Recalculating…

About Recalculating…

A former Seventh-Day Adventist’s podcast about spiritual detours, honest doubt, and the unexpected clarity that comes from questioning everything you thought was true.

Publisher

Altard Thoughts (Will James)

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Jul 2025

Latest episode

11 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

12 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Mar 2026

   When God is For Our Enemies (wisdom from wisdom literature)

   Bible Episode (if that needs to be a content warning for anyone.) Growing up in Seventh-Day Adventism, talk about the end of the world, the second coming, and Armageddon always get me riled up. What I particularly have a disdain for is the glee with which 'Christians' can find themselves in the blood and rubble of an unchecked war machine believing the will of a loving God is being accomplished. Our ability to create enemies, dehumanize them, and deny their reflection of divinity and claim a holy edict is blasphemous whether you believe in blasphemy or not. As much as we may think of the First Testament as Israel's God on a mission to take over the world no matter who stood in the way, no matter who refused to assimilate. But then there's this little book called Jonah...

2. 

   6 Jan 2026

   Rhythm or Precision

   While I get myself together after a holiday season and start scheduling more interviews, allow me a diversion. A part of recalculating is deprogramming. We have to recognize where the lines of 'truth' and 'indoctrination' got crossed. We have to access what we really know vs. what we've always believed to know what it is we truly have 'faith' in. So let's talk about Sabbath. This episode is an essay I published on my substack about the epistemic overreach that is "the Sabbath Test" through the lens of Seventh Day Adventism. https://altardthoughts.substack.com/p/rhythm-or-precision (https://altardthoughts.substack.com/p/rhythm-or-precision)

3. 

   4 Oct 2025

   Patio Thoughts: Mini-Pod

   on Church and State and being so certain of what you're looking for you miss it when it arrives.

4. 

   27 Sept 2025

   Episode 8: Me, Myself, and ChatGPT

   Get some context for the host: In this week's episode, instead of asking a guest about their experience, ChatGPT asks Will a little about his. In this 'conversation', Will reflects on the concept of 'recalculating' in life, particularly in relation to his upbringing in the Adventist faith. He shares personal anecdotes about questioning faith, carrying the past, and the interplay between faith and doubt. Will discusses the nostalgia for community experiences, the ongoing process of understanding God, and the challenges faced when leaving high-demand religions. He emphasizes the importance of navigating uncertainty and the complexities of cultural conversations, particularly around racism within Christianity.

5. 

   20 Sept 2025

   Episode 7: Luka Pt. 3: Honesty, Paradoxes, and Transformation

   Today, we’re concluding my conversation with Luka, our good Adventist child, our trans/non-binary guest who has been sharing their story the last two episodes. In this episode dive into how Luka explored faith, doubt, and the questions that were often too risky to ask directly. We’re talking about the conundrum of a desire to explore your theological questions without feeling like you’re falling prey to the author of confusion or committing an act of betrayal by believing in yourself. We will talk about educating your way to a more open theology: the differences between the Torah and the Ten Commandments, and how what we elevate or ignore shapes our moral and spiritual lives. We’ll uncover paradoxes that everyone in religious life feels at some point: being called to serve the world while believing the end is near, trying to love the marginalized while our communities only extend care to those who fit in, and the vulnerabilities of being fully trusted once you are inside that fold. We’ll also explore how to find the sacred again after deconstruction: how to see holiness in ordinary life, and create a spirituality that actually feels alive. Finally, we talk about what reflections come from carrying a marginalized perspective in faith, and what grace, insight, and resilience can be discovered when you live and question from the edges. This episode is about paradox, honesty, and transformation — please enjoy. https://www.tiktok.com/@eggsadventist

6. 

   13 Sept 2025

   Episode 6: Luka Pt 2: Gender, Faith, and Fundamentalism

   Picking up directly from the discussion of what makes a good Adventist kid, we have to discuss Luka's journey toward good adventist adult. Specifically, an adventist woman. That presented a particular challenge as that label wasn’t going to fit as Luka was beginning to realize their gender wasn’t so simple. Luka is trans. We talk about as interesting space Luka found for gender expression in Adventism, and how it’s call to be “peculiar,” to mark ourselves through modesty and separation gave space to mute femininity without drawing immediate suspicion. Luka discusses connecting with their indigenous heritage and two-spirit traditions in Indigenous culture, the science and experiences of intersex people in a black-and-white gender system. This episode is slightly shorter than the norm, but it is intentional. The trans and nonbinary experience is far too maligned and scapegoated in our society and particularly in fundamentalist circles like conservative adventism. Luka's honesty and openness on these topics demanded its own lane. Links from the show: Holy Disobedience Kickstarter (ENDS THURSDAY 9/18) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lakedrivebooks/holy-disobedience-by-melissa-duge-spiers?ref=discovery&term=lake%20drive%20books&total_hits=2&category_id=48 Luka's Tiktok Content: https://www.tiktok.com/@eggsadventist Altar'd Thoughts TikTok Content: https://www.tiktok.com/@will.i.jam

7. 

   6 Sept 2025

   Episode 5: Luka pt.1: What does it mean to be a “good Adventist kid”?

