Theology in the Raw

In this third part of our series “Diversity of Trans*,” I sit down with my good friend Kyla Gillespie. Kyla is female, transitioned to male 10 years ago, then back to female 4 years ago. She tells her story in this episode and discusses why she transitioned in the first place, the results of that transition, her encounter with Jesus in 2017, her decision to detransition back to her birth sex, and...

Renee has experienced gender dysphoria from an early age and it’s never gone away. She hates wearing dresses and has never worn make-up, which means she doesn’t at all resonate with the culturally defined gender stereotypes of western culture. Renee is also a radical follower of Jesus, has a masters in Theology and is pursuing a Ph. D., and aspires to be a writer and theological educator. While sh...

Miranda Yardley is an engaging writer, an astute thinker, and a atheist #transsexual (Miranda's preferred term) who's been very outspokenly critical of many tenets of trans* activist ideology. In this episode, we talk about #autogynephilia, the meaning of sex and #gender, human nature, why it’s impossible to change sex, the role that porn plays in the rise of youth exploring sexual and gender iden...

Tish Harrison Warren is the real deal. Super raw, super wise, down to earth, yet can hang in the loftiest ivory towers. Tish is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life , which was Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year, and the forthcoming Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep ( IVP ,...

What does the Bible—not culture, not democrats, not republicans, but the freakin’ word of God!—say about immigration? In this podcast, Danny and Preston sit down to talk about what the Bible says about immigration, including how to respond to undocumented immigrants, and also how this intersects with politics and culture on the issue.  Dr. Carroll is half-Guatemalan and was raised bilingual and bi...

David Bennett is the real deal. As he details in his book A War of Loves , David used to be a gay activist and ardent opponent to Christianity. But then one day, God met him in a pub. And the rest is history. David is currently a Ph. D. student in theology at Oxford University and a dynamic speaker, theologian, and evangelist. In this episode, we talk about his story, celibacy, Jesus, same-sex sex...

Whether you love him or hate him—and it seems like these are the only two options—we are now living in a post-Trump world. What does this mean for Christianity? How should Christians think through 2021? Preston and Karen sit down to banter around about all things related to Christianity and culture.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

Monica is a survivor of sexual abuse and rape, and she talks about how people who have gone through the same kind of trauma can heal and walk a path of freedom. Monica is a speaker, mentor, leader, and the co-host of "Christian Sexuality: Conversations about Jesus, Sex, and Gender"--a youth curriculum on sex, sexuality, and gender. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See...

Jason Soucinek is the Executive Director and founder of Project Six19. Dedicated to talking honestly about matters of sex, sexuality and relationships. Jason has spent almost two decades engaging audiences of all ages and backgrounds. He is an internationally recognized seminar and conference speaker and published writer on issues surrounding sexuality and youth culture. He can be heard on the fol...

This episode is a deep dive into the book of Judges with one of the world's leading experts in the book: Dr. Michelle Knight. We focus mainly on Judges 4-5, the story about that BA Woman, Jael, who smashes a tent peg through the skull of a skilled warrior and the follow up poem that celebrates the incident. We also talk about the horrific rape of the concubine in Judges 19 and some ethical problem...

Jessie and I met way back in college and have been friends for more than 20 years. Jessie is an author, speaker and the resident “big sis” at LifeLoveandGod.com , a Q&A website for teen girls. She’s passionate about helping girls embrace the God who loves them, and to help them apply His truth to their everyday lives. In this episode, we talk about some of the challenges that teen girls face t...

In the previous episode, I talked about the 3 different views of hell that have been taught throughout church history. In this episode, I briefly discuss why I used to hold to the eternal conscious torment view of hell but have come to believe that the annihilation view of hell is the most biblical. You don’t need to agree with me! But, if you claim to be a Christian, you do need to make sure your...

