A Backslider's Guide to Getting Over God

Journey of an Evangelical Apostate

By: Cassandra Brandt

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A Backslider's Guide to Getting Over God: Journey of an Evangelical Apostate is both a subjective account of one individual's experience with indoctrination and deconstruction from fundamentalist faith, and an objective critique of evangelical theology and its dangerous consequences for individuals and society.

Cassandra Brandt grew up in the Assembly of God, product of small-town charismatic Pentecostal pastors, terrifying televangelists and a rod not spared. Evangelist apologist in youth, tormented by doubt and shamed by purity culture, she recounts living in fear of the Rapture around Y2K.

Cassandra’s journey from faith began with growing intrigue in the natural world, gnawing need to understand history, and disenchantment with the doctrine and dogma- compounded by cognitive dissonance and the pull of her heart toward a secular morality.

A Backslider's Guide explores the academic quest the author embarks upon to answer the burning questions about the belief system she was born into and the reality existing outside of it.

Deconstructing scripture and evangelical eschatology, the author explores the work of biblical scholars, historians and mythologists- taboo literature essential for intellectual honesty. Learning about alternative philosophies and frameworks to find a sense of meaning, she explores universal ethics and values, and examines also religious trauma and its aftermath.

To those outside fundamentalism, A Backslider’s Guide presents a researched insider’s point of view of fundamentalist indoctrination. To fellow apostates, this book offers solidarity in sharing its psychological scars, and for those deconstructing, provides powerful arguments and compelling research that challenges the evangelical doctrine that teaches hate, fear and shame and calls it love.

Worth listening to

She makes you realize how much time you wasted on Christianity. And how foolish we all were. She spends a little too much time on her childhood details as filler then unfortunately goes a little political. Her liberal views needlessly show. There are good facts throughout which makes it worthwhile.