Queer Theology

We’re so excited to welcome back Kaya Oakes to the podcast to talk with us about gender expectations, feminism, her choice to remain Catholic, and why we need to cast off harmful but accepted societal expectations. Oakes is the author of five books, most recently including The Defiant Middle: How Women Claim Life’s In Betweens to Remake the World. Tune in as we talk about the women of her book,  the idea of God and big dick energy, finding the feminine in unexpected places, and starting a gender revolution.    Listen to The Nones Are All Right: An interview with Kaya Oakes: https://www.queertheology.com/podcast/122/   Find more of Kaya Oakes at: Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayaoakes Website: https://www.oakestown.org/   Grab a copy of The Defiant Middle on Amazon   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post In the Defiant Middle with Kaya Oakes appeared first on Queer Theology.

It was a real treat for us to sit down with the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D – she just radiates love and we know you’ll be inspired by this episode! Rev. Jacqui is the senior minister of Middle Church, the oldest Collegiate Church in the US (and also the place where Brian met his partner 14 years ago!). She uses her gifts as author, activist, preacher, and public theologian toward creating an antiracist, just, fully welcoming society in which everyone has enough. We talk with Rev Jacqui about rising from the ashes after a horrific fire at her church, about being Christian and part of a church that was founded by people who owned slaves, and about the challenge and education that must come with a church that is inclusive for all including people on the margins of society. Through it all, the consistent message from Rev. Jacqui is one of love so fierce, it has the power to heal and change the world.    Find more of Rev. Lewis at: Middle Church: https://www.middlechurch.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RevJacquiLewis Website: https://jacquijlewis.com/ Love.Period. Podcast: https://jacquijlewis.com/podcasts/ The Four podcast: https://sites.libsyn.com/402275   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post Fierce Love with Rev. Jacqui Lewis appeared first on Queer Theology.

Taj M. Smith sat down with us for an uplifting conversation on deconstruction, redefining leadership, and how the storytelling of science fiction can give us hope for a better future. Smith is a writer, coach, preacher and speaker and also a transgender Christian whose theology has been heavily influenced by liberation theology, queer theology, and science fiction. Tune in as we dive into what changed Smith’s path from one of law to seminary and how his relationship with God grew as he transitioned.    Find more about Taj: Web: https://www.tajmsmith.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taj.speaking/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/taj.speaking/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taj.speaking   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post Imagine A Better World with Taj M. Smith appeared first on Queer Theology.

It was so great to chat with Bishop David C. Strong in this episode of our Winter Guest series about building affirming communities and integrating spiritual practices to create a life-giving faith. Bishop Strong has served as pastor of Sojourner Truth Christian United Church since 2008. He was ordained to the Independent Catholic priesthood in 1992, and was consecrated a bishop in 1996 (he is Fr. Shay’s Bishop in the Old Catholic Church). Bishop Strong has been a strong advocate of equality for all people, especially racial and sexual minorities, and we talk with him about the influences of the Roman Catholic church, as well as his evangelical upbringing, that shape his faith and role as a Bishop.    Find more of Bishop David Strong Twitter: https://twitter.com/revdavidstrong Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frdavidstrong/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidcstrong1 Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@frdavidstrongsi https://www.spiritofchristtacoma.org/   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post Making Space & Bridging Communities with Bishop David Strong appeared first on Queer Theology.

For this episode of our guest series, we’re honored and humbled to sit down with Rabbi Denise L. Eger. Rabbi Eger is the founding Sr. Rabbi of the Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood’s Reform Synagogue and is extra special to Brian since it is the congregation where he is exploring Judaism. Rabbi Eger was the first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and has won numerous awards and recognition for her AIDS activism. She shares how heartbreaking, and formative, her first years as a rabbi of the first gay synagogue at the height of the AIDS crisis were and how that has shaped her approach to activism today. Listen in as we discuss progressive Judaism, LGBTQ issues and Judaism, the changing Jewish family, and power of interfaith work.    Grab a copy of her books: Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Dwells: A Celebration of LGBTQ Jewish Life and Ritual Gender & Religious Leadership: Women Rabbis, Pastors and Ministers Kol-ami.org rabbieger.com   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post Trailblazing for Queer Women Religious Leaders with Rabbi Denise Eger appeared first on Queer Theology.