   Welcome back to Recalculating… a podcast about spiritual detours, honest doubt, and the clarity that comes for questioning the path your on. In today’s episode, I’m joined by Luka — you might know them online as @Eggsadventist on TikTok. Luka is a fellow sojourner with a sharp eye for the way Adventism shapes people, not just spiritually but socially and psychologically. Their work digs into the culture and sociology of growing up Adventist — and what it means to step outside of it. We start with a simple but loaded question: what does it mean to be a “good Adventist kid”? That opens into a conversation about the passive-aggressive ways character was formed, the ways food and diet were controlled, and what happens when the church’s rigid identity collides with a family member’s personal truth. For Luka, that story runs right through her father’s journey — from writing a thesis on Catholicism at Andrews University, to eventually leaving Adventism altogether. We talk about theological debates at the dinner table, what it was like to grow up in an “unequally yoked” home, and the impossible choices a family can face: the church’s acceptance, or a parent’s presence. It’s a conversation about loyalty, belonging, and the costs of both. Let’s get into it. For Luka's content: https://www.tiktok.com/@eggsadventist?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc (https://www.tiktok.com/@eggsadventist?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)

8. 

   30 Aug 2025

   Episode 4: Heidi part 3 (the finale): Writing as Healing

   In this episode Heidi explains how the writing process has helped her confront, heal, transcend and include her past and the motivations that drive it. We discuss, purpose, belief, and struggle while also getting into a conversation about what we have retained and reclaimed. What were the positives from the system when detached from the obligations of the system. Hopefully I can have Heidi on again sometimes, because this was truly a thrill. If you've enjoyed these, follow Heidi, share these episode, leave a comment or review, or volunteer to be an upcoming guest!! I want to hear your stories!

9. 

   23 Aug 2025

   Episode 3: Heidi Part 2: life, after

   In this episode, Heidi and Will discuss the 'after.' When certainty falls and mystery opens. We discuss: 1.) Grief over lost labels. (start) 2.) Taking ownership of belief (4 minutes) 3.) Energy - (7 minutes) 4.) The Impact of Heidi's mother's passing - (11 minutes) 5.) Pivot Points (17 minutes) 6.) Remnant style religions (20 minutes) 7.) Inspiration and Past Life Regression (24 minutes) 8.) Inspiration re-imagined (29 minutes) 9.) Law of Attraction (33 minutes) 10.) 'The Mother Ring Teaser' (39 minutes.) References made to Dolores Cannon, Past Life Regression, CTPSD, and Grimoires

10. 

    16 Aug 2025

    Episode 2: Heidi Part 1: Belief and Blood

    Episode 2 featuring the first part of an incredibly open and honest conversation with Heidi Odell - Educator, Mother, Union Rep, and 6th generation Adventist...formerly. Oh, and she's the Great Great Great Grandaughter of Ellen G. White The first part of this conversation dives into the weight of leaving a religion that is more blood than belief, and the cognitive dissonance experienced when belief became action and the church was nowhere to be found. Share. Comment. Subscribe

11. 

    9 Aug 2025

    Episode 1: The Discovery and The Dreamer

    Welcome to Recalculating: a podcast about spiritual detours, honest doubt, and the unexpected clarity that comes from questioning the path you’re on. I am Altar'd Thoughts (Will James), ⁠https://linktr.ee/altardthoughts⁠ (https://linktr.ee/altardthoughts) I grew up in Seventh-Day Adventism. A system with one way to believe, one way to belong, one version of God, one direction. Somewhere along the line, the road signs stopped matching the destination. I had a choice: keep relying on the map that had me driving in circles, or start asking some different questions. Today I want to examine the question: What happens when a deeply personal experience — a dream, a vision, a revelation — evolves into something bigger? Something public? Something institutional? Something beyond the dreamer? I recently got around to a movie that has been sitting in my queue for years - the 2017 Netflix film “The Discovery.” Early in the film, we are introduced to our protagonist, Will, played by Jason Segel. Will is the son of Dr. Thomas Harbor, a scientist, played by Robert Redford, who has recently gone public with the claim he’d proven that the afterlife is real. I will state here that this is not a film making a statement about any religion. While the afterlife is seemingly confirmed, that afterlife is not called Heaven, and there aren’t any ministers taking victory laps, as I recall, but there is some proof that death is not the end. That there is a there, there. The great mystery solved. What is the afterlife? Is it the same for everyone? These questions were still unknowns, but “Is Death Final?” No. That much, for Dr. Harbor, was no longer a question of faith, but an actuality. A certainty. Instead of bringing peace to the world, validation to religion, mass conversions, or at least a global exhalation of anxiety, society almost immediately begins to unravel.

12. 

    30 Jul 2025

    Recalculating... Introduction/Teaser

    Welcome to Recalculating: a podcast about spiritual detours, honest doubt, and the unexpected clarity that comes from questioning the path you’re on. I am Altar'd Thoughts (Will James), and I grew up with one way to believe, one way to belong, one version of God, one direction. It was called Seventh Day Adventism. Somewhere along the line, the road signs stopped matching the destination. I had a choice: keep relying on the map that have me driving in circles, or start asking some different questions. This space is where there questions come to be heard. Where we talk about the life after changing direction. Our journeys toward or away from spirit. Expect a variety of episode types: Some will be weird little ventures into how my brain sees the world through current events, a book review, or a movie analysis. Other episodes? More reflective. We’ll talk about: What it means to leave a high-control religion and still crave rules. The weird loop where you stop believing but can’t stop interpreting your life through prophecy. How guilt can linger in your nervous system like a hymn you never meant to memorize. BUT. This isn’t just me talking into the void. You’ll also hear interviews — with people from all kinds of Adventist-adjacent backgrounds. Like: A great-great-great-grandchild of Ellen White herself — no joke. Someone raised in a religious split household: one Adventist parent, one Catholic. Folks that have never even heard of Adventism but know what its like to turnaround. And hopefully you! I’m gathering a list of potential guests right now and if anything you hear here opens up a memory, I want to hear from you too!

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.