Queer Theology

If it feels like we’ve talked about this passage before … we haven’t! It’s just that social justice, taking care of people’s immediate needs, shows up over and over and over again in the Bible. If you’ve ever heard that you’re not really a Christian or that you’re “doing” Christianity “wrong” because of your progressive convictions, this passage is a helpful reminder that taking care of each other is constantly close to the heart of God. Isaiah 55:1-9 All of you who are thirsty, come to the water! Whoever has no money, come, buy food and eat! Without money, at no cost, buy wine and milk! Why spend money for what isn’t food, and your earnings for what doesn’t satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good; enjoy the richest of feasts. Listen and come to me; listen, and you will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful loyalty to David. Look, I made him a witness to the peoples, a prince and commander of peoples. 5Look, you will call a nation you don’t know, a nation you don’t know will run to you because of the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel, who has glorified you. Seek the Lord when he can still be found; call him while he is yet near. Let the wicked abandon their ways and the sinful their schemes. Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them, to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness. My plans aren’t your plans, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my plans than your plans. Photo by Anthony DELANOIX The post All who are thirsty, come to the water – Isaiah 55:1-9 appeared first on Queer Theology.

The Church, where faith should thrive, too often kills — sometimes spiritually, sometimes literally — the very people working to keep the faith. LGBTQ, women, young people, people of color and others know this well. In this week’s episode, we explore Jesus’s thoughts on the relationship between prophets and religious centers. Referenced in this episode: Rift in the United Methodist Church the politics of Jesus Luke 13:31-35 At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you. Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” Photo by Gift Habeshaw The post Prophets in our midst – Luke 13:31-35 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This passage is the story of God’s people and how they relate to God. We see that they are instructed to start by remembering where they came from. It’s a reminder that all the writers of scripture had a place and a time and a family and a context. What were theirs? How is God moving among them? And then… what is ours? And how does Scripture speak to us? What does God have to say to us? Read the transcript (PDF) Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Once you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and are settled there, take some of the early produce of the fertile ground that you have harvested from the land the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the location the Lord your God selects for his name to reside. Go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him: “I am declaring right now before the Lord my God that I have indeed arrived in the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” The priest will then take the basket from you and place it before the Lord your God’s altar. Then you should solemnly state before the Lord your God: “My father was a starving Aramean. He went down to Egypt, living as an immigrant there with few family members, but that is where he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. The Egyptians treated us terribly, oppressing us and forcing hard labor on us. So we cried out for help to the Lord, our ancestors’ God. The Lord heard our call. God saw our misery, our trouble, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with awesome power, and with signs and wonders. 9He brought us to this place and gave us this land—a land full of milk and honey. So now I am bringing the early produce of the fertile ground that you, Lord, have given me.” Set the produce before the Lord your God, bowing down before the Lord your God. 1Then celebrate all the good things the Lord your God has done for you and your family—each one of you along with the Levites and the immigrants who are among you. Photo by Tyler Milligan The post Who was scripture written for? – Deuteronomy 26:1-11 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this passage, Paul is convinced that the world is ending within his lifetime and—spoiler alert—it doesn’t. Sometimes the writers of the Bible get things completely wrong. In this episode, we explore the implications of that for our faith and lives. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 Listen, I’m telling you a secret: All of us won’t die, but we will all be changed—in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the final trumpet. The trumpet will blast, and the dead will be raised with bodies that won’t decay, and we will be changed. It’s necessary for this rotting body to be clothed with what can’t decay, and for the body that is dying to be clothed in what can’t die. And when the rotting body has been clothed in what can’t decay, and the dying body has been clothed in what can’t die, then this statement in scripture will happen: Death has been swallowed up by a victory. Where is your victory, Death? Where is your sting, Death? (Death’s sting is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.) Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! As a result of all this, my loved brothers and sisters, you must stand firm, unshakable, excelling in the work of the Lord as always, because you know that your labor isn’t going to be for nothing in the Lord. Photo by Dean Maddocks The post Sometimes the Bible is wrong – 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 appeared first on Queer Theology.