We’re so excited to kick off a winter guest series with an amazing line up of insightful and inspiring interviews. For our first episode in this series, we have a conversation with the remarkable Dr. Christena Cleveland. Dr. Cleveland is an author, activist and a founder and director of the Center for Justice + Renewal as well as its sister organization, Sacred Folk. Tune in as Fr. Shay talks with Dr. Cleveland about her journey to find the Black Madonna and the Sacred Feminine, what that means for her view of the white, male god and her evangelical upbringing, and how wisdom and the Sacred Divine can be found within ourselves.    Grab a copy of her book: God Is a Black Woman Liberating the Mind Body course  Dr. Cleveland Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cscleve  Website: https://www.christenacleveland.com/  https://www.justiceandrenewal.org/    If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post God is a Black Woman with Dr. Christena Cleveland appeared first on Queer Theology.

Welcome to another Q&A episode for the third quarter of 2022! Tune in as we answer a selection of questions submitted by folks that include where to find examples of bi people in scripture, resources for learning more about the historical context of the Bible, and how to help kids deal with public displays of affection between their poly parents. If you have a question you’d like us to feature on the podcast, we’d love to hear it!    Links: Rob Bell YouTube videos John Dominic Crossan YouTube video Journey Into the Bible  Digging the Details workshop Affirming Parenting Podcast Episodes   Submit questions by email at connect@queertheology.com or by audio clip at https://www.queertheology.com/listen/    If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology.   Photo by Olya Kobruseva The post Asked & Answered: October 2022 appeared first on Queer Theology.

For this episode, we are going to turn the interview mic on each other to share a little bit more about ourselves! We also discuss our shared desire to bring community to LGBTQ+ folks and help them integrate their queerness and Christianity. Tune in as Shay talks about his ordination and following his calling and as Brian shares about the impact film had on him growing up and exploring his sexuality.   More of Fr. Shay Kearns: In the Margins – https://www.queertheology.com/in-the-margins/ Socials: @shannontlkearns Website: https://www.shannontlkearns.com/   Other links: Merch: https://store.queertheology.com/   Send us an email at connect@queertheology.com   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post Founder Stories: How We Got Here appeared first on Queer Theology.

We’ve been doing this podcast for 9 years now, so we wanted to spend some time talking about how we actually got here and why we continue to do this work. Queertheology.com might have started as a whim purchase of an unclaimed domain space, but what it has become is something we are both proud to be a part of. We see how much has been accomplished in the last decade but also how much more work there is to do! We’ll continue to encourage you to stand in your power and demand more, to believe your queerness is a blessing to yourself and the wider world, and to know you are loved and affirmed.   Links: Sanctuary Collective: https://www.queertheology.com/community/ Merch: https://store.queertheology.com/   Send us an email at connect@queertheology.com   If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. The post The QueerTheology.com Origin Story appeared first on Queer Theology.

Do you still have questions about sex, relationships, and the Bible? We get it. And we’ve heard them all over the years here at Queer Theology! In this episode, we talk about how important it is to find your own sexual ethic because (spoiler alert) it’s complicated when it comes to the Bible. And sex. And relationships. And what the “rules” are. We encourage you to work through the fundamentalist impulse of purity culture to assume you are inherently wrong or disordered. And through it all, we are here for you. Cheering you on and supporting you because we want to see you healthy and well, and whole.    Book recommendations: Made for Goodness by Desmond Tutu Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity by Dianna Anderson Original Blessing by Matthew Fox   Links:  Tricky Questions about Sex Clobbering the Clobber Passages  Journey into the Bible  Send us an email at connect@queertheology.com.    If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology.   Photo by KoolShooters The post Still Scared About Sex & The Bible? appeared first on Queer Theology.