Auntie Sermons

Critically CrystalJae
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Auntie Sermons is a feminist, historical, and unapologetically honest podcast that revisits the Bible by centering the women it pushed to the margins. Hosted by CrystalJae, each episode moves methodically and chronologically through the text, focusing on every girl or woman—named or unnamed—and asking what their stories reveal when we stop reading through patriarchal assumptions. These are not sermons about obedience. They are conversations about power, silence, knowledge, and survival. Drawing from biblical texts, historical context, rabbinic and Christian interpretations, and occasionally

  1. May 28

    Episode 12 | Rebekah | Cognitive Dissonance, Faith, and Distrusting Your Own Morals

    Episode 12 | Rebekah | Cognitive Dissonance, Faith, and Distrusting Your Own Morals Rebekah is remembered as one of the faithful women of the Bible — obedient, discerning, and chosen to help fulfill God’s plan. But beneath that flattened version of her story is a much more complicated woman: one bound to prophecy, caught inside a family system built on favoritism, deception, and rivalry. In this episode, we examine Rebekah through the lens of cognitive dissonance, moral injury, and the psychological cost of suspending conscience in the name of faith. We explore how religious systems train believers to spiritualize harm, distrust their own moral instincts, and excuse abuse if the outcome is believed to serve God. What you’ll hear: • Rebekah’s full biblical story and historical context • The “woman at the well” type-scene in the Hebrew Bible • Rabbinic and Christian teachings on Rebekah • How religion flattens complex women into obedient tropes • Cognitive dissonance, anxiety, depression, and moral conflict in faith systems • Why “God had a plan” is often used to excuse harm Resources: • Genesis 22:23 • Genesis 24 • Genesis 25:19–28 • Genesis 27 • Psychology Today — Cognitive Dissonance • HealthCentral — Cognitive Dissonance and Mental Health • The Decision Lab — Cognitive Dissonance Theory • National Institutes of Health — Anxiety, Depression, and Psychological Distress Research Follow & Support: • https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    13 min

  2. May 19

    Episode 11 | The Trauma of Lot’s Daughters | Why I Don’t Believe Lot

    Episode 11 | The Trauma of Lot’s Daughters | Why I Don’t Believe Lot Synopsis: For centuries, Lot’s daughters have been preached about as seductive, immoral women who got their father drunk and took advantage of him. But what if we’ve been listening to the wrong storyteller? In Episode 11 of Auntie Sermons, Auntie CrystalJae takes a deep dive into Genesis 19 and challenges one of the Bible’s darkest narratives. These were not grown women — they were likely traumatized teenage girls who had just survived the destruction of their city, the loss of their mother, and a father who had already shown he was willing to sacrifice them to a violent mob. So why are we so quick to trust Lot’s version of events? Through rabbinic commentary, Christian teachings, modern scholarship, and real-world parallels, this episode explores how stories about girls are often shaped by the men who tell them — and why generations of preachers turned the trauma of Lot’s daughters into a warning instead of seeing it for what it was: trauma. This episode contains discussions of abuse, trauma, and victim blaming.

    32 min

  3. Apr 18

    Episode 10 | The Salt of the Earth | Lot’s Wife, Pillar of Salt, and Why She Looked Back

    Episode 10 | The Salt of the Earth | Lot’s Wife, Pillar of Salt, and Why She Looked Back Lot’s wife is one of the most reduced women in the Bible—no name, no voice, just a warning. But what if she wasn’t weak, faithless, or disobedient? What if she was human—responding to violence, loss, and devastation the way any of us would? In this episode, we challenge the story we were told and reclaim the woman behind the pillar of salt. What you’ll hear: The full story of Lot’s wife in Genesis—and what the text actually says How rabbinic and Christian traditions reshaped her into a warning A feminist re-reading of her turning back as grief, witness, and resistance Why this story reflects patriarchy—and how it harms both women and men Resources: Genesis 19:15-17 (World English Bible) Genesis 19:24-26 (World English Bible) Luke 17:32 (World English Bible) Matthew 5:13 (World English Bible) Genesis Rabbah 50:4 Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 25 Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 54a 1 Clement 11 Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.36.3 Susanne Scholz, “Lot’s Wife Turns as an Act of Resistance,” TheTorah.com Amos Frumkin, Geological Society of America Bulletin (Mount Sodom salt pillar formation) CDC Suicide Data (U.S. male suicide rates) NIMH, Men and Mental Health Research on family annihilation / homicide-suicide statistics Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    30 min

