Episode 145 - Michelle Van Loon - Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism’s Nonessentials.

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 Nonessentialshttps://www.eerdmans.com/9780802884626/downsizing/https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224465982-downsizinghttps://bobonbooks.com/2025/09/15/review-downsizing/https://amzn.eu/d/6VE2CxW2) Follow Michellehttps://michellevanloon.substack.com/https://thesageforum.com/about-us3) Michelle's other bookshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/list/383322.Michelle_Van_Loon4) Deconversion Anonymoushttps://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion5) Religious Traumahttps://www.empathyparadigm.com/religioustraumahttps://therapist.com/trauma/religious-trauma/https://resilientmindcounseling.com/10-signs-you-may-be-experiencing-religious-trauma/6) Jewish Chosennesshttps://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-quot-chosen-people-quotStill 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 music use the links below:https://hollykirstensongs.com/https://hollykirsten.bandcamp.com/