A Road to Spiritual Freedom
from Harmful Theology
Author, podcaster, faith deconstruction coach,
and purveyor of historical spirituality
I’m a husband, dad, papa, author, podcaster, former evangelical missionary, faith deconstruction coach, amateur historian, Rotarian, and a bad golfer. Read my full story here: Why I Left Evangelicalism for Universal Love.
I help people deconstruct from evangelical/conservative Christianity to find a more historically accurate and healthy faith or non-religious philosophy of life. I invite you to join or attend:
The Evangelical Deconstruction Support Community
The Religious Deconstruction Workshop
Welcome to The Spiritual Brewpub! Learn how to expose harmful faith and find healthy faith.
Featuring contributions by: Gregory Boyd, Michael Camp, Zac Cannon, Melissa Denyce, Matthew J. Distefano, Martha Elias Downey, Maria Francesca French, Safi Kaskas, Matthew J. Korpman, Leslie Nease, Brandan Robertson, Nora Sophia, Angie Von Slaughter, and a preface by Katy Valentine.
Many of us are introduced to Jesus at a young age and the version of him we initially encounter is quite often an incomplete version of the historical figure.
In this volume, you’ll read a variety of perspectives on Jesus from authors, academics, theologians, mystics, pastors, musicians, and even a former reality TV star and Muslim scholar.
My chapter is “Reclaiming the Scandalous Jesus.”
Available on Amazon on April 16
Coming to Amazon on April 16!
Breaking Bad Faith
“…is a masterful work, extracting the soul-crushing myths of modern evangelism from the beauty of Christian spirituality, at times with the surgeon’s scalpel and, at times, with a butcher’s knife. Thumbs up on both..” ~ Amazon reviewer
“Camp fearlessly rakes through our theology to discover the good and expose the bad.”
~ David Hayward, the NakedPastor, and author of Flip It Like This.
”Michael Camp sees what’s wrong… I recommend his diagnosis and medicine! ~ Thomas Jay Oord, author and theologian
Breaking Bad Faith uncovers how bad faith—belief in a duplicitous, retributive, and violent god—is entrenched in today’s popular theology and American culture (it’s worse than you think). Using forgotten history, it exposes 12 myths most Christians believe and how entrenched violent retribution is in parts of the Bible and in the majority Christian worldview. It then shows us what matters most: Jesus’ subversive way of peace and restoration beyond religion. You’ll learn contemporary mind-blowing examples how this path works, including many outside of Christianity. A perfect antidote for those deconstructing evangelical faith and encouragement for those yearning for a peaceable, historically honest path.
Available at Amazon.com
Read Other Endorsements of the Book
The Value I Strive to
Bring You
Here’s what I’d love to do for you: Do you struggle with a fundamentalist or evangelical religious past or present? Do you have family or friends whose conservative faith impacts you? Are you a church burnout, spiritual refugee,
ex-evangelical, or spiritual but not religious? With help from our community, I provide insightful historical/encouraging content to help you come to terms with your experience and find a free and more inclusive path that aligns more with historical facts and human sciences—whether that’s still following Jesus or post-Christian. Attend or join:
The Religious Deconstruction Workshop
The Faith Deconstruction Community.
This content will empower you on your journey:
This content sets people free from fear, guilt, spiritual abuse, disillusionment, and religious misinformation. It will enable you to assess your own faith journey, what you may need to discard or rethink, and what new direction is best for you—either in your own walk or in your interaction with family and friends. I do not seek to convert you to a particular faith or non-faith, but will give you a toolbox of spiritual/historical implements so you can follow the evidence and your heart wherever they lead.
What makes it unique?
1 – Help for those harmed by abusive religion. It enables you to free yourself from hurtful narratives you inherited or were a victim of—inerrancy, patriarchy, hell, original depravity, anti-LGBTQ, substitutionary/authoritative theologies, etc.
2 – Food for those hungry for the facts – It provides valuable historical and scholarly evidence about the origins and timeline of Christianity and the Bible.
3 – Non-judgmental - I share conclusions without judging yours. When I challenge views I think are misguided (conservative or liberal) I do so in a respectful way. I could be wrong. You decide.
4 – Fully inclusive - I strive to practice love for all regardless of people’s beliefs on the fundamentalism-to-atheism continuum. This includes to the evangelicals whose position I often critique. Wherever you are, you are loved.
5 – Historical-based spirituality - Content based on historical, biblical, & scholarly evidence. The big idea is good theology comes from good history.
6 – Partner with others – I love to interview and work with people who have significant contributions to make on spiritual topics and share that content with you. You hear a lot of voices, not just mine.
7 – Non-sectarian - I don’t have a “progressive” or “liberal” or other label to call myself. We have no denominational or sectarian axe to grind.
8 – Love focused – We believe Jesus’ love-ethic is transformational and what the world needs. Practicing love and peacemaking is more important than belief in religious doctrine.
9 - Simplify the journey - I take complex theological/historical ideas and make them simple.
What makes Michael qualified to help you?
I was in the evangelical movement for over 25 years as an ordained missionary, aid worker, and lay leader in a variety of churches. The 70s/80s Jesus Movement, a “born again” experience, fellowship among Baptists, charismatics, and Calvinists, a youth group leader, jailed as an Operation Rescue pro-life activist, seven years ministry/church planting among Muslims in Africa, seminary, missions training, global development studies, and a masters degree from a Christian university. I experienced spiritual abuse and burned out trying to save the world. After overcoming clinical depression through cognitive therapy, I set on a path to find answers to the dilemmas of my evangelical worldview.
Slowly, through historical and scholarly research, I made several startling discoveries that set me free from harmful theologies to pursue a vibrant path more in line with reality, historical facts, & the loving way of the mystics & social activists—the “way” I believe Jesus actually demonstrated. I also discovered many others who pursued a similar search and landed on essentially the same path. You can listen to my story here.
I have found a home in a service-based organization called Rotary International in which we partner with people all over the world to do humanitarian projects that empower the poor. In my local club near Seattle, WA, I serve on the board as International Director and also lead two Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups projects in Tanzania and Uganda with 80% of beneficiaries being women. Although I’m done with church, I see great value in spiritual and service-oriented community.
Find content that will help you heal from spiritual abuse, fear-based faith, disillusionment, and misguided harmful theologies. Quench your thirst for historical truth. Find your niche to make the world a better place.
Join us on a road to spiritual freedom. Share with Michael your questions and experience. Invite him to speak to your group. Join an in-person or online workshop. Sign up for informative News & Brews updates on historical spirituality. I promise I won’t share your email. Sample News