“Turn the other cheek” is suuuch a “well known” passage but it’s so often quoted out of context. What else might Jesus be trying to teach us that we haven’t seen before? In this episode, Fr. Shay and Brian explore how this passage might inform activist work and even interpersonal dynamics. Referenced in this episode Jesus & Nonviolence: A Third Way by Walter Wink The Good Place Live episode with Sarah Ngu from Q Christian Fellowship Conference Luke 6:27-38 “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.“If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.” Photo by Timothy Eberly The post Interpersonal Dynamics & Activist Strategies – Luke 6:27-38 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This passage is a reminder that God has an agenda — Jesus and the prophets proclaim a comforting message for some and a challenging message for others. In this episode, we peel back the flowery language that sometimes surrounds Jesus’s words and look at the heart of what he’s saying. Download the transcript (PDF) Luke 6:17-26 Jesus and his apostles went down from the mountain and came to some flat, level ground. Many other disciples were there to meet him. Large crowds of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon were there too.  These people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. All who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed. Everyone was trying to touch Jesus, because power was going out from him and healing them all. Jesus looked at his disciples and said: God will bless you people who are poor. His kingdom belongs to you!  God will bless you hungry people. You will have plenty to eat! God will bless you people who are crying. You will laugh! God will bless you when others hate you and won’t have anything to do with you. God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man. 2Long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets. So when this happens to you, be happy and jump for joy! You will have a great reward in heaven. But you rich people are in for trouble. You have already had an easy life! You well-fed people are in for trouble. You will go hungry! You people who are laughing now are in for trouble. You are going to cry and weep! You are in for trouble when everyone says good things about you. That is what your own people said about those prophets who told lies. Photo by Brijesh Nirmal The post God has an agenda – Luke 6:17-26 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This week, we have a special episode of the Queer Theology podcast: our first ever live episode! Brian was at the Q Christian Fellowship Conference in Chicago, IL a few weeks ago to speak about polyamory on a panel about Christian sexual ethics (the very first openly polyamorous speaker at QCF and the first time polyamory was addressed from during an official workshop!) He was also invited to record Queer Theology live from the first-ever Brian M. Eckstein Podcast Stage. Sarah Ngu joined to discuss queerness, how we understand faith and the Bible, how we approach conversations of “is it OK to be LGBTQ?,” race and culture, implications queerness has on our faith journeys, one of Sarah’s favorite Bible passages, and so much more. Learn more about Church Clarity and their work to score churches on their clarity around actively enforced policies regarding LGBTQ people and women in leadership at churchclarity.org. If you want to connect with Sarah or Church Clarity, email sarah@churchclarity.org. Acts 17:26-27 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. The post LIVE from Q Christian Fellowship Conference with Sarah Ngu of Church Clarity – Acts 17:26-27 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This week’s passage picks up where last week’s left off. We talk about the process of learning and growing and what it can be like to people and places from our past — how they can hold us back and how we can even end up holding them back. Read the transcript (PDF) Luke 4:21-30 He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.” Everyone was raving about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?” Then Jesus said to them, “Undoubtedly, you will quote this saying to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we’ve heard you did in Capernaum.’” He said, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown. And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s time, when it didn’t rain for three and a half years and there was a great food shortage in the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them but only to a widow in the city of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. There were also many persons with skin diseases in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha, but none of them were cleansed. Instead, Naaman the Syrian was cleansed.” When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with anger. They rose up and ran him out of town. They led him to the crest of the hill on which their town had been built so that they could throw him off the cliff. But he passed through the crowd and went on his way. Photo by rawpixel The post How to be a more effective prophet – Luke 4:21-30 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This week’s Gospel reading opens with, “Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us.” In this episode, we dig into what the Bible, what it is (and is not) trying to do, what Scripture meant in the time it was written, and what it might mean for us today. Mentioned in this episode How to read the Bible A new more in-depth course on how to read the Bible is coming later this year, join the mailing list to get notified! Reading Queerly Did Jesus come to die for our sins? Read the transcript (PDF) Luke 1:1-4 Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. They wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened. So I made a careful study of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place. Honorable Theophilus, I have done this to let you know the truth about what you have heard. Luke 4:14-21 Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. 15 He taught in the Jewish meeting places, and everyone praised him. Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, 17 he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read, “The Lord’s Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’” Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.” Photo by Raychan The post The story of what God has done among us – Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Marriage as a metaphor for God’s relationship to us shows up again in this week’s lectionary reading from Isaiah. In this episode, we talk about the intersections of faith and sexuality, and how that plays out when it comes to marginalized people. In this episode Jesus is polyamorous (video) We expand on “What is it that is bigger than ourselves that we call God?” in this Skeptics Guide series How to read the Bible Queer Sex is Sacred queertheology.com/resources Isaiah 62:1-5 Jerusalem, I will speak up for your good. I will never be silent till you are safe and secure, sparkling like a flame. Your great victory will be seen by every nation and king; the Lord will even give you a new name. You will be a glorious crown, a royal headband, for the Lord your God. Your name will no longer be “Deserted and Childless,” but “Happily Married.” You will please the Lord; your country will be his bride. Your people will take the land, just as a young man takes a bride. The Lord will be pleased because of you, just as a husband is pleased with his bride. Photo by Caroline Veronez  The post Marriage Metaphors – Isaiah 62:1-5 appeared first on Queer Theology.