Queer Theology

Happy National Coming Out Day! For those who haven’t come out yet, still deciding or about to, we will pray for you and we are with you in spirit. In keeping with National Coming Out Day our listener question from Tumblr is all about just that — coming out. This person is asking for any advice on coming out to a possibly unaffirming family. 

We then queer the text from Philippians that we are pretty sure you’ve seen all over inspirational images, home decors, and coffee mugs. So you might wonder, how do we queer this? Tune in to find out and it might even be surprised.

Key takeaways:

Helpful Resources:

Resources on coming out

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 [email protected] 

Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord.

Loved ones, I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. Yes, and I’m also asking you, loyal friend, to help these women who have struggled together with me in the ministry of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the scroll of life.

Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.THe 

From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

The post Coming Out Day: A Comforting Word – Philippians 4:1-9 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Today we answer a listener question about the pushback around the use of the word “queer” and how their pastors felt uncomfortable and strongly preferred LGBTQIA+ instead. “Yet, some sources are saying that it is exclusively for those questioning, gender fluid, or not adopting of a specific label.“ Tune in to hear our answer and let us know if you’ve experienced this pushback yourself.

We also queer a text from Philippians which holds a very important message of our frailty as humans to intellectualize the way we connect with the divine. That we expect a certain connection to God because we believe that we are righteous and that we’ve done our “work”. This message underlines the importance of knowing what connection and relationship we are really looking at with the divine. 

Key takeaways:

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 [email protected] 

Though I have good reason to have this kind of confidence. If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more:

I was circumcised on the eighth day.

I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.

I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee.

With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church.

With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless.

These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead.

It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.

Photo by Vaishakh pillai

The post Safety vs. Being Saved – Philippians 3:4-14 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In today’s episode, we answer a question from one of our listeners, “Why do LGBTQ individuals need to be the light?” While it’s an honor to be viewed as such, our answer might surprise you — or not, so tune in for that. 

We also queer the text from Exodus which is relatable not only at a macro level but also on a personal level. This text clearly illuminates the frailty and weakness of humans especially around the concepts of being patient and desiring comfort all the time. 

Key takeaways:

Link(s) mentioned in this episode:

Transfigured: A Course in Trans Theology: queertheology.com/enroll

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 [email protected] 

The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the Lord commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd’s rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go. I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.” Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites argued with and tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord really with us or not?”

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor

The post The Uncomfortable Path to Healing – Exodus 17:1-7 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Happy Bisexuality Day!!! 

So to celebrate that, let’s start today’s episode by answering a listener question from a bi woman. While she is in a great relationship with a straight man, she sometimes likes to look at pictures of naked women — which her partner finds healthy, by the way. Her concern stems from a Bible passage that says, “if you look at a woman in lust you’ve already committed adultery in your heart.”  She adds: “Because when I look at pictures of a woman’s boobs I don’t actually have any true desire to have sex with her, it’s just a moment of fantasy, and I don’t know if indulging in that fantasy is wrong.”

Then, we queer a very interesting text from Jonah in which you’ll see a petulant Jonah who God matched at being petty, too. We then call out those who have been against the LGTBQ community and have turned an abrupt 360 only after someone in their family comes out. We unpack so much in this episode so make sure you don’t miss it. 

Key takeaways:

Link(s) mentioned in this episode:

Transfigured: A Course in Trans Theology: queertheology.com/enroll

QueerTheology.com/community

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 [email protected] 

God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.

But Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Come on, Lord! Wasn’t this precisely my point when I was back in my own land? This is why I fled to Tarshish earlier! I know that you are a merciful and compassionate God, very patient, full of faithful love, and willing not to destroy. At this point, Lord, you may as well take my life from me, because it would be better for me to die than to live.”

The Lord responded, “Is your anger a good thing?” But Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city. There he made himself a hut and sat under it, in the shade, to see what would happen to the city.

Then the Lord God provided a shrub, and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub. But God provided a worm the next day at dawn, and it attacked the shrub so that it died. Then as the sun rose God provided a dry east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”

God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?”

Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”

But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. Yet for my part, can’t I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can’t tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Photo by Matthew Brodeur

The post Is Your Anger a Good Thing? – Jonah 3:10-4:11 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In today’s episode, we answer a reader question from Tumblr. He thinks that religions started out as anti-LGBT and over time many of them changed their views and became affirming. He wants to know: even though a lot of these religions are now advocates and allies of LGBTQ+ people, how can we be certain that being LGBTQ is not a sin considering that religious history? 

We also queer a text from Romans: It’s one of those passages that often gets used against queer and trans folks, but don’t worry, that’s not the path that we’re going for today. What does it mean to be “weak in faith” and how does being LGBTQ fit in (or not) with that? Tune in to hear our take.

Key takeaways:

Link(s) mentioned in this episode:

LIVE from Q Christian Fellowship Conference with Sarah Ngu of Church Clarity

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 [email protected] 

Welcome the person who is weak in faith—but not in order to argue about differences of opinion. One person believes in eating everything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Those who eat must not look down on the ones who don’t, and the ones who don’t eat must not judge the ones who do, because God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? They stand or fall before their own Lord (and they will stand, because the Lord has the power to make them stand). One person considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another person considers all days to be the same. Each person must have their own convictions. Someone who thinks that a day is sacred, thinks that way for the Lord. Those who eat, eat for the Lord, because they thank God. And those who don’t eat, don’t eat for the Lord, and they thank the Lord too.  We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God.  This is why Christ died and lived: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you look down on your brother or sister? We all will stand in front of the judgment seat of God. Because it is written,

As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me,

    and every tongue will give praise to God.

