Lori Fazzino M.A. is a Ph.D. Candidate & Graduate Instructor with the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Her studies and research are fascinating. In this episode she puts them to use and shares a lot more of her findings, stories of deconverted folks finding freedom, lets me know what stage of the process I am in and helps me through my fear of atheism.
Lori is leaning agnostic but lives as an atheist humanist. She's always been a brilliant, feisty, strong person. Coming to the faith as a young woman, she paid for Christian College by dancing in Alaska. After leaving the church, she found herself going back there until a severe car accident interrupted the trip.
Her story of being kicked out the church is fascinating, as Mary Magdeline would have rebuked her Pastor and been right at home kicking with Lori. Her now a present and future as a college professor and soon to be Ph.D. in Evangelical Deconversion is a help to many people. She currently teaches Sociology of Religion at UNLV.
Lori's Personal Story
Getting Into Religious Deconversion
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I'm A Loser, Happens every month, at the end of the month. You send us stuff, and we discuss it.
How do you send stuff in?
ON THIS EPISODE
LOSER BOARD: You guys send me stuff, and I address it! Notes from Losers.
LOSER LINE: Loser Keith calls in and starts a conversation on what a "healthy leader" might look like.
ALSO! You can stop sending me Jim Jefferies gun rants; I'm featuring it NOW!
A clip from Australian comedian Jim Jefferies' routine on gun control found initially on his Netflix special, Bare, has now gone viral following the most recent mass shootings in the United States, which has sparked a debate on whether or not the country should impose stronger gun control laws.
In the bit, Jefferies cleverly pokes fun at gun lovers while claiming that they only have one argument to make their case. Then you get to hear me rant on the only thing that I think matters to this American gun discussion.
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Lori Fazzino M.A. is a Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Instructor with the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lori and I have church past together. Meeting in the megachurch fresh out of high school, in different ways, we pursued the hype within the machine together, and now both find solace outside of religion.
Her studies and research are fascinating. This will be a pair of episodes that will encourage those leaving religion and fascinate those in or outside of it. Lori is an agnostic but takes the time to explain why she has taken on a more atheist identity. She feels strongly about being a humanist, in which I too am finding great joy.
Lori has an amazing story of being kicked out the church, and now a present and future as a college professor and soon to be Ph.D. in Evangelical Deconversion. She currently teaches Sociology of Religion at UNLV.
If you're like us, you're tired of the tragedies continuing to plague Americans. After every mass shooting over the last five years, Taylor and I have engaged in the debate over gun control and gun laws.
I, Zac, have been a gun owner for years. Taylor grew up in a family of gun owners but has a different viewpoint from me altogether. I am trying to learn, but will I get rid of my gun/s? That's to be determined. We engage each others points of view and begin to hear and understand where we each other are coming from.
This is a more light-hearted conversation about gun control. We start by hearing Taylor's story, his Lutheran Confirmation, and journey into atheism. We recorded this episode a long time ago. He and I had put this episode on the shelf because we didn't feel like it was as potent as when we would discuss gun control without recording.
Sadly, we even agreed, "Let's not post it until the next mass shooting." Almost like we knew it was inevitable that there would be another. Sadly, we are all aware; there has been another mass shooting. The biggest in American history so far. The Pulse, Orlando Florida, a gay nightclub, and bar.
WE DISCUSS:
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“Ideas of fascism, sexuality, gore, violence, and vomit all erupts into this one package of Raft of Dead Monkeys. This is dream logic, seemingly never second guessing any impulse that they had at this point in their musical careers…”
- Nick Toti
Raft of Dead Monkeys was a rock band from Seattle, WA, known for their controversy within the Christian punk scene. The band featured LOR show guests Jeff Bettger lead vocal, and Matt Johnson drums. Described as a hypothetical band mocking rock culture, their early stage shows consisted of vulgar lyrics, male strippers, and bloody nurses. In an interview, Jeff Bettger (JSuffering) explained the band's concept with the following:
It was art, and we were making some statements about our culture by mirroring it, copying it and throwing it back in people’s faces to say, “Hey, this is what people adhere to and this is it.” We thought it was funny and humorous, and a lot of people didn’t get the joke, and didn’t get that we were characters we created when we performed sort of to break the Rock ‘n’ Roll idea/lifestyle, although we don’t really have that idea or lifestyle, at least I don’t.
The majority of the band members were openly Christian and previously played in bands on Tooth & Nail Records, a label that featured primarily Christian rock bands. The band itself was not affiliated with Tooth & Nail, but the fan base of affiliated bands (Roadside Monument, Ninety Pound Wuss) was largely Christian and was left bewildered when Raft released their first album which contained explicit lyrics.
In 2001 Raft was invited to play Tomfest, a Christian underground music festival, and received mixed reactions when singer Jeff Suffering fingered the crowd during their song Two Year Lease, which features the lyrics, "you're not the only whore in town, you're just the best fuck around." Tomfest founder Mikee Bridges later issued an apology to those who were offended by the performance.
They broke up on October 22, 2001.
This hour long sit down with Nick Toti (Interesting Productions), creator of THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF SEATTLE: a documentary about Raft of eDad Monkeys. Is a fun rollercoaster ride of interesting stories about Raft as well as the journey of creating this wonderfully dark documentary.
Nick, often inspired by avant-garde movements found this artistic feel in Raft and became a fan of their art and music. His film company Interesting Productions is a non-profit production/distribution company that was founded by Nick Toti and Matt Latham. They make movies and give them away for free.
I have, to be honest. Only in the last two years have I branched out from the pale, entertainment driven, society I called home for so long, to engage documentaries and truly enjoy them. This is a documentary about a band that seemed religiously suppressed and was ready to explode into an artistic cluster fuck mocking the times. In my opinion, Raft succeeded.
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"I dream of a world in which people speak more openly honestly and express their feelings more accurately. That fascinates me!"
- Greg Bennick
I am completely in love with Greg and over the course of these episodes have become a fan of his work, music, and spoken word. His song "The Wounds Never Have To Win" with his band Between Earth, and Sky may very well become my life theme song.
Greg is so much more than his music, spoken word, philanthropy. He's a humanist, an activist, a champion for those who suffer and clearly heard from these episodes, a great coach, and in my mind a guru like partaker and sharer of wisdom.
His lifetime studies through the life and works of Ernest Becker inspired me. Greg is currently working on producing a new film documentary on Ernest Becker, so stay tuned for that.
THIS CONVERSATION LEADS US TO DISCUSS:
MUSIC FROM THIS EPISODE
Music in this episode is from Greg’s band Between Earth and Sky.
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