  4. Apr 10

    Episode 9 | Hagar the Victim | Abuse, Power, and Survival in Genesis 16–21

    Episode 9 | Hagar the Victim | Abuse, Power, and Survival in Genesis 16–21 Hagar’s story is often softened, spiritualized, or turned into allegory—but when we read it plainly, it is a story of exploitation, abuse, and survival. In this episode, we center Hagar as a person, not a symbol, and examine what the text actually says about power, consent, and what it means to be told to return to harm. What you’ll hear: How Hagar is introduced and why that matters The reality of consent and power in her story How Jewish and Christian traditions reinterpret her Why “go back” is still taught—and why it’s dangerous Resources: Genesis 16:1–16 (WEB) Genesis 21:8–21 (WEB) Galatians 4:21–31 (WEB) Genesis Rabbah 45:1 Rashi on Genesis 16 Violence Policy Center research on domestic violence Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    27 min

  5. Mar 25

    Episode 7 | Sarah Enters the Story | Power, Patriarchy, and the Women We Were Told to Be

    Episode 7 | Sarah Enters the Story | Power, Patriarchy, and the Women We Were Told to Be Sarah is one of the most praised women in the Bible—but when we slow down and actually read her story, a very different picture emerges. In this episode, we look at how Sarah is introduced, how her story unfolds, and how her actions have been taught to generations of women as a model of faith and obedience. This is a story about power, survival, harm, and the way biblical narratives shape how women see themselves, their bodies, and each other. What you’ll hear: How Sarah is introduced as barren and reduced to her body The power dynamics between Sarah and Abraham, including deception and control Sarah’s treatment of Hagar and what it reveals about supremacy systems The double standard of doubt between Sarah and Abraham How Christian teachings shaped Sarah into a role model The real-life impact of these stories on women’s grief, bodies, and self-worth Why these narratives train women to judge the wrong women Resources: Genesis 11:27–31 (WEB) Genesis 12–21 (WEB) Genesis Rabbah (selected passages on Sarah and Hagar) Rashi on Genesis 11–21 TheTorah.com – Women and Biblical Narratives (various articles) Wenham, Gordon J. – Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis 1–15 Hamilton, Victor P. – NICOT: The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17 Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    21 min

  6. Mar 23

    Episode 6 | Women of the Ark | The Unnamed Mothers of Humanity and the Cost of Erasure in Genesis

    Episode 6 | Women of the Ark | The Unnamed Mothers of Humanity and the Cost of Erasure in Genesis The story of Noah’s ark is often told as a story of obedience, survival, and divine rescue—but almost no one talks about the women who made humanity’s survival possible. In this episode, we center the unnamed women of the ark, explore how different traditions chose to remember—or erase—them, and examine what it means when the mothers of civilization are reduced to background characters. What you’ll hear: What Genesis actually says about the women on the ark—and what it leaves outHow rabbinic and Christian traditions handled their silenceHow the Ethiopian biblical tradition chose to name themWhy being unnamed allows others to define women’s storiesResources: Genesis 6:18; 7:7, 13; 8:16, 18 (WEB)Jubilees 4:33; 7:1–2Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    22 min

  7. Mar 11

    Episode 5 | Daughters of Humans | Nephilim, Consent, and the Women Erased in Genesis 6

    Episode 5 | Daughters of Humans | Nephilim, Consent, and the Women Erased in Genesis 6 Genesis 6 introduces one of the strangest and most overlooked passages in the Bible—where “sons of God” take human women, and the story quickly shifts away from what happened to them. In this episode, we slow the text down and center the women who were seen, taken, and erased. This is a story about power, violation, and how the question of consent disappears from the narrative entirely. What you’ll hear: What Genesis 6:1–4 actually says—and why it feels out of placeHow Jewish and Christian traditions interpret the “sons of God”Why the text never addresses consent or accountabilityHow this story connects to modern conversations about power and consentResources: Genesis 6:1–4 (WEB)Featured in this episode: “Consent” — from the album Ex ParteFollow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    16 min