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Photo by Logan Fisher

The post Get Off The Hamster Wheel – Romans 14:1-12 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Once in a while, we have those off days/weeks when things don’t go according to plan and it’s alright. What’s important is that we all take things in stride and move along whatever obstacles have been thrown our path, and that’s what we are doing this week.

In today’s episode, we are sharing a throwback episode where we took a break from the regular lectionary to talk about queer sacred sites. Two years ago, Brian released a video about his experience on Fire Island and how he realized that it’s a sacred place. Fr. Shay talks about his holy experience at a small-town gay bar. And we invite you to consider the sacred sites, rituals, and experiences in your life that might have gone unnoticed before.

Learn how to queer the Bible and tell your own queer, Christian stories like this.

Key takeaways:

The video mentioned in this episode:

Queer Sacred Sites: Fire Island

Link(s) mentioned in this episode:

QueerTheology.com/community

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 [email protected] 

Photo by Juliette F

The post Queer Sacred Space #throwback appeared first on Queer Theology.

We received a listener question via Twitter and it’s one that’s very timely with the unusual times we’re in right now. “How do we minister to the sick and those in need during this pandemic?” Tune in to hear what our answer was.

And then we queer the text from Romans which also nicely ties into our listener’s question. We are reminded so much of the queer community and how we’ve fought against the oppressors and how we are still doing the work of taking care of others. How about you? How does this resonate with you?

Key takeaways:

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 [email protected] 

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 Elyssa Fahndrich

The post The Power of Queer Community – Romans 12:9-21 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Today is a very special podcast episode as we are joined by Indigo and Beatrice who share their personal stories about being black, in an interracial marriage, being queer, and developing a relationship with Christ.

Indigo joined us in a past episode (link below) and we’re thrilled that she wanted to come back, and with a plus 1. Indigo and Beatrice share their passion for the Black Lives Matter movement and how it translates to their relationship. So make sure you stay tuned.

Key takeaways:

Episode mentioned in this episode

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 [email protected] 

The post Blackness, Queerness & Following Christ with Indigo and Beatrice appeared first on Queer Theology.

A reader asked us if there’s any truth to this statement from his favorite drama series Greenleaf, “The only way to work on the church is to be in it.” Do LGBTQ folks just endure the anxiety, stress, and judgment that non-affirming churches and its members bring on us in order to bring about change? We answer that, and more, in today’s episode.

We also queer 2 passages — 1 from Isaiah, 1 from Romans — that talk about our salvation: what is it, how do we achieve it, and the work that still needs to be done. We are reminded that God has the heart for justice and we are called to be part of that work. Make sure you stay tuned.

Things we talked about:

Essay mentioned in this episode

Links mentioned in this episode

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 [email protected] 

The Lord says:

    Act justly and do what is righteous,

    because my salvation is coming soon,

    and my righteousness will be revealed.

The immigrants who have joined me,

    serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants,

    everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure,

    and those who hold fast to my covenant:

   I will bring them to my holy mountain,

    and bring them joy in my house of prayer.

    I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar.

    My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples,

        says the Lord God,

    who gathers Israel’s outcasts.

I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.

So I ask you, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! I’m an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God hasn’t rejected his people, whom he knew in advance. Or don’t you know what the scripture says in the case of Elijah, when he pleads with God against Israel?

God’s gifts and calling can’t be taken back. Once you were disobedient to God, but now you have mercy because they were disobedient. In the same way, they have also been disobedient because of the mercy that you received, so now they can receive mercy too. God has locked up all people in disobedience, in order to have mercy on all of them.

Photo by Mic Narra

The post What Is Our Salvation? – Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 & Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 appeared first on Queer Theology.

In today’s episode, we answer a very interesting Tumblr question on why Christians continue to throw Leviticus verses and clobber passages against queer folks. “…if the Old Testament laws were abolished why do Christians continue to use them so intensely against us?”

We then queer the text from Genesis about Joseph and his envious brothers. Joseph of Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fame who was then sold to Midianite traders because his siblings couldn’t tolerate their jealousy anymore. But how do we, queer folks, interpret this passage? Make sure you stay tuned. 

Things we talked about:

Resources for this episode

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 [email protected] 

Jacob lived in the land of Canaan where his father was an immigrant. This is the account of Jacob’s descendants. Joseph was 17 years old and tended the flock with his brothers. While he was helping the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, Joseph told their father unflattering things about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him and couldn’t even talk nicely to him.

Joseph’s brothers went to tend their father’s flocks near Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers tending the sheep near Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.”

And he said, “I’m ready.”

Jacob said to him, “Go! Find out how your brothers are and how the flock is, and report back to me.”

So Jacob sent him from the Hebron Valley. When he approached Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Tell me, where are they tending the sheep?”

The man said, “They left here. I heard them saying, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

They saw Joseph in the distance before he got close to them, and they plotted to kill him. The brothers said to each other, “Here comes the big dreamer. Come on now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we’ll say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams!”

When Reuben heard what they said, he saved him from them, telling them, “Let’s not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Don’t spill his blood! Throw him into this desert cistern, but don’t lay a hand on him.” He intended to save Joseph from them and take him back to his father.

When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s long robe, took him, and threw him into the cistern, an empty cistern with no water in it. When they sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with camels carrying sweet resin, medicinal resin, and fragrant resin on their way down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood? Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not harm him because he’s our brother; he’s family.” His brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph to Egypt.

Photo by Peter Fogden

The post What Do You Dream Of? – Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 appeared first on Queer Theology.