Queer Theology

We are only a few episodes away from the end of this year’s Summer Series and today, we queer the text from Matthew about sheep and goats. This text contains some harsh words about God separating out the sheep from the goats, and damning the latter to eternal fire. But who exactly are the goats? And what does one do to end up there? Growing up we were taught that those who haven’t accepted Jesus are damned to hell, but this passage has a surprisingly different explanation.  Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 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. If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com. Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe The post Can you be anti-LGBTQ and a Christian? [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

This Summer Series of the podcast is from one of our long-time listeners, Morgan. She shares why this episode is her favorite. This episode is about the Transfiguration story or Jesus’ coming out moment. How did this experience shape Jesus’ ministry and his relationship with his disciples? How does this passage give all of us permission to read our own stories into the biblical text?  Mark 9:2-10 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, wondering, “What’s this ‘rising from the dead’?” 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. If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com. Photo by Mohamed Nohassi The post Jesus Comes Out [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

Here’s another super popular episode in which Brian answers a listener question about Romans 1 (and anti-gay interpretations of the scripture). This particular text is one of the clobber passages that is often used to argue that it’s not ok to be LGBTQ and Christian. Let us know what your thoughts are. What was your experience at the beginning of your queer and Christian journey? How did this episode resonate with you? Listener question: This for me is the hardest passage to wrap my head around. I understand with the other passages there are translation issues and so on but Romans seems pretty straightforward to me. I don’t understand how to move past this passage. When I read it, it seems pretty clear to me that being gay is seen as unnatural and wrong. I have read so many articles on the 7 clobber passages but I am never satisfied with the “justification” to being gay of Romans. Do you have any resources or advice on how I can understand this better? 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. If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com. Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi The post How do you justify Romans? [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

This week’s episode is a favorite of one of our podcast associate producers, Bishop Celena Spain. The scripture passage talks about Jesus’ struggles with his family, their complete misunderstanding of him, and how queer and trans people can relate. Tune in to find out why Bishop Celena loves this episode and why Fr. Shay and Brian appreciated how Jesus handles this experience with his family. What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Mark 3:20-35 Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!” The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.” When Jesus called them together he spoke to them in a parable: “How can Satan throw Satan out? A kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. And a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for. No one gets into the house of a strong person and steals anything without first tying up the strong person. Only then can the house be burglarized. I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind. But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” He said this because the legal experts were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.” His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.” He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.” Photo by Luigi Estuye, LUCREATIVE® The post Even When Your Family Doesn’t Get It [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

Here’s another great throwback episode and one that’s still one of the most downloaded! In this episode, we take a queer look at Acts 16:16-34 where Paul and Silas conflict with the government and some businessmen. We also chat about how our faith asks us to do risky things, the state of the queer movement, and more.  Organizations to support that will help put your faith into action: Black and Pink Critical Resistance What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Acts 16:16-34 One day, when we were on the way to the place for prayer, we met a slave woman. She had a spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She made a lot of money for her owners through fortune-telling. She began following Paul and us, shouting, “These people are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming a way of salvation to you!” She did this for many days.   This annoyed Paul so much that he finally turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave her!” It left her at that very moment.   Her owners realized that their hope for making money was gone. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the officials in the city center. When her owners approached the legal authorities, they said, “These people are causing an uproar in our city. They are Jews who promote customs that we Romans can’t accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attacks against Paul and Silas, so the authorities ordered that they be stripped of their clothes and beaten with a rod. When Paul and Silas had been severely beaten, the authorities threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to secure them with great care. When he received these instructions, he threw them into the innermost cell and secured their feet in stocks.   Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. All at once there was such a violent earthquake that it shook the prison’s foundations. The doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the open doors of the prison, he thought the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself.28 But Paul shouted loudly, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”   The jailer called for some lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He led them outside and asked, “Honorable masters, what must I do to be rescued?”   They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your entire household.” They spoke the Lord’s word to him and everyone else in his house. Right then, in the middle of the night, the jailer welcomed them and washed their wounds. He and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his home and gave them a meal. He was overjoyed because he and everyone in his household had come to believe in God. Photo by Gift Habeshaw The post Faith In Action & Costly Conversion [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

