I stumbled upon this Facebook post by Rev Karla, whose legal name is Karla Kamstra. She is an ordained interfaith minister, author, and online spiritual mentor who helps people heal from religious trauma and deconstruct toxic religious belief.

What she writes applies to other cults and isms, including Zionism and nationalism and, in her case, evangelical Christianity. She shares on her website that she chose to leave organized Christianity at age 50, “after years of feeling spiritually conflicted by traditional patriarchal structures.” By doing so, she fully committed herself to alignment, allyship, and the Human Promise.

Her comments about being unfollowed, blocked, etc., which I have also experienced, remind me of Caitlin Johnstone’s 1 October 2026 essay Being Forcefully Pro-Palestine Weeds The Terrible People Out Of Your Life.

I’m fascinated by how people overcome childhood indoctrination and enjoying listening to their stories. The catalyst and starting point are often one individual or transformational experience.

#StoptheGenocide and #Free Palestine, indeed.

MAA

I saw you unfollowed me.

I noticed you blocked me.

I received your DM saying that you are disappointed in me.

I reflected on your assertion that I needed to “stay in my lane.”

I read your comment mocking me by calling me ignorant and misinformed.

I perused the books you suggested I read.

And I want to respond to it all by saying:

If unfollowing protects your peace, I wish you well.

If blocking me assures our paths will never cross, I honor that.

If you feel justified in stating your disappointment in me, know that I respect your right to your opinion, but I am at peace with who I am.

If you meant that I need to “stay in my lane” to challenge my right to lend my voice to the suffering in the world, then I wholeheartedly reject your assertion that my lane isn’t where I feel called to speak and use my influence to create change.

If your mocking me empowers you, just know I see your comment as gaslighting and manipulative.

If your suggestion on the books I’m to read was to imply I’m ill-informed, I will stop you mid-sentence to remind you that I’m here on a lifelong journey of deconstructing, because I was deconstructing even before I knew it – before it even had a name.

There isn’t one time – not once – where I didn’t pour myself into education before understanding a subject matter and knowing where I would stand.

It’s why, after years of trying to contort myself to fit the evangelical Christian box and be the “good” Christian, I was finally able to claw my way out of that box and reclaim what religion had taken from me.

But it took reading, counseling, therapy, and studying (even at the collegiate and seminary level).

Little by little, my heart began to heal, and my path became clearer.

I didn’t begin this journey thinking that I would be unchurched and no longer Christian.

I dreamed of one day pastoring a church, of devoting my life to the Christian God, just like so many of my ancestors had.

But that isn’t what happened.

For that – I’m grateful.

Because the journey from Karla the good Southern Baptist to Karla the Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister was literally a lifetime.

And the deconstructing journey will continue.

Who I am today will most certainly not be who I am a year from now.

Again, for that – I’m grateful.

All of this to say…

If our journey ends here because you no longer support who I’ve become, I’m grateful you were here for part of the journey.

If you are just coming aboard after finding me, I’m grateful we are on this journey together.

Wherever you land…

Keep asking questions.

Keep deconstructing.

For me and my journey…

Free Palestine.