Queer Theology Podcast

What does forgiveness really mean, and who gets to decide when someone deserves it? In this episode, we unpack the complicated relationships with forgiveness, shaped by our experiences with Christianity, family conflict, and the realities of harm and injustice. We stress that there is a difference between forgiveness, repentance, accountability, and repair. Oftentimes, religious teachings about forgiveness can be weaponized to silence people who have been hurt. But what does it mean to extend compassion without abandoning boundaries or accountability? We get into the overarching binary of the "good" and the "bad" people and reflect on the possibility of letting go without necessarily forgiving. It's important to admit that we are all capable of harm, but also that we must work towards healing, compassion, and community even if we have hurt someone.

Resources:

• Buy our new book and get preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

We're tackling the intersections of AI, faith, and spirituality in this episode! Yes, we are going there because it has become more and more common to hear about folks using AI as a way of discerning theology. But what happens when we outsource our theological thinking to technology? Something that has always been an issue as theology has been outsourced to pastors and other sources of religious authority for ever. What we've found is that AI can reinforce narrow interpretations of Scripture while presenting them as objective truth. And that can be really dangerous for your own relationship with faith. There is also a deeper spiritual danger in seeking easy answers, checklists, and frictionless growth in a faith journey that is inherently messy, nonlinear, and deeply personal. Underlying all of this is the permission to reclaim your curiosity, trust the process, and build a faith that is genuinely your own.

Resources:

• Buy our new book and get preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

We return to a familiar passage this week; 2 Timothy 1:6–14. This passage focuses on the reminder that God gives us a spirit of power, love, and self-control - not timidity! And what a powerful reminder that is for us today. It is especially pertinent as we move through times of vocational discernment, working on embracing our gifts, and overcoming the fear of failure. It takes so much courage to show up authentically, even when we have more questions than answers about the complicated ways we understand faith, death, and hope.

Resources:

• Buy our new book and get preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

In this episode, we queer Luke 15:1–10 and Jesus' parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. This is a familiar parable but what if we reimagine what it means to seek, find, and celebrate the people who are hurting or searching for belonging? Rather than viewing these stories solely through the lens of evangelism and conversion, what if we consider how faith calls us to meet people where they are, offering compassion, healing, and community without treating relationships as a means to save. We always say that the Bible declares good news for LGBTQ folks and we can really see that when we reflect on how these parables speak to us, especially those who have felt lost or isolated in anti-LGBTQ+ faith communities.

Resources:

• Buy our new book and get preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

There seems to be so much fear out there right now and Fr. Shannon takes this episode to explore the role fear plays in our faith, our bodies, and our relationships. Reflecting on his own upbringing in a church rooted in fear (going to hell, being left behind in the rapture, and even the Y2K end times!) he considers the tension between believing that God is in control and living as though the world is constantly out to get us. Fear can shut down our nervous systems, limit our ability to imagine new possibilities, and isolate us from one another, making us easier to control and less able to challenge systems that keep us divided. Instead, Fr. Shannon invites us to notice what triggers fear in our bodies and, just as importantly, to pay attention to the moments when we experience hope, joy, connection, and possibility.

Resources:

• Buy our new book and get preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

We queer the passage, Galatians 1:11–24 for this week's episode. Through the lens of redemption, transformation, and trusting your own calling we reflect on past versions of faith that now feel uncomfortable or harmful, and how Paul's story offers a powerful reminder that our past does not have to dictate our future. We also invite you to move towards a faith that better reflects the teachings of Jesus, don't wait for permission! Sometimes, when something you need doesn't exist, you have to create it. And when the gospel you've been handed no longer inspires you, you can seek a more life-giving way forward.

Resources:

• Find out more about preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

It's a special episode this week as we celebrate the launch of our brand-new book, "Reading the Bible Through Queer Eyes: Good News for LGBTQ+ People from Genesis to Revelation." We have been doing this work for more than a decade and we're super excited to finally see it in book form! If you've been here for a while, you'll know we've always been big proponents of storytelling, telling YOUR story, and approaching Scripture through a queer lens. In this book we explore how moving beyond defensiveness and moving toward joy, wonder, and deeper spiritual insight brings a richer understanding of Scripture. The book is available for pre-order now and releases December 1 in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. There are also some pre-order bonuses as a thank you for being part of this journey with us and for helping us share a message of queer joy, spiritual possibility, and good queer gospel with the world!

Resources:

• Find out more about preorder bonuses at queertheology.com/preorder

This week we queer Matthew 20:1–16, the familiar parable of the laborers in the vineyard, and uncover a lesson that is deeply concerned with labor, wages, economic justice, and generosity. This passage is often taught as a story about salvation and getting into heaven, but when we explore what emerges when we take Jesus' words about workers, wages, and equality seriously, it shows again how the gospel is political. We also reflect on what it means to welcome people who join the work late, distinguish genuine participation from simply claiming allyship, and hold space for both the frustration of those who have carried the burden for a long time and the generosity of those ready to join. It's a powerful reminder that the kingdom of heaven is here and now and we are invited to dream bigger and with more generosity where we are today. There is so much more that is possible!

Resources:

• Learn more and join the Community at https://www.queertheology.com/community/

For this episode, we queer the text from the Wisdom of Solomon. This is a deuterocanonical Jewish text that reflects on wisdom as something active, relational, and continually calling us toward growth. This is one of those passages that just seems to queer itself by inviting us to seek wisdom with the ongoing work of learning, internalizing, and living out what we discover as we seek wholeness and integration in our sexuality, gender, spirituality, relationships, and justice work. Another aspect of this text that is so vivid, is the personification of Wisdom as a woman who seeks, awakens, and invites desire.

Resources:

• Learn more and join the Community at https://www.queertheology.com/community/

We queer two powerful biblical texts—Isaiah 56 and Romans 11—to explore who gets to belong, what salvation means, and what Scripture has to say about immigrants and outsiders. We unpack the Bible's repeated call to welcome and care for immigrants, challenge the ways anti-immigrant and white nationalist Christianity distort that message, and reflect on what it means to live out faith through activism, solidarity, organizing, and mutual aid. Together, we consider Paul's vision of a community without insiders and outsiders and Isaiah's declaration that God's house is a house of prayer for all peoples. Rather than salvation as simply something that happens after death, we explore salvation as the work we do together here and now—building communities of justice, mutual care, and belonging.

Resources:

• Learn more and join the Community at https://www.queertheology.com/community/