Throwback: Queerness Is A Cornerstone

(9s):
Welcome to the Queer Theology Podcast. I’m Brian G Murphy. And I’m father Shannon, T l Kearns. We’re the co-founders of Queer Theology dot com and your hosts from Genesis, revelation. The Bible declares good news to LGBTQ plus people, and we want to show you how Tuning each week on Sunday for conversations about Christianity, queerness and transness, and how they can enrich one another. We’re glad you’re here. Hello. Hello. Hello. It’s Brian. For right now, you’re getting just me. She’ll be tuning in in a way, in just a moment. We’re doing something that we haven’t done in a little while, which is we’re going to have a Throwback episode for you today. We’re coming up on 600 episodes of this podcast in I think just a few weeks, which is, this is a lot of episodes.

(54s):
And so unless you’ve been listening diligently every single week for the past, I dunno, 12 years, And I know that there are some folks who have been around all that time. So like, shout out to you and thank you for going on this journey with us. There’s probably a lot of episodes that you have not heard or that you heard a while ago and have since forgotten. And we think that there are some real gems in there, and in the same that we think that revisiting the Bible has power ’cause you like learn things new. And again, I think similarly hope that revisiting this podcast episode will speak to y’all in a new and a fresh way today. So that’s like the philosophical, nice sounding reason for why we’re doing it. The other reason is just a practical matter, Shannon And I have both had been having to work more at our other jobs as we’ve been having to work less at radiology because the funding is just not where it used to be.

(1m 40s):
And so if you would, so it’s just like hard to schedule times when we’re both available because we’ve more been working a lot outside of this. If you would like to help contribute to make our work here at the podcast and elsewhere on the internet more sustainable, we would, we would share your support. That is, you can do so@atpatreon.com slash Queer Theology, or you can join the community at Queer Theology do com slash community. You’ll also hear the start of this episode. I’m a listener q and a. And so if you have a question that you would like epi answer in a future episode of the podcast, send us an email to connect at Queer Theology dot com or just pop on over to Queer Theology com slash listen and you’ll be able to pop up in the bottom corner. You can record our voice note. We would love to hear your voice like we hear Bellas In this episode. So without further ado, here is Queerness Is A Cornerstone, our queer take on first Peter two, two through 10.

(2m 29s):
Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the Queer Theology Podcast. So Brian, what’s going on in your world? Well, I am still on my Danish kick and I’ve, I’ve, I found my, my great aunt’s like Danish cookbook and so I’ve been tackling some recipes there, some that I grew up making. So I’ve been starting with those and I’ve, they’re got, there’s some ones in it that look really interesting, but I don’t think I’ll be doing like pickled herring anytime soon. So I, so I’m just sticking with like the simple stuff that I already know how to make lots of like baked goods and pastries. So that’s been fun to sort of like, since all the gays on Instagram are baking and everyone’s making like cookies and breads and pies, but I’m making like Danish pancake balls and other weird stuff.

(3m 18s):
So that’s been fun to sort of scratch that itch in addition to learning the language. What about you? Yeah, So I got a book for Christmas that’s called 12 Months of Monastic Soups, and it’s all soups made in monasteries or soups that monks would eat. And I’ve been working my way through that book. I’m still actually in January cooking my way through January, even though it is clearly not January anymore. But that’s been really fun and the soups are quite tasty. They’re super simple and fairly easy to make, but they’re really great. But it is also clear to me that the monks don’t like a lot of spice.

(3m 58s):
That’s been my one kind of beef with this of, of sometimes wanting to be like, y’all need some red pepper in this. I also got a pasta maker for Christmas, and so that might be my next experiment to make some, some pastas. I got a book called Mastering Pasta, so we might be trying that next, although I don’t know, that might be too much. That is next level. I, I make like zucchini pasta sometimes by just like spiralizing zucchini. But that, that’s as far as I on the pasta train that seems, We got one of those too. I, I once made pasta. I’ve made it one time and it took forever, just forever, forever, forever to make it without any of the equipment and for just one pot of spaghetti.

