Happy New Year! We hope you had a lovely NYE celebration, hopefully, safe and at home.
In today’s episode, we received a reader question on Tumblr asking how to be proud of who you truly are and still be a Christian despite learning that being queer is a sin. “Is there anything in the Bible on accepting yourself and being proud of who you are without it being vanity?”
We also queered the text from Acts which Fr. Shay loves because of how the early Christian community is messily and gloriously human. It also shows that if there is a compelling message or movement people always want to be part of it. Tune in to hear more of how we queered today’s text.
Key takeaways:
- Fr. Shay’s silent retreat (at home) [0:53]
- Brian’s sexual resolutions [3:32]
- Tricky Questions About Sex Workshop [7:38]
- Tumblr question about accepting your queer self and still be proud to be Christian [9:57]
- God is “angry” at you and will “punish” you [10:46]
- Whose side is God on? [12:03]
- Unpacking unhealthy theology [12:59]
- Check-in with yourself if you are being oppressive [13:57]
- Queering the text: Acts 19:1-7 [15:58]
- The chaotic early Christian community [17:02]
- A compelling message that people want to be part of [17:46]
- The tension and good intention [20:09]
- Find ways to get started and be open to corrections [20:44]
Tricky Question About Sex Workshop: queertheology.com/trickyquestions
Links mentioned:
How to set Sexual Resolutions
Set Sexual Resolutions for New Year’s Resolutions
Why Did Jesus Die?
Some resources about Pride: My First Pride, PRIDE (SHAME) issue of Spit & Spirit, Coming Down From The Pride High
Bible verses to remind you God loves you and cares about your well-being
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If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took a route through the interior and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to believe?”
They replied, “We’ve not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Then he said, “What baptism did you receive, then?”
They answered, “John’s baptism.”
Paul explained, “John baptized with a baptism by which people showed they were changing their hearts and lives. It was a baptism that told people about the one who was coming after him. This is the one in whom they were to believe. This one is Jesus.” After they listened to Paul, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in other languages and prophesying. Altogether, there were about twelve people.