Haystacks & Hell
Stories about growing up Seventh-day Adventist, leaving faith behind, and building new, fulfilling lives.
Episodes
Were you ever part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or exposed to fundamentalist Christianity in general? If so, have we got a show for you (queue the Veggie Tales theme song)!
Haystacks & Hell is an ex-Adventist podcast where we tell stories about growing up Seventh-day Adventist, leaving faith behind, and building new, fulfilling lives.
We'll also unpack topics like:
- The end of the world
- Sex, dating, and purity culture
- Wild quo...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago introduces himself and the podcast. Abby and Ami discuss their plans for the podcast, their backgrounds, why they left the church, and ask their friends the question: When did you know that god wasn't real?
Links & stats mentioned in this episode:
- What are haystacks?
- What is the National Sunday Law?
- Christian poll results re: War and Torture
- Guess who else deconstructed: ...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago, Ami, and Abby talk about death, heaven, hell, and Adventist eschatology. Abby and Ami ask their friends the vital question: Were you taught that animals go to heaven?
Links mentioned in this episode:
- The Greek myth of Sisyphus
- Big Gods Hypothesis Article, Paper
- The Good Place
- Death with Dignity
- The evolution of moral empathic evaluation
Have a story to share? Write to...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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We discuss Adventist culture, diet, and the Sabbath, looking at the good and bad aspects of these things. Abby and Ami are joined by Alex, and they ask their friends "What's your favorite veggie meat?"
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Have a story to share? Write to us, send a DM or voice message on Instagram, or leave a voicemail at (301) 750-8648. We take your privacy seriously: Privacy Policy
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Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago reads stories shared by listeners of the podcast: A woman who left the conservative fringes of Adventism, a trans woman from Puerto Rico, and someone who was raised in the SDA Reform Church.
You can read these stories and more at hell.bio/stories.
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Have a story to share? Write to us, send a DM or voice message on Instagram, or leave a voicemail at (301) 750-8648. We take ...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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We discuss John Harvey Kellogg, early Seventh-day Adventist attitudes towards sex, more modern attitudes, and our own experiences with sex education growing up in the church. Ami asks her friends: When did you learn what sex was?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Oh look, another sex episode! Santiago shares his experiences and some resources. Ami, Abby, and Alex discuss sex ed in the Adventist church and touch on dorm life, contraceptives, and the experience of growing up during the AIDS crisis. They ask their friends: What, if any, sex ed did you receive?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago interviews his Gen Z brother Miguel about growing up Gen Z and Seventh-day Adventist. We laugh about sex ed, bananas, and fleeing their home in the middle of the night.
Links mentioned in this episode:
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Have a story to share? Write to us, send a DM or voice message on Instagram, or leave a voicemail at (301) 750-8648. We take your privacy seriousl...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago reads the letter he wrote to his parents about leaving the church and faith behind. Ami, Abby, and Alex talk about dealing with family who are still in the church. They talk about issues with the previous generation, as well as issues with raising kids and the next generation.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, an...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago shares a bit more about his experiences after leaving the church and shares a template of the letter he wrote to his parents. Abby, Ami, and Alex talk more about issues with raising your own children when your family wants to proselytize them. They talk about issues with aging parents, and whether people are happier with or without religion, regardless of whether it’s tr...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago interviews the research team behind the ex-Adventist survey and research project called Eighth-day Freedom: Dr. Tom Arcaro, Dr. Duane McClearn, and Jeff, an ex-Adventist originally from Michigan.
Buy Santiago a coffee • Support on Patreon
Ex-Adventist Survey Links:
- Take the survey
- Eighth-day Freedom Blog
- One Size Does Not Fit All (Blog addressing bias)
Links to other ...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago interviews Melissa Duge Spiers, AKA Deconstruction Auntie. Melissa is an award-winning memoirist, screenwriter, and essayist based in Silicon Valley, California. She grew up as a 4th generation Adventist, got baptized at 12, and left the church after high school. This is Part 1 of a 2 part conversation.
Buy Santiago a coffee • Support on Patreon
Melissa's Links:
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Part 2 of Santiago's conversation with Melissa Duge Spiers, an award-winning memoirist, screenwriter, and essayist based in Silicon Valley, California. They cover Melissa's journey with therapy after leaving the church, her current projects, and more.
Buy Santiago a coffee • Support on Patreon
Melissa's Links:
...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Ami, Abby, and Misty talk about worldly literature, fiction, and the church. They discuss their experiences with forbidden books and the Adventist attitude towards fiction in general, and ask their friends if they read any forbidden books.
Buy Santiago a coffee • Support on Patreon
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Have a story to share? Write to us, send a DM or voice message on Instagram, or leave a voicemail ...
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Santiago interviews Jeff, an ex-Adventist who used to work for ADRA and still does humanitarian work today. They discuss a bit of everything about growing up Adventist, including Jeff's experiences at an SDA boarding school and what it's been like to leave Adventism over the last 20 years.
Buy Santiago a coffee • Support on Patreon
Links to topics mentioned:
Bonus episode discussing an upcoming "Human Sexuality Taskforce" announced by Ted Wilson, President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Why talk about this? Because I care about the current and former Adventists who will be affected by this. Apparently the GC's homophobia is not clear enough, so they will be producing media to double down on this.
Related Social Posts (please share if you can):
Support the Show • Support on Patreon
Santiago interviews Adam Kyle Jones, an ex-Adventist who studied to become a Seventh-day Adventist pastor at the SDA school Oakwood University. Kyle went from being a lifelong fundamentalist, conservative Adventist to an agnostic atheist. We cover his upbringing, deconversion, depression, and how he came out stronger on the other side.
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
Topics / ...
Support the Dunk Family: hell.bio/dunkfamily
Check out the new Resources Page
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Santiago announces updates to the resources linked on the Haystacks & Hell website, a new mutual aid project, and a call-to-action to help fellow listeners of the podcast.
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
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Have a story to share? Write to us, send a DM or voice message on Instagram, or leave a voicemail at (301) 750-8648. We take your pr...
Support the Show • Support on Patreon
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Santiago interviews Matthew Vollmer, an ex-Adventist writer and English professor at Virginia Tech who just so happens to be the nephew of Ted Wilson, the current President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
Matthew's Links:
Book - All of Us Together in the End
Books Mentioned:
Support the Show • Support on Patreon
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Part 2 of Santiago's interview with Matthew Vollmer, an ex-Adventist writer and English professor at Virginia Tech who just so happens to be the nephew of Ted Wilson, the current President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Full Transcripts, resources and more: hell.bio/notes
Matthew's Links:
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