  8. Mar 4

    Episode 4 | The Woman Who Was Named | Naamah, Naming, and the Power of Being Seen in Genesis

    Episode 4 | The Woman Who Was Named | Naamah, Naming, and the Power of Being Seen in Genesis Naamah appears in a single verse—and yet her name stands out in a genealogy that largely ignores women altogether. In this episode, we examine what it means for a woman to be named in a text that so often erases them, how later traditions tried to redefine her, and why simply existing without explanation has always been threatening to systems built on control. What you’ll hear: What Naamah’s name means and why it matters How the Bible treats named vs. unnamed women What later traditions did with Naamah—and why The pattern of rewriting women’s names to protect power Resources: Genesis 4:22 (WEB) Revelation 2:20 (WEB) Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    12 min

  9. Feb 25

    Episode 3 | Ornament and Shadow | Adah, Zillah, and the Women Who Built Civilization in Genesis

    Episode 3 | Ornament and Shadow | Adah, Zillah, and the Women Who Built Civilization in Genesis Adah and Zillah enter the story with names—but almost nothing else. In this episode, we look at what those names mean, what flows through these women, and what it says about a text that records the achievements of men while leaving the women who made those achievements possible in silence. This is a story about erasure, roles, and what happens when women are reduced to what they provide instead of who they are. What you’ll hear: The meaning behind the names Adah (“ornament”) and Zillah (“shadow”) How culture, creativity, labor, and survival flow through these women The pattern of women being categorized by function instead of identity How these roles still show up in modern life—and how they can be reclaimed Resources: Genesis 4:19–24 (WEB) Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    21 min

  10. Feb 18

    Episode 2 | The Woman God Didn’t Bother to Name | Cain’s Wife, Erasure, and the Cost of Silence in Genesis

    Episode 2 | The Woman God Didn’t Bother to Name | Cain’s Wife, Erasure, and the Cost of Silence in Genesis In the story of Cain and Abel, we’re taught to focus on the first murder—but almost no one talks about the woman who comes after. In this episode, we look at Cain’s unnamed wife, what the text actually says about her, and what it means that the Bible gives a murderer a name, a voice, and protection—while the woman who carries the future is erased. This is a story about silence, power, and the cost of not being seen. What you’ll hear: Why Cain’s offering is rejected without explanation How the text introduces Cain’s wife—and what it leaves out The pattern of naming men while erasing women How this story connects to modern experiences of being overlooked or dismissed Resources: Genesis 4:1–17 (WEB) Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    10 min

  11. Feb 11

    Episode 1 | The Woman Who Knew Too Much | Eve, Knowledge, and the First Woman in Genesis

    Episode 1 | The Woman Who Knew Too Much | Eve, Knowledge, and the First Woman in Genesis Eve is often blamed for everything—but what if she was never given the full picture to begin with? In this episode, we take a closer look at how Eve is introduced, what she actually knew, and how the narrative shifts when you read the text carefully. This isn’t a story about weakness—it’s a story about curiosity, knowledge, and what happens when a woman seeks both. What you’ll hear: Who actually received the command in Genesis Whether Eve was ever given the full instructions Why the “fall” narrative may not be what we were taught How this story reflects patterns we still see today Resources: Genesis 2:16–18; 3:1–6 (WEB) Follow & Support: https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

    13 min
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5
out of 5
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About

Auntie Sermons is a feminist, historical, and unapologetically honest podcast that revisits the Bible by centering the women it pushed to the margins. Hosted by CrystalJae, each episode moves methodically and chronologically through the text, focusing on every girl or woman—named or unnamed—and asking what their stories reveal when we stop reading through patriarchal assumptions. These are not sermons about obedience. They are conversations about power, silence, knowledge, and survival. Drawing from biblical texts, historical context, rabbinic and Christian interpretations, and occasionally

Information

  • Creator
    Critically CrystalJae
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Critically CrystalJae
  • Show Website
    Auntie Sermons