(4m 46s):
So I don’t know, but yeah, we’ll see. I’ve got it. So I might as well try it. Yeah, Yeah. Months ago, back when we were able to be in the same place as other people, my, one of our, I went over to a friend’s place for like a big group dinner and someone had brought like mostly pre-made like pasta dough that all we had to do was like knead it some more and then like run it through the machine. And so that was fun to sort of like do a little piece of Before we dive in, this podcast is brought to you by over 130 supporters on Patreon This week we want to give a shout out to James Alameda who joined four months ago. So thank you so much James. Thank you. And if you enjoy this show and you want to support it, you can do that for as little as $2 per month over@patreon.com slash Queer Theology.

(5m 31s):
You can learn more about why we need your support and you can check out all of the sweet perks. Again, that’s patreon.com/ Queer Theology. Okay, onto the show this week we’ve got a listener question from Bella who is a supporter on Patreon. She recorded an audio question for us, so we’re gonna go ahead and play that now. Hi guys. My name is Bella And I love your podcast. You guys have really helped me to fully accept myself and my sexuality as beautiful and something that God created. So for my question, I was wondering if you guys have any advice on sharing your faith? I grew up in a couple different conservative and non-denominational churches and evangelism and outreach to strangers was huge.

(6m 18s):
I always felt uncomfortable with it because it was always the turn or burn approach where they would manipulate people into thinking they’re bad and going to hell. And because of this, even though I have a strong relationship with God And I have a church that I love and that is very accepting, it’s still really hard for me to even just tell people that I’m a Christian. So do you guys have any advice on how to share my faith? Because I do wanna tell people about the amazing things that God has done in my life, but I just don’t want to make them uncomfortable or force anything on them. Thank you. Oh man, I really resonate with this question. I grew up in a tradition that said that you had to share your faith and that if you didn’t like people were gonna go to hell and it’s gonna be all your fault.

(7m 6s):
I once went on this mission trip, I think I’ve may have told the story before, but I called it the mission trip from hell because it was, And I remember they took us to a McDonald’s and they told us that we weren’t allowed to order lunch until we had witnessed to another person. And I just, I remember feeling like so awkward and annoyed and hungry as I’m trying to like find an unsuspecting McDonald’s patron to foist my faith on. And I just remember feeling that it was like super awkward. And so I, I resonate with this question of like wanting to find a way to talk about something that’s important to you in a way that isn’t awkward and uncomfortable.

(7m 49s):
So Brian, do you have any tips for Bella? Yeah, I think that, you know, lots of folks who grew up in a more conservative, you have to share your faith or sharing your faith is all about converting people so that they like don’t go to hell. I, you know, like I think progressive Christian folks like sometimes have like moved away from that and been like, well we, I don’t want to share my faith in that way because I don’t wanna like put pressure on people or, you know, we believe in sort of interfaith work or that it’s okay to be non-religious or, you know, all those, those things. And I think that’s important to respect people’s journey and where they are.

(8m 34s):
And you know, we often say like, it’s okay if you’re not Christian. Like that’s okay. And also something has happened like in our lives and we’ve found healing and transformation and grace and clarity in community and that like something really resonates with like the Christian story and with the work that we are doing and what we found. So obviously like we started a podcast and a website, like we believe that that like at its heart, like Christianity and queer Christianity is like, is like worth sharing. And so for me it’s less about when I approach these conversations about trying to like convince someone to do it my way or to believe the things that I believe.

(9m 18s):
And it’s more about saying like, here’s how I’ve like found life. Here’s how I found healing, here’s how I found wholeness. These are like the effects that have happened. And not just like the effects because like often Christianity is like presented as a sort of like miracle cure. Like I used to be sad and then I found Jesus and now everything’s great. And so it’s like, not about like the before and after, but like we really think that like the transformation happens like in the work that like the beauty and the divinity is found like in the, like in the process and in the muck and in the doing of it. And so I share like the meaning that I’m, that I found, but also that like I’m finding and making and why that’s resonating with me.

