Ex-Christianity, Health & Wellbeing, LGBTQ+, Religion

Confronting Sexual Purity Culture (Part 2)

Three and a half years on from Confronting Sexual Purity Culture part one - where do I sit? How is my relationship to my sexuality, and how have I continued to confront sexual purity culture. Where am I at now? Nowadays, I'm fairly free of the guilt, anxiety and fear that was once a crippling… Continue reading Confronting Sexual Purity Culture (Part 2)

Other, Religion

Unwrapping Xmas & Easter: Rethinking Holidays? (Guest Post)

As a teenager, I was never able to get a satisfactory answer about why we celebrate Christmas. I knew about its Christian roots, but I was always puzzled by the fact that we as a non-Christian family continued to base our annual holiday around this essentially random date. The best explanation anyone was able to… Continue reading Unwrapping Xmas & Easter: Rethinking Holidays? (Guest Post)

Education, philosophy, Religion

Philosophising with Kids, Paradoxes and Inventing Religions

I never thought I'd get paid to pass on existential dread to teenagers. I'm kidding of course: they bring their own, and they bring it in bucketloads. We share in the joy that is questioning everything, including but not limited to unmovable movers, uncaused causers, infinite regresses, and... temporality. Enter: Jeremy Bearimy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFm9ClqlGuo This term… Continue reading Philosophising with Kids, Paradoxes and Inventing Religions

Ex-Christianity, Health & Wellbeing, LGBTQ+, philosophy, Religion

Confession (Spoken Word Poem)

It's Christchurch Pride, and what better way to celebrate than to throwback to a spoken word I wrote about religious trauma, crushing on a straight girl, and the catharsis of coming out? (yaaaay) For realsies though, even though this is an old poem now, and I have outgrown it in many ways, I love how… Continue reading Confession (Spoken Word Poem)

autism, Ex-Christianity, Favourites, Health & Wellbeing, Neurodiversity, philosophy, Religion, Te Reo Māori

Ex-Christianity Revisited: Mental Health, Autistic Burnout & the Church

This may surprise some, but I don't write-off my entire Christian past as negative. The relationship I have with that life stage is a complex and nuanced one, and I learned a lot through this time - through people, experiences and community. Autistic Burnout My mental health as a Christian teenager regularly fluctuated. I had… Continue reading Ex-Christianity Revisited: Mental Health, Autistic Burnout & the Church

Ex-Christianity, Health & Wellbeing, philosophy, Politics, Religion

Ex-Christianity Revisited: God is ___

We're throwing it back hardcore, to my first ever blog post on this site, God is Good?. I was still living Bahrain when I wrote this. God is _______. Fill in the blank for me. Seriously, do it. I'm interested in this as an exercise. As a part-time boat-rocker and full-time philosophiser, I would like… Continue reading Ex-Christianity Revisited: God is ___

entertainment, Ex-Christianity, philosophy, Religion

Musings on Mortality (Part One)

Let's talk about death ba-by, let's talk about you and grief, let's talk about all the big things and the bad things that may be... let's talk about death My previous post, Things Hospital Taught Me, is shaping up to be one of the most popular blogs I have ever written. Re-reading it puts me… Continue reading Musings on Mortality (Part One)

Ex-Christianity, philosophy, Religion

Grieving God, Sin’s Genius and the Why Question

This is a belated chapter loosely branching from the four part series I wrote mid-last year, detailing my unorthodox conversion to Christianity, coming to terms with my sexuality, and subsequent deconversion. [Parts one, two, three and four available here] I hadn't initially planned to write further on the series, but there is so much more… Continue reading Grieving God, Sin’s Genius and the Why Question

Education, Ex-Christianity, Favourites, Health & Wellbeing, philosophy, Religion

Religious Diversity & What It Means to Be Human

While the word 'humanist' makes up half of my namesake on this blog, I realise that I have never directly discussed or addressed Humanism, what it means to me, and how I interpret and identify with it. Again, I'm not going to do the movement justice, so here is a good resource if you want… Continue reading Religious Diversity & What It Means to Be Human

Education, Ex-Christianity, Favourites, Music, philosophy, Religion

Leading Kids to Christ, Youth Groups, and Teenhood with Jesus (Part Three)

Turn and Face the Strange As a young teenager, I was very timid, very awkward, and very in love with words, sounds and songs. I was fascinated by the lyricism, poetry and prose of the bible. My favourite verses are probably: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for… Continue reading Leading Kids to Christ, Youth Groups, and Teenhood with Jesus (Part Three)