Rambly Chat: Our Political Hellscape and How We Find Hope in Our Work with Youth
In this episode, we have a conversation about how we’ve been doing the past few months (sometimes not so great but we’re doing our best), we share our reactions to the absolute bullshit going on in the federal government (do something Dems!!! And fuck the white man billionaires running everything), and we also share stories about our respective work in youth development and therapy as a way to end the episode on a lighter note–the kids are alright, and we as folks in helping professions can support them through this.We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd and @April_TheWriter. Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
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47:52
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47:52
Let's Talk About Cults
A note on content for this ep: CSA and other abuse
There are many cults or high-control groups that are rooted in Christianity or are Christian-adjacent (and some groups toe the line of being one…*coughHillsongcough*). In this episode, we give an overview of just a handful of them: Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the FLDS, Twin Flames Universe, and self-help scammers like Jodi Hildebrandt. We explore the ways these groups harm the people in them and the people who leave them with medical neglect, shunning, abuse, and manipulation. To learn more about these cults and other high control groups, check out the resources below!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Knowing Better
Owen Morgan (Telltale)
ExJW Panda
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Escaping Twin Flames on Netflix
BITE Model
Cults to Consciousness
Jordan and McKay, ex-Mormons
We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop
Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd and @April_TheWriter. Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
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1:19:19
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1:19:19
Leaving the Evangelical Basement with Tim Whitaker (The New Evangelicals)
Note: the dolphin noises that come up in a section of this episode are to take out some identifying information about April’s old church that she doesn’t want made public
In this episode, we have a conversation with Tim Whitaker, founder of the non-profit The New Evangelicals, an inclusive, Jesus-centered community that holds space for those marginalized by the evangelical church. Tim talks about his upbringing in conservative churches and his way of living “counter-culturally” within it (listening to hardcore punk Christian bands and wearing “abortion is homicide” t-shirts) and how his faith started to shift over time, realizing so many church practices have actually been stolen from “pagan” religions, being appalled by the evangelical support of Trump in the 2016 election-onward, and finally getting kicked out of his church when he started TNE. We talk about how witchy Christianity can be sometimes (how is “open your Bible to a random page, that’s God’s message for you” that much different from Tarot?). Tim discusses how he tries to use his privilege as a “theobro-passing” white guy to go into Christian Nationalist spaces to understand why people are being radicalized and what harmful narratives and conspiracy theories are being pushed there–and to fight back against that misinformation with reliable data. Tim also shares his journey of becoming LGBTQ+ affirming.
We are so excited about the work that TNE is doing! You can find Tim/TNE on Instagram and other platforms @thenewevangelicals (you should check out the Facebook group!). You can donate to them here (and see a complete financial statement here).
We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop
Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
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58:25
Holy Runaways with Matthias Roberts
In this episode, we have a conversation with therapist, podcaster, author, and theologian Matthias Roberts! He shares his faith journey of being raised in a non-affirming church, then going to Side B (queer-folks-are-called-to-celibacy) theology as he came to terms with being gay, to realizing that LGBTQ+ Christians existed and that he could have a romantic partner and still be Christian. He also talks about his new book (available anywhere books are sold starting on October 3rd, link below for pre-order/purchase), Holy Runaways: Rediscovering Faith After Being Burned by Religion. We’re so excited about this book and the ways it breaks down what has happened to so many of us–religious trauma, and deconstruction–and how we can rebuild our faith in creative ways.
You can find Matthias on Instagram and Twitter (no, we’re not calling it the other thing) @matthiasroberts. You can listen to his podcast, Queerology, wherever you listen to podcasts, and can follow @queerologypod on Instagram and Twitter. Preorder/purchase his book here: https://matthiasroberts.com/holyrunaways/
We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop
Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
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1:02:11
Bible Dyke Deep Dive: Romans
In this episode, we get down and dirty and nerdy with Paul’s long Epistle (letter) to the Romans (more specifically, the early Christian community there). This text has been used to justify bigotry towards LGBTQ+ people and the awful doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, and to manipulate people into converting, but it also has empowering passages about the love of God, and guidance on how to live in community in the midst of conflicts of belief–the church has been in theological disputes since the very beginning. The very passage that is used against LGBTQ+ people in Romans 1 is a set-up of Paul’s message that we should not judge or hold ourselves up as being superior to others! Paul also talks about how our salvation is from the faithfulness of Jesus, not necessarily faith “in” Jesus. Yes, you can’t necessarily get away from the language Paul uses about sacrifice and Jesus’ death, but this is his interpretation and what he believed would be the best way to present the Gospel to his audience. The beauty of the Gospel is that it can mean multiple things across different cultural contexts, but it all connects back to the goodness and love of Jesus.
Resources:
James Brownson’s book Bible, Gender Sexuality (take what you want, leave the anti-polyamory and anti premarital sex stuff)
We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop
Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!
Two queer Christian women exploring the space between belief and doubt, deconstruction and reconstruction, and the mysteries of faith that are ours just as much as the Christians who have gone before us—even the ones who say that our queerness is incompatible with Christianity. Regardless of your beliefs (or lack thereof), you’re welcome in this conversation about the religious backgrounds people came from, and how those experiences (and changes in belief) impact the life they live now.
Sverige