Were you obsessed with how much God Loves you? Our Evangelical upbringing taught us that God loves you unconditionally… unless you don’t believe correctly, behave correctly, or die at the wrong time.

This week we’re unpacking the “conditional unconditional love” of God — the version many of us were raised on in evangelical culture.

We play our new game “Cute, Concerning, or Straight to Jail?” where we ask: Would this behavior be cute if God didn’t do it?

We dig into:

• Why evangelicals are so obsessed with preaching about God’s love
• The fine print behind “free, unearned grace”
• The theology of hell as the baseline
• Fear-based attachment and compliance training
• Fruit inspection and spiritual self-surveillance

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Ashley and Bailee turn the lens inward, reflecting on the moments they weren’t just harmed by evangelical culture—but actively upheld it.

In this episode, they unpack their own “villain origin stories,” examining how fear-based theology, certainty, and institutional power shaped the ways they judged, enforced, defended, and perpetuated harmful religious beliefs.

Together, they explore what accountability looks like after deconstruction—why naming harm matters even when it’s uncomfortable, how good intentions don’t negate real impact, and the hard truth that leaving toxic religion doesn’t automatically absolve us from the ways we once participated in it.

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📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
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▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
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Ashley and Bailee continue their conversation on the devil, moving from the origins of the mythology to how it showed up in their evangelical upbringing, other religions, and the culture at large. They reflect on the stories they were told in church, how fear became a theological tool, and what it meant to carry a hyper-present enemy into everyday life.
They also interrogate why the devil remains such a compelling figure in art, media, and pop culture—and what our fascination with him might reveal about power, personal accountability, and the nature of evil.

Ashley and Bailee continue their conversation on the devil, moving from the origins of the mythology to how it showed up in their evangelical upbringing, other religions, and the culture at large. They reflect on the stories they were told in church, how fear became a theological tool, and what it meant to carry a hyper-present enemy into everyday life.
They also interrogate why the devil remains such a compelling figure in art, media, and pop culture—and what our fascination with him might reveal about power, personal accountability, and the nature of evil.

Sources:
- Barr, J. (1992). The garden of Eden and the hope of immortality. Fortress Press.
- Collins, J. J. (2016). The apocalyptic imagination: An introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature (3rd ed.). Eerdmans.
- Kelly, H. A. (2006). Satan: A biography. Cambridge University Press.
- Milton, J. (2007). Paradise lost (G. Teskey, Ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published 1667)
- Pagels, E. (1995). The origin of Satan. Random House.
- Russell, J. B. (1984). Lucifer: The devil in the Middle Ages. Cornell University Press.
- Tulshyan, R., & Burey, J.-A. (2021, February 11). Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome. Harvard Business Review.
- VanderKam, J. C. (2001). An introduction to early Judaism. Eerdmans.

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod