https://hollykirsten.bandcamp.com/

Mark's account is chapter 16, it is the earliest, and also the shortest.There are no angels, no soldiers, Jesus is not there. Women are the only witnesses, besides the unidentified young man.Verse 9 onwards, reads differently, it contradicts the fear and silence of the women it includes hints and pointers to events described in greater detail in the other gospels. It's almost as though it was added after those stories were written.The note says some early manuscripts do not have verses 9 to 20. What it doesn't say is that manuscripts from as late the 4th century do not include these verses, they appear in manuscripts from the 5th century. This is strong evidence this text is forged. But you won't learn this from the bible. You have to engage with scholars. Why would christians downplay the truth here?Matthew's account is in chapter 28Matthew introduces an angel to roll away the stone, and an earthquake for added drama.Matthew also adds the soldiers for drama and conspiracy. Including the suggestion that Jews