Most people assume that “hell” means “eternal conscious torment forever and ever.” But the doctrine of hell has actually been widely disputed throughout church history. There are actually three quite different understandings of hell that have been believed and taught in the historic, orthodox Christian church: eternal conscious torment, annihilation, and ultimate reconciliation.  In this first (of...

BJ and I sat down to have a conversation with no agenda in mind. We start by talking about his work as a life-coach and leader at #BuildaBetterUs, we quickly move into talking about church, church structure, and money. Then, we move into talking about the topic of race in Evangelicalism and we pretty much camped out there for the rest of the time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

Laurie is attracted to women. And Matt is also attracted to women. Both Laurie and Matt love Jesus. They’re in what’s called a “mixed orientation marriage” and they talk about how that “works” in this fascinating episode. Their marriage is incredible. Not perfect. No marriage is. But their marriage truly does exemplify the honesty, difficulty, beauty, and meaningfulness that every marriage is supp...

In this episode, Benjamin and I talk about what happened at Evergreen and some of the cultural implications of these events. We then talk about the so-called “evergreening of America.” In many ways, what went down at Evergreen in May 2017 has become a proleptic microcosm of what’s going on today in 2020.  Benjamin Boyce is a popular YouTuber and podcaster. He was a senior in college at Evergreen U...

Editors note: We had some technical difficulties during the recording. The audio is not to our standards, but we felt the podcast was too good to throw away. Greg and I recorded this conversation in late August but I deliberately wanted to have him speak into our current cultural moment--on the eve of the election. Because sometimes you can think a little more clearly when you’re not pressed in a...

Jane Wheeler is the founder and President of Rethink Medical Identity Ethics ( https://rethinkime.org ), which is a a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to improving and optimizing ethical long term care and treatment for gender variant children, adolescents and youth. Jane practiced law for many years as a corporate regulatory healthcare attorney in licensing, standards of c...

Bill Henson is the founder and president of Lead Them Home, creator of Posture Shift, and author of Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones. Bill trains national, regional and local ministry teams across America to extend Christ to LGBT+ persons within a biblical framework. Bill guest lectures at Gordon College and has presented Posture Shift at Denver Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theo­lo­gi­cal Sem­i...

Lesli has been a great friend and mentor over the years. We talk about all things trans*, gender, church, Jesus, pronouns, and all that fun stuff. Lesli is the Gender Identity Ministry Director for Posture Shift and a contributor to the highly acclaimed resource "Guiding Families." Learn more about Lesli here Check out Guiding Families Lesli currently serves as Gender Identity Ministry Director fo...

Sean and I talk about his new book "Chasing Love" which is due to come out in Dec 2020. We focus largely on the contents of this book but we also dive deep into the so-called purity movement and clear up some misunderstands. We also weigh the pros and cons of that movement and try to construct a positive way forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy...

A.J. Swoboda a brilliant thinker, a relational pastor, and possesses an uncanny ability to think critically about the intersection of faith and culture. In this conversation, we talk about a lot of things related to his own journey of deconstruction and reconstruction, progressive vs. conservative Christianity, politics, and our cultural moment. A.J. has a Ph. D. from University of Birmingham (U.K...

My buddy Ed joins me on the show to talk about Critical Theory and race relations in America. Ed has a Ph. D. in American Cultural Studies from Bowling Green University and basically spent most of his doctoral work interacting with Critical Theory. Ed also has lots of thoughts about the race conversation and race relations inside and outside the church. Heads up : this conversation is super raw, s...

John is back for the 3rd time to give us an update on where we're at with all things Covid-19. Wearing masks, the future vaccine, what should churches do, where will this whole thing end up? John is a Senior Biosafety Officer for The University of Chicago – Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, as well as a Registered Biosafety Professional with ABSA International (A...

Whenever people consider the reliability of the Bible, they usually look to historical or archaeological evidence. And indeed, I covered that in the previous video. But in this final video of our 3 part series on the reliability of the Bible, I want to consider the message of the Bible itself as evidence for its authenticity. The Bible critiques power, humanizes women (compared it its surrounding...