The Unlearning Podcast

On today's episode, Ashley sits down with her lovely wife, Jen Hengst, to talk about their pregnancy journey and all of our dreams for the future.  To learn more about Ashley, you can connect with her on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or online at ashleylhengst.com

Carter Heyward is an American feminist theologian and priest in the Episcopal Church who has is known as one of the Philadelphia Eleven , eleven women whose ordinations eventually paved the way for the recognition of women as priests in the Episcopal Church in 1976. Heyward has written extensively on feminist theology and what she calls a "feminist eros," teaching us to embrace the divin...

On today's episode, Ashley sits down with Sarah Swartzendruber, creator of "Parenting After Deconstruction" and co-pastor of Cascade Church in Portland, OR. Sarah is passionate about empowering parents in deconstruction to create spiritual practices for their kids. You can learn more about Sarah's work by heading to her website or by following her ministry on Instagram . Ashley...

On today's episode, Ashley sits down with Damon Garcia,  a writer, video essayist , and public theologian. His work is centered around the intersection between liberation and faith. He is the author of The God Who Riots: Taking Back the Radical Jesus . He lives in Santa Maria, California. Follow Damon’s work on Twitter and Instagram @whoisdamon and at damongarcia.com. Ashley Lynn Hengst is th...

Lent is finally here and with the lenten season comes a lot of wonderful opportunities for personal examination and introspection. David's Psalm 51 is often used to guide people into a spirit of repentance but we hardly ever think about the context or what David's words truly mean. On today's episode, Ashley deconstructs the idea that we are "born in sin" and helps listene...

On today's episode, Ashley talks about a recent Oriented to Love panel that she attended at Evergreen Baptists church were the panelists discussed a Side B theology. To learn more about Ashley and to find more of her work, you can connect with her on Instagram and Twitter @ashleylhengst or online at ashleylhengst.com

On today's episode, Ashley unpacks 5 common misconceptions about sex and romance from Paul Carter's article in the Gospel Coalition .  She unpacks the term "biblical sexuality" and helps listeners to understand the danger of misleading interpretations of Scripture. You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or online at ashleylhengst.com

On today's episode, Ashley shares the ups and downs of her own coming out journey. She also describes the powerful impact "The L Word" (2004-2009) show had on her own life and offers encouraging advice for Queer Christians seeking wisdom on how to come out safely. You can connect with Ashley at ashleylhengst.com or on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengts.

On today's episode, Ashley helps deconstruct toxic cultural rules given to us by society and the church. Instead, she offers up Melody Beattie's rules for healthy living found in her book "Beyond Codependency." Below is her list of rules: 1.     It’s okay to feel my feelings and talk about them when it is safe and appropriate, and I want to. 2.     I can think, make good decisi...

For the next few months,  all of the episodes on the Unlearning Podcast will be dedicated to the deconstruction of the evangelical purity culture while reconstructing a healthy Christian sexual ethic. Be sure to hit the subscribe button so that you never miss any episodes on the Unlearning Podcast season of Pleasure and Purity.  You can connect with Ashley Lynn Hengst on Instagram and Twitter @ash...

Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the Queer Christian Conference in Washington, DC. where I heard Bishop O.C. Allen preach for the first time. Check out more information on the conference and on Bishop Allen here . Here is a link to the Bishop Allen's commandments for 2023 . For more information on Ashley Lynn Hengst you can reach out to her on Instagram and Twitter at @ashl...

What is the best, most-Christ-like way to respond to your child when they come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered? As evangelicals we’ve been taught to believe that love and judgement go hand in hand and to love the sinner but hate the sin. This kind of theology is incredibly dangerous.  On today's episode, Ashley walks evangelical parents through the coming out process, unpacking...

Does the purpose and function of pastoral ministry change the more theologically progressive we become?  On today's episode, listeners are invited to consider the meaning of pastoral care. Ashley makes the case for a Christ-centered pastoral ministry, a ministry that reflects attending to the needs and the concerns of the people under your care in a way that reflects the teachings of Jesus Ch...