(10m 1s):
And I think that for some folks like Christianity is like the perfect vessel for that. And queer in Christianity, especially if you grew up Christian, like finding this sort of like liberating and transformative understanding of the gospel is gonna be huge. And for some people they might like learn from our process but apply that to their own lives in their own spiritual traditions that they come from or, or, you know, growing up atheist, but having like the baggage of of being like raised in a, you know, Christian supremacist culture, right? Like the process might be similar but but different for someone else. And so it’s, it’s less about trying to convert them to my version of Christianity and more of sharing the work that I have done I am doing and how it’s been meaningful to me Yes to all of that.

(10m 48s):
And I think it really helps if you can disconnect your sharing from this sense of evangelism, right? Like you are simply just talking about things that are important to you. And if you can disconnect it from this sense that you’re trying to convert or coerce someone to believe the way that you do, I think that it frees you up to just have a conversation with people and you, you can talk to your friends and be like, you know, this is what, this is what’s been going on in my life and like I call this god or theology or Christianity and like, this is why it’s important to you, to me.

(11m 29s):
And I think that like when you do it that way, it, it takes the pressure off of your friends to respond in a certain way and it it frees them up to be able to just listen and engage with you. And I think too, like if you do have a friend who’s like, you know, I really can’t hear about God or Christianity, like I have too much baggage or trauma around that, then it also lets you say, cool, like I don’t have to talk about that because I don’t have any pressure. I’m not under any pressure to convert you. And I think that that that really helps to, to make, to make sense of, of of how to talk about your faith in a way that feels freeing and good and right for everyone involved.

(12m 17s):
Absolutely. We wrestle with questions like this, how to integrate our faith into our lives in ways that are real and meaningful and also respectful constantly talking about, about issues of importance. And so if you’re looking to dive into questions like this and others of everything from coming out and families and dating and loss and mental health and coping and quarantine and so much more, and we would love to welcome you as part of Sanctuary Collective, you can learn more at Queer Theology dot com slash community. Okay, let’s open up our bibles and queer this text.

(13m 0s):
Our text today is first Peter two, two through 10. And I’m gonna go ahead and read that for us. This is from the common English Bible. Instead like a newborn baby, desire the pure milk of the word nourished by it. You will grow into salvation. Since you have tasted that the Lord is good, now you are coming to him as a as to a living stone. Even though this stone was rejected by humans from God’s perspective, it is chosen valuable. You yourselves are being built like stones into a spiritual temple. You’re being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Thus it is written in scripture. Look, I am laying a cornerstone in Zion chosen valuable.

(13m 40s):
The person who believes in him will never be shamed. So God honors those who believe, for those who refuse to believe though the stone, the builders tossed aside has become the capstone. This is a stone that makes people stumble and a rock that makes them fall because they refuse to believe in the word. They stumble indeed this is the end to which they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light once you weren’t a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you hadn’t received mercy, but now you have received mercy, A freaking men, Ooh, there is a lot to unpack in here.

(14m 26s):
There is so much in like every sentence and every word. I just right from the get go, I love that it starts with this idea of being like nourished by the milk of God’s word. And I think like that is a whole sermon right, right there that like, it’s supposed to be nourishing and you know what like nourishment and malnourishment feels like in your body. And so like is is this faith? Is this teaching, is this word that you’ve been taught and that you’re internalizing, is it actually nourishing you and and giving you life freedom, strength?