For this week’s episode, it’s another one of Brian’s favorites! The prophet Amos has some harsh words for religious festivals in the absence of justice and that’s a message that continues to be needed many millennia later. This episode talks about the emphasis on “a personal relationship with Jesus” vs. the emphasis we see in this passage. Brian and Fr. Shay also talk about the public displays of religion that have become a part of modern American life, the reality of violence and discrimination that transgender people face, and so much more. What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Amos 5:18-24 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!     Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light;    as if someone fled from a lion,     and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,     and was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,     and gloom with no brightness in it?   I hate, I despise your festivals,     and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,     I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals     I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs;     I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters,     and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Photo by href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/12219474@N03/35811154802/”> bourgol The post Faith & Justice [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

In today’s episode, we listen to one of Fr. Shay’s favorites which was published 8 years ago. This is a short podcast, but the message is inspiring and clear. Brian and Shay talk about recovering from fundamentalism and what being converted means to them now. They also talk about not needing to ask for permission and trusting our own stories. What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Galatians 1:11-24 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the gospel I preached isn’t human in origin. I didn’t receive it or learn it from a human. It came through a revelation from Jesus Christ.   You heard about my previous life in Judaism, how severely I harassed God’s church and tried to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my peers, because I was much more militant about the traditions of my ancestors. But God had set me apart from birth and called me through his grace. He was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach about him to the Gentiles. I didn’t immediately consult with any human being. I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to see the men who were apostles before me either, but I went away into Arabia and I returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. But I didn’t see any other of the apostles except James the brother of the Lord. Before God, I’m not lying about the things that I’m writing to you! Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, but I wasn’t known personally by the Christian churches in Judea. They only heard a report about me: “The man who used to harass us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” So they were glorifying God because of me. Photo by Sixteen Miles Out The post Don’t Ask Permission [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

For the 3rd installation of our 2021 Summer Series, we have an episode that’s a request from one of our listeners, Indigo. You’ll hear her briefly share why this episode is one of her favorites.  It’s important to note the themes we focused on in this creation narrative. We talked about the power of names; the gift of choice God gives us; and the subject of marriage, monogamy, and purity culture. In this throwback episode, Brian referenced understanding this passage better when he dated his first boyfriend. He writes about more here. 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. What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Genesis 2:18-24 Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” So the Lord God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. 20 The human named all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found. So the Lord God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. With the rib taken from the human, the Lord God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being. The human said, “This one finally is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She will be called a woman because from a man she was taken.” This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh. Photo by Casey Horner The post God Trusts You To Pick Your Partner [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

For this week’s Summer Series Favorites episode, Brian chose an episode from 7 years ago. This Palm Sunday episode had to do with ACT UP and Queer Nation and queering a very familiar passage from Matthew. Brian and Fr. Shay chat about the implications for queer and trans organizing, and what the Palm Sunday story has in common with ACT UP and Queer Nation. How is Palm Sunday similar to political protest? 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. What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Matthew 21:1-11 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them.” He sent them off right away. Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, Say to Daughter Zion, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them. Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord![b]Hosanna in the highest!” And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. The crowds answered, “It’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” The post Jesus Steals A Donkey [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.

For our very first Summer Series Favorites episode, Fr. Shay chose one from 2018 where Jesus tells his followers to leave and shake the dust of their sandals if they encounter towns unwilling to listen to their message. This passage from Mark 6:1-13 is one that we’ve talked about a few times in podcast episodes and articles over the years. But there’s still new insight to be found which is why we’re talking about it again! In this episode, we explore the impulse folks have to stay in churches, communities, and families that don’t affirm and won’t listen to them… where that comes from, can we be helpful if we stay, what happens if we leave, who benefits?   Referenced in this episode: Episode looking at Mark 1 where John the Baptist also says to “change your heart and life” “Shake It Off, Shake It Off” — our first time looking at this passage   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.   What’s your favorite episode? We’re doing a summer series featuring some of the most popular episodes and we want to hear from you! Email us at connect@queertheology.com and let us know which ep is your fave. Mark 6:1-13 Jesus left that place and came to his hometown. His disciples followed him. On the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were surprised. “Where did this man get all this? What’s this wisdom he’s been given? What about the powerful acts accomplished through him? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were repulsed by him and fell into sin.   Jesus said to them, “Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns, among their relatives, and in their own households.” He was unable to do any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. He was appalled by their disbelief.   Then Jesus traveled through the surrounding villages teaching.   He called for the Twelve and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick—no bread, no bags, and no money in their belts. He told them to wear sandals but not to put on two shirts. He said, “Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. If a place doesn’t welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts and lives. They cast out many demons, and they anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them. Photo by Egor Vikhrev The post Leaving Can Be Good For You & Them [Summer Series] appeared first on Queer Theology.