The Friday Field Notes segment of "The Unlearning Podcast" is here to help you  reconstruct  your faith after a season of deconstruction. On today's episode, Ashley reads the chapter "Resistance and Fundamentalism" from Steven Pressfield's book "The Art of War."  Ashley will be leading a break out session at the Queer Christian Conference this January 5-8th...

Did Jesus  really  resurrect from the dead? Do we have to believe in a literal resurrection in order to go to heaven? On today's episode, Ashley unpacks all of the toxic thinking surrounding the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ. In this episode, she features the opening line of Rev. Mike Kinman's Easter sermon . She also shares  John Piper's reading of Romans 8. To hear Piper...

       As we go through our deconstruction journey, we sometimes feel guilty in leaving communities and friend groups that no longer serve us. As we unlearn toxic theology, we sometimes feel guilty over no longer being friends with people who still hold onto evangelical beliefs. And because we’ve taken Scripture so literally, we feel like we are sinning when we upset people and make them mad. On t...

Luke could have begun his gospel narrative with the healing of a very important Roman centurion or of a rich young ruler.  But instead of choosing the most respected people in society, Luke described Jesus as moving to the margins, particularly when it came to the intersectional realities of age and gender.  On today's episode, Ashley walks us through the healing of Peter's mother-in-law...

As evangelicals, we’ve been taught to believe that our heart and our emotions and even our very minds cannot be trusted. Evangelicals have used a variety of bible verses to support this idea, that we are inherently evil and that we should "crucify" the bad parts of ourselves or our flesh. On today's episode, Ashley deconstructs toxic theology around emotions. She then, offers up int...

Many of us received our understanding of demons from the (1973) move "The Exorcist."  We believe demons to be part of a moral army of oppressive spirits that recruit humans into an evil force, possessing them with an evil energy, not unlike the death eaters in Harry Potter. But bible scholar Fred B. Craddock paints a different picture of demons, that might shed some light on our next pas...

Welcome to our monthly on the Unlearning Podcast called “The Briefing: News and Events from a Progressive Christian world view.” In our August episode, I interview Dr. Tracey Shenell and Pastor Hannah Sims on all of their thoughts concerning recent news and events. The Briefing on the Unlearning Podcast is here to help you think critically about the world around you AND to demonstrate what it’s li...

When thinking about Christianity as a religion, Cuban theologian Miguel De La Torre explains that we must define our religion from the point of view of people on the margins and not people in wealth and in power. That’s a big change in point of view for a lot of us because for many of us, all we do is follow and like and invest in the point of view of the rich, famous and powerful. But Christ is c...

Lex Orandi, Lex Crendendi "the law of prayer is the law of belief" or you are what you pray. On this week's Friday Field Notes,  Ashley talks about prayer and invites listeners to incorporate the beautiful tradition of the Book of Common Prayer into their prayer lives.  You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

THE BRIEFING  is a monthly segment by Ashley Lynn Hengst on the "News and Events from a Progressive Christian Point of View." This past July, we saw the exquisite images from NASA’s James Webb Telescope, continuation of the midterm elections, the passing of the Inflation Reduction act , and former President Trump’s Margo Island fiasco. Check out the New York Times article that Ashley men...

As we make our way back to church and look for a church and look for a pastor and begin to reconstruct our faith, it is so important that we begin to take part in Christian fellowship. Staying after church for cookies and coffee to talk with people, to catch up on their week, to encourage other people and to be encouraged by them is good for your soul  On today's episode, Ashley talks about t...

Whenever people go on an unlearning journey, on a journey of deconstructing their Christian faith, it’s often necessary to take a break from attending church and to take a break from reading Scripture and sometimes to take a break, even from praying. And that’s okay. Religious trauma is a REAL THING and sometimes you cannot heal from trauma until you separate yourself from the situation or context...