Blessed Are the Binary Breakers Avery Arden

Isaiah 56:1-8 shares God's message of not only tolerance but radical welcome for the ultimate Others of the biblical world: eunuchs. How did Isaiah 56's author come to understand Divine affirmation for this denigrated group, when Deuteronomy 23's author had offered only rejection? And why does this scripture resonate deeply with many transgender persons of faith today?

Click here for an episode transcript.

For my Isaiah 56 translations notes, click here.

For other thoughts and resources on Isaiah 56 and biblical eunuchs, scroll down to "Better Than Sons or Daughters" on this webpage.

Talking Points:


(0:00) Message from a listener — Rowan brings news of London Pride, finds blessing in their daily work
(4:28) Introducing my sermon on Isaiah 56:3-8; reading the scripture passage
(7:30) My personal story — realizing my church's promise of unconditional welcome was conditional, after all; finding solace in God's good news for eunuchs and foreigners in Isaiah 56
(11:53) Eunuchs as the "Ultimate Other"; differences from and resonances with today's transgender community
(16:28) Historical context — how Judah's traumatic exile moved rejection of eunuchs from the political to the personal
(19:55 to end) The challenge to faith communities today — to live into Isaiah 56's radical welcome, we must ensure trans folk are not merely tolerated, but fully belong

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn.

This episode also makes use of "Green-Fields" and "Arrival" by Scott Holmes via Free Creative Commons (CC-A-NC) License. Find the songs at scottholmesmusic.com.

Jayne X Praxis (she/they) is many things — she’s Buddhist and a tantric witch; she’s an ordained minister and a Satanist; she’s a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and a licensed therapist — but above all, Jayne is forever becoming more and more their authentic self, and they invite you to do the same through curiosity, humor, and embodied self-exploration.

Content Warning: swearing and sex talk; religious trauma; mentions of childhood sexual trauma.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Talking Points:


(0:00) Introducing Jayne
(2:05) Growing up with a conservative minister father, anti-sex views; coming out as bisexual in college and engaging in gender-f*****y
(6:30) Adding Jayne to their name, rolling it back after getting married, returning to gender f*****y and embracing nonbinary identity after
divorce
(12:49) Exploring spirituality: DnD; Wicca and paganism; ordination in the Universal Life Church; Shambhala Buddhism and embodiment
(22:43) Tantric practices help Jayne recover her body, discover the connections between sexuality and gender
(26:06) Resisting imposter syndrome to find political and spiritual meaning as a witch; discovering the magic in simply living as trans
(34:22) The power in naming, sigils, storytelling; sex as spiritual; unlearning sexual shame
(43:03) Satanism and Lucifer as queer rebel; shock can wake people up!
(47:17) Sacred clowning: get people thinking by making them laugh; joining the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to spread joy and challenge guilt
(1:06:00) Wrapping up: embrace authenticity and ask lots of questions

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Visit Jayne's blog: https://paregoric.wordpress.com/

Jayne's Resource Recs:


Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels by Katie West and Jasmine Elliott (find⁠ here⁠)
Witches, Sl-ts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive by Kristen J. Sollee (find ⁠here⁠)
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa (find ⁠here⁠)

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "Know No No-Nos" by Doctor Turtle

June was Queer Pride Month, July is Disability Pride Month, and that means it's the prime time of year for certain people to remind us that "pride is a sin, didn't you know?" So I called up my dear friend Laura, a fellow disabled trans Christian, to discuss how the kind of pride that marginalized communities use as an antidote to shame is not sinful, but indeed essential in our pursuit of justice and abundant life for all!

Listen as Laura and I — interspersed with excerpts from Eli Clare's 1999 text Exile and Pride — contrast marginalized pride with nationalist, supremacist pride; explain why "awareness" and "acceptance" aren't enough; and emphasize the need to join pride with witness.

Click here for an episode transcript.

Hear more from Laura on their podcast, the Autistic Liberation Theology Podcast. Click here for their website of essays and biblical Playmobil art.

Talking Points:

(0:00) Intro to the topic, Laura, and Eli Clare's book

(4:37) Disabled & queer pride as an antidote to internalized ableism

(12:40) Why awareness & acceptance aren't enough

(17:48) Pride in the essential gifts we bring

(23:47) Pride as sin — opposite of humility vs. opposite of shame; "the last will be first"

(34:50) We need to join pride with witness, remember our history and those we've lost

(44:45) A Christianity we can be proud of? Reclaiming the cross; Autistic Jesus

(52:00) Wrapping up — a final excerpt from Eli Clare

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "His Last Share of the Stars" and "I Snost, I Lost" by Doctor Turtle.

