Unbelief
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.
Episodes
Forget the “God helps those who help themselves” nonsense. Ruth’s story proves God built a social welfare system and stamped it holy. In Ruth 2, she walks into a stranger’s field, risks her safety, and outworks every man there—because God’s law said the rich were required to share. Your favorite “hard work” preacher would hate this chapter.
You asked, we answered: How do you make sense of the Bible after learning how it was written? Can someone follow Jesus and also find truth in Buddhism? Is hell biblical—or just a scare tactic? And what’s the most trustworthy Bible translation? It’s all in here.
Sometimes God feels absent. Bitter, even. Naomi gets that. But Ruth shows us that when everything collapses, the right person by your side can be sacred. This episode is about that kind of love—the loyal, no-matter-what kind—and what it teaches us about faith and friendship.
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She was told her worth was tied to being a wife and mother—and that at 22 was practically a geriatric bride. So she got married, made sure “obey” was in the vows, and followed the evangelical script. Years (and one major deconstruction) later, she’s out as bi, still married, and thriving. Spoiler: the husband stayed. The evangelical friends? Not so much.
Ruth isn’t your typical Bible heroine. She’s a Moabite, a woman, and the star of a book that basically tells Ezra and Nehemiah to sit down. This episode explores how Ruth smashes purity codes, upends patriarchy, and makes a case for radical inclusion—without ever preaching a sermon.
They said if you masturbate, you're broken. They lied. We dive into the toxic shame of purity culture’s “masturbation addiction” claims, clear up what Onan was really doing, and open a thoughtful (not preachy) conversation about porn and ethics.
If you ever felt guilty for making out, this one’s for you. We tear into abstinence-only education, the purity ring industrial complex, and the horror show that is the “born-again virgin.” Plus, we clap back at the toxic theology that says you’re not worthy of heaven if you love your own life too much. Yes, really.
Turns out the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids isn’t a warning about heaven’s velvet rope. It’s a call to be ready for the unexpected. We unpack the cultural backdrop, the spiritual arrogance of the “prepared,” and how first-century people missed Jesus because they weren’t open—and how we still do the same thing today.
Purity culture wants you to believe marriage solves everything—except it doesn’t. We dig into stories of people rejected for cohabitation, the dangerous lie that consent disappears once you’re married, and why reducing life to two bad choices is just bad theology wrapped in shame.
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The Parable of the Weeds isn’t about judging people’s souls—it’s about waiting before you yank people out of your life. We break down the cultural background, the dangers of playing spiritual police, and why people might not be who you think they are. Spoiler: sometimes the wheat and the weeds look exactly the same.
Let’s talk about that time purity culture told you dating a non-Christian would ruin your soul. We dig into the myth of being “unequally yoked,” how that verse isn’t even about marriage, and why courting culture stunts your growth like a purity ring with a chokehold.
Jesus didn’t just forgive the woman—they had a whole theological mic drop right in the middle of dinner. We unpack the ancient hospitality customs the Pharisee ignored, how Jesus publicly re-centered the one everyone tried to erase, and what it means to be both messy and full of faith.
Religious trauma isn’t just in your head—it lives in your body. In this episode, we talk to a religious trauma therapist about what it is, how it shows up, and how healing actually works. From EMDR to somatic therapy to finding a therapist who gets it, this is your intro guide to unlearning spiritual harm.
You’ve heard the Left Behind version—but what if the Bible never promised a cosmic vacuum sucking up all the good Christians? We walk through every so-called “rapture” verse, dismantling the theology one line at a time. Spoiler: Jesus wasn’t talking about disappearing in your khakis.
What happens when the Baptist pastor in your town preaches an entire sermon about you, because you’re the only openly gay kid? Our guest tells the story of being publicly shamed and slowly rebuilding his spiritual life. From Baptist trauma to a surprising homecoming in Judaism, this episode explores what communal harm looks like—and what healing can become.
patreon.com/skepticpastor
Universal salvation, anti-authoritarianism, and maybe a warning about neat little spiritual clichés—all from one tiny seed. In this episode, we dig into the parable of the mustard seed and why reading and looking for the truth that presents itself might be the most faithful move you can make.
What happens when your evangelical dad reads your diary and finds out you’re a lesbian—and he’s also your pastor? Sharon Roggio, director of 1946: The Movie, tells her story of heartbreak, leaving home, and somehow finding a way back into relationship. We also talk about how “homosexual” ended up in the Bible—and why that mistranslation still haunts us today.
We’re not here to scare you with hellfire—we’re here to tell you this parable is about injustice, privilege, and how hard it is to see your own biases. The Rich Man never figured it out. Maybe this episode will help the rest of us do better.
patreon.com/skepticpastor
It’s the conversation every deconstructing queer (or ally) eventually has: what does the Bible actually say about LGBTQ people? We bring receipts, cultural context, and a healthy amount of side-eye to the verses used to exclude—and flip the script completely.
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