(15m 9s):
Or is it leading to depression harm, suicidal ideation? Like do you feel actually sick in your body? And just like learning to trust that is if we like didn’t even go into the rest of the passage, which is just like magnificent, but just this first, just these first two sentences about like being nourished I think is so important. Yeah. And Along with that, I think since you know that the Lord is good, this is such a huge point, right? If you know the Lord is good because you’ve tasted yes that the Lord is good. And so like if your conception is that God is a bully that is going to smite you for being gay, then like you aren’t tasting that the Lord is good.

(15m 50s):
And so, you know, we get so many emails for at Queer Theology emails over and over again asking like, how do I know it’s okay to be gay? How do I know that I’m not like damning myself? How do I know that God won’t smite me? And I think like this is the answer, right? Like if you are tasting that the Lord is good, then you can be assured that God won’t smite you because a good God won’t damn you or smite you just for being yourself. Yeah. And I know in the past we’ve talked about like learning to trust our bodies and we, we really go into depth in some of our courses inside a sanctuary collective. But like we’ve been sometimes been taught that like we, like can’t trust our bodies.

(16m 34s):
And I just love that the, the language used here is about like bodies and senses, right? It’s like nourishing and you can just like taste it and we have to, we can’t experience God without the sensations of our body. Oh, I just love this. Okay, so like, moving on to the other part, there’s then there’s this whole thing about, about the stone that has been rejected. And I just think this is such a beautiful metaphor for, for queer folks and our power shea. What would you say about that? I think this other idea, this idea of the rejected stone, the cornerstone, you know, we’ve, we’ve talked about this at Queer Theology a lot and not, not necessarily in these words, but this idea that like the faith of queer and trans people is so rich because we’ve, we haven’t been able to take anything for granted.

(17m 23s):
You know, everything that we believe, everything that we say, everything that we’ve done in the church has been something that we’ve really had to wrestle with and fight for and, and make space for ourselves in that. And I think that like, because we don’t take anything for granted because we’ve done such hard work, the faith that we have is so rich and so deep and so filled with life and goodness. And I think that like this faith that has come from our sense of rejection becomes then this cornerstone that not only queer and trans people can build on, but that like straight and cisgender people can build on as well.

(18m 12s):
Like it becomes this monument to a faith that is full and life-giving and leads towards wholeness. And that’s so incredibly beautiful and that because of the work that we’ve put in and the the ways that we’ve turned rejection around, we’ve created this cornerstone to this building that is our lives, that is this monument, this royal priesthood that is going to change the world. Yeah, And I think that there’s something important to note in here about how, you know, this is the stone that makes people stumble in a rock that makes them fall because they refuse to believe in the word they stumble.

(18m 54s):
And so like, if like people don’t recognize like your queer Christian glory, that’s on them. Like, you’re like transphobic pastor, you’re like homophobic parents, they’re like, you’re like weird uncle. Like they’re, they’re like missing out on something. They’re missing out on this royal priesthood, this holy nation, right? And you got something remarkable inside of you and that’s on, that’s on them if they’re missing out on that. Alright, that was today’s episode. I hope that y’all enjoyed this Throwback episode and reflection. I know that as I was listening back to it before recording this little intro and outro, I, I found something new gem that touched and inspired me.

(19m 40s):
And so I hope that is the same for you. You may have heard we referenced a few courses that were coming up at the time of the recording. Those have obviously passed since this episode was like from a few years ago. They live on demand inside of our learning and community hub. There’s courses and workshops on reading the Bible, purity, culture, sex and relationships. More generally, transgender like being a transgender person of faith, being a trans ally and spiritual practices lots more. So if you would like to get access to all those as well as an interactive community of queer spiritual seekers and people of faith from all around the world and help to support the work that we do here, you can do that at Queer Theology dot com slash community. We would love to have you inside.

(20m 21s):
Alright, talk to you next week. The Queer Theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at Queer Theology dot com, which provides resources, community, and inspiration for LGBTQ Christians and straight cisgender supporters. To Dive into more of the action, visit us at Queer Theology dot com. You can also connect with us online on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. We’ll see you next week.