Matthew 25:31-46 is sometimes misused to preach hellfire & brimstone, but its focus is on compassion & community, mutual aid in the here & now.

In this sermon, minister Avery Arden explores how the Divine identification with the world's outcasts has empowered disenfranchised Christians to envision Christ as Black, disabled, gay, trans, and more.

Click here for an episode transcript.

Talking Points:


(0:00) Invitation to sign up for daily text prayers for July's Disability Pride Month; introduction to the sermon
(4:00) Reading the Matthew 25 text
(7:00) It's not about threatening or bribing us into good works; establishing this text's context
(12:00) Moving beyond a focus on the individual to a communal focus: we are one big flock of sheep-goat hybrids, called to practice mutual aid!
(18:49) Jesus's intimate identification with the outcasts; subverting the text's kingly imagery; Christ is Black, disabled, gay, trans
(25:25) How do you experience Christ in your hunger, your suffering?

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Resources for Disability Pride Month:


Sign up for daily text prayers written by disabled people of faith here: https://mlp.salsalabs.org/july2023disabilitytextprayers/index.html
Listen to episode 37, "No End to Transphobia without Uprooting Ableism"
Check out my Disabled AND Blessed YouTube series
Check out Laura's Autistic Liberation Theology podcast
Masterpost of disability theology & ministry resources

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "Reality Cartwheeled" and "The Ants Built a City on His Chest" by Doctor Turtle.

Água (they/them) shares the story of their lifelong relationship with Weelaunee Forest, whose leaves form the second half of the lungs that begin in Água's own body. After discussing the Stop Cop City movement's past and present, Água guides us through abolishing the cop in our own head; recognizing the interconnectedness and sacredness of all bodies; and breaking down binaries of "us" versus "them."

Check out Água's own podcast, The Somatic Scribing Podcast, ⁠here or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

Click here for an episode transcript.

Click here for information about the call to gather at Atlanta City Hall on May 15.

Find out about the new, nonviolence-focused Stop Cop City movement space here.

Consider donating to the Atlanta Solidarity fund here.

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Talking Points:

(0:00) Call to action

(2:10) Introducing Água: a queer, Chicanx, trans parent who's spent most of their life in Atlanta on Muscogee territory

(7:10) Água's intimate relationship with Weelaunee Forest; burnout from organized activism that has little room for spirituality

(14:54) Personal spiritual journey; the principles of healing an individual body can be used to heal communal bodies & cultures; the root of Cop City conflict is a disregard for the sacred of Black & Indigenous bodies and of the ecosystem

(22:30) Where does abolition live inside your body? How do you remove the cop in your head?

(26:45) Discussing current ongoing with Cop City — forest entry blocked, clear-cutting; history of the Atlanta Way

(33:14) How and why to get involved

(40:07) How queerness manifests as a liberation practice; nature is really gay; interconnectedness of all life

(43:35) How do we break down binaries built from trauma in our activism? Rehabilitating ex-police?

(50:44 - end) Água's closing blessing; Água's podcast

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "Lullaby for Democracy" by Doctor Turtle.

For Shining Oak (she/her), activism and queerness have been catalysts for reconnecting to her Jewish faith. Learn about Shining Oak's experiences with the movement to Stop Cop City, from organizing a kid-friendly event for a 2021 Week of Action to attending a powerful Shabbat service in Atlanta's Weelaunee Forest.

Click here for an episode transcript.

Find out about the new, nonviolence-focused Stop Cop City movement space here.

Consider donating to the Atlanta Solidarity fund here.

Talking Points:

(0:00) A new nonviolent movement space; introducing Shining Oak — queer Jewish forest defender

(3:30) First week of action in spring 2021; organizing a kid-friendly event

(9:10) Comparing then and now — larger numbers, more widespread, clearing begun

(15:00) The power of a diverse movement — Jewish members, queer members, BIPOC members, and more

(19:53) Shabbat in the forest

(24:55) Growing up Jewish in a white Christian suburb — pressure to assimilate

(30:45) Get involved with the movement in your own small way; honor Tortuguita's memory

(36:20 - end) Wrapping up with a Jewish rabbi's story of Purim in the forest

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This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "The Ants Built a City on His Chest" by Doctor Turtle.