Queer Theology

In this episode, we take a look at one of the lectionary readings for Sunday September 3. We dig into Romans 12:9-21 and talk about… how parts of this passage are pulled out of context and abused by some white Christians in response to white supremacists and Nazis marching on Charlottesville love is not a generic feeling, it includes specific actions Jesus & Nonviolence: A Third Way the responsibility that comes with calling for nonviolence love is an action how Biblical teachings are sometimes quite aggressive, while seeming “nice” on the surface Paul’s audience in this letter — and why that matters God’s different messages for the powerful and the marginalized Read the transcript Romans 12:9-21 Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. Photo by alisdare1 The post Love Is An Action – Romans 12:9-21 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode, we look at… the importance of women when they are named in the Bible how “compliments” can be laced with racism how queer people have used humor, campiness, and covert language to survive (and parallels to the story here) God working in the margins this story isn’t about the Israelites “transforming” Egypt and making them more accepting… it’s about the Israelites getting out! God is with the Israelites, not with Egypt (and how the same applies to LGBTQ people) the Israelites were a pain the ass and that’s what changed Pharaoh’s mind Bayard Rustin: “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers” it’s OK to offend your oppressors how you can learn to queer the Bible with our online course Reading Queerly, which is available inside of Sanctuary Collective Read the transcript Exodus 1:8-2:10 Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. He said to his people, “The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.” As a result, the Egyptians put foremen of forced work gangs over the Israelites to harass them with hard work. They had to build storage cities named Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew and spread, so much so that the Egyptians started to look at the Israelites with disgust and dread. So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work. The king of Egypt spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah: “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth and you see the baby being born, if it’s a boy, kill him. But if it’s a girl, you can let her live.” Now the two midwives respected God so they didn’t obey the Egyptian king’s order. Instead, they let the baby boys live. So the king of Egypt called the two midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?” The two midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They’re much stronger and give birth before any midwives can get to them.” So God treated the midwives well, and the people kept on multiplying and became very strong. And because the midwives respected God, God gave them households of their own. Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people: “Throw every baby boy born to the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you can let all the girls live.” Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out of the water.” Photo by Adolfo Lujan The post A Holy Ruckus – Exodus 1:8-2:10 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode we look at… LGBTQ Christians are told that our sexuality is dirty and defiling — Jesus disagrees Brian makes a blowjob joke What this passage might say about whether we should stay in unaffirming churches to try to “fix” them Matthew 10:14: “ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” What if you offend people who don’t affirm LGBTQ people? How to work in solidarity with trans people Read the transcript (PDF) Matthew 15:10-20 Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be pulled up. Leave the Pharisees alone. They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.” Then Peter spoke up, “Explain this riddle to us.” Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. These contaminate a person in God’s sight. But eating without washing hands doesn’t contaminate in God’s sight.” The post Is gay sex defiling? – Matthew 15:10-20 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode, we talk about… the temptation to look for big signs from God how Elijah is going through a depressive episode in this passage, how that’s not often talked about, and how that contradicts what some of us our taught about faith & mental health the taxing demands of justice work (and how to deal with them in healthy, helpful ways) the importance of talking about LGBTQ people in sermons outside of ones that are about sex, gender, and relationships our summer fundraising campaign to support this podcast and the work of Queer Theology (queertheology.com/support) Read the transcript (PDF) 1 Kings 19:9-14 There [Elijah] went into a cave and spent the night. The Lord’s word came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I’ve been very passionate for the Lord God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too!” The Lord said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the Lord. The Lord is passing by.” A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the Lord. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He said, “I’ve been very passionate for the Lord God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too.” The post A Depressed Prophet – 1 Kings 19:9-14 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode, we talk about… How Jacob wrestling with God can open the door to questions about sexuality, gender, and faith A “hierarchy of control” that Shay learned from his conservative church (and how this passage challenges that) Scripture gives us permission to question our faith! the audacity of making demands of God parallels between Jacob’s risks & wounds and the LGBTQ experience, a lesson Shay learned from Queer Virtue, which we’re about to start reading in the Sanctuary Collective book club the “biblical definition of marriage” Don’t forget! We need your help to keep this podcast — and all the rest of Queer Theology — running. You can learn more and give some support (even if you can’t contribute financially) over at queertheology.com/support Read the transcript (PDF) Genesis 32:22-31 Jacob got up during the night, took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the Jabbok River’s shallow water. He took them and everything that belonged to him, and he helped them cross the river. But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. When the man saw that he couldn’t defeat Jacob, he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and tore a muscle in Jacob’s thigh as he wrestled with him. The man said, “Let me go because the dawn is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.” He said to Jacob, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.” Jacob also asked and said, “Tell me your name.” But he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” and he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel, “because I’ve seen God face-to-face, and my life has been saved.” The sun rose as Jacob passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh. Photo by bratmandeux The post Wrestling with God – Genesis 32:22-31 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode, we look at what the Kingdom of Heaven is like, according to Jesus’s parables how these parables can help us judge whether anti-LGBTQ theology is of God or not Jesus’s audience in his parables (and what that means for us today) what to make of the bit about “burning furnaces” that follows these verses what anti-LGBTQ people must go through to experience God’s kingdom Read transcript (PDF) Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it. The post The Kingdom of Heaven is like… – Matthew 13:44-46 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode, we catch up on… what the Wild Goose Festival is how (un)affirming Wild Goose was in its first year and how things have changed since moving folks from unaffirming to being advocates for LGBTQ justice our workshop on “Queering the Gospel” Click here to get the worksheet Read the transcript (PDF) The post Wild Goose 2017 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode we talk about… We’re heading to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, NC.  If you’ll be there, come to our session “Queering The Gospel” at 10am on Saturday in The Landing. Session info here: wildgoosefestival.org/sessions17-78 Our theme for the month is “Reading the Bible Queerly” — look at for articles, a webinar, and more on this topic! The short story of Shay’s long and winding relationship to the Bible The ways in which exalting (a certain interpretation of) the Bible above all else can fail us — and dishonor the Bible DAILY QUIET TIMES! Reading & Teaching the Bible to find “the right answer” vs reading & teaching the Bible to engage the text Brian’s story of trying to figure out if it’s ok to be gay and Christian Moving beyond isolated verses to see the complete story of God in the Bible Tune in next week for the “brass tacks” of how to tell your story — recorded live at Wild Goose Contribute to Queer Theology’s summer fundraising campaign: www.queertheology.com/support Read the transcript (PDF) The post Why you should read the Bible queerly appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode we look at… LGBTQ “Welcoming” churches who is responsible for making churches welcoming for LGBTQ people queer people are prophets! the divine right that all LGBTQ people have Read the transcript (PDF) Matthew 10:40-42 “Those who receive you are also receiving me, and those who receive me are receiving the one who sent me. Those who receive a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Those who receive a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. I assure you that everybody who gives even a cup of cold water to these little ones because they are my disciples will certainly be rewarded.” The post Welcoming Churches – Matthew 10:40-42 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In this episode we look at all things Pride! Shay’s struggles with LGBTQ Pride and Pride celebrations how “anti-pride” religious messages and internalized shame can get in the way of pride the lack of trans inclusion in many pride celebrations the resilience of LGBTQ+ people the history of police & pride parallels between Christianity and the queer community the PRIDE (SHAME) issue of Spit & Spirit Read the transcript (PDF) What about you? What does LGBTQ+ Pride mean to you? Let us know in the comments or sound off on Twitter using the #QueerTheology hashtag. Photo by Michael Kazarnowicz The post Pride Month 2017 appeared first on Queer Theology.