In this episode, we share our thoughts on the 1946 documentary, which tells the story of how the word “homosexuality” did not appear in an English Bible until the 1946 Revised Standard Version. With the help of researchers Kathy Baldock (incredible ally!!!) and Ed Oxford, director Rocky Roggio shows how the translation team took two words in Greek and mistakenly translated them to “homosexuality,” and this choice greatly impacted future Bibles and theologies. We talk about how we appreciated Rev. David Fearon’s courageous journey of questioning the translation committee's decision and writing to them about it, and coming out later in life when Kathy befriended him (it is never too late!). We are so grateful for the work that everyone in this project put into it, and we think that its storytelling and reliable data has the power to change lives and families for the better. We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

We are back y’all! And now our podcast has TWO Master’s degrees behind it, bringing theology and social work knowledge to you to help you on your journey of deconstructing faith and living into who God made you to be. In this episode April shares about getting her Master of Arts in Theology and Culture: Community Development, Anna talks about her new doggo, and we chat a bit about some of the major stories that have circulated in the exvangelical/fundie snark spaces: Harrison Butker’s commencement speech, and Bethany and Dav Beal's now-interfaith marriage. We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with theologian, podcaster, YouTuber, and King of #Exvangelical Twitter, Mason Mennenga!! Mason shares about listening to VeggieTales CDs and other typical evangelical kid/teen experiences (conferences, youth group, all the ccm!) he had as the Good Christian Boy. In college, he started researching what the Bible actually said about sexual ethics and orientation, how we are even supposed to approach reading the Bible (seriously does not equal literally), as well as looking into other doubts/questions he had. He discovered the Progressive Christian Cinematic Universe and Process Theology and went down the lovely slippery slope. Mason gives the best definition of process theology April has ever heard (there’s much more to it but these are the two key points): the future is open to all kinds of possibilities, and everything is in relationship with each other. Mason hopes in his podcasts and other content to be what Rachel Held Evans was to him and so many people: a person who gives us space to question and explore, who vulnerably shares stories in the hopes that it lets other people know they are not alone.  You can find Mason on Instagram and Twitter @masonmennenga. You can find links to all the wonderful things he does here. We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode (despite some technical difficulties on April’s end) we have a conversation with the Co-Executive Director of Operations for Transmission Ministry Collective, Dr. Miche van Essen! Miche shares about her faith journey of growing up Jewish and how she ended up meeting Jesus and became a pastor in an evangelical church. As she was coming into her identity as a transgender woman, she found the support groups at Transmission Ministry Collective and got very involved and is now stewarding the work of creating space for trans and gender expansive Christians (we love to see it!), and she talks about her experience in the organization. We also wrestle with what it means to be living on stolen Native land and how to be aware of the “invisible layers” of oppression that we all participate in. Anna also talks about some important Armenian history, we discuss the history of protests against war and the current University protests in support of Palestine, and April and Anna reflect on the incredibly racist and cringey “activity” in kindergarten where we dressed up as Native Americans (yikes!!!). You can find Miche on Instagram @michevanessen. Find out more of TMC here: https://transmissionministry.com/ We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with Myles Markham, a queer and transgender advocate who currently works for Trans Lifeline and serves on the board of directors for Transmission Ministry Collective! Myles shares his journey of growing up in the deep South and how he has expanded his faith over time. We get into some nerdy theological conversations as well. You can find Myles on Instagram @a_million_myles, and you can learn more about the work they do on their website: https://www.mylesmarkham.com/  We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with one of the principal actresses in the Broadway musical How to Dance in Ohio, Ashley Wool! She also happens to be an autistic progressive Christian and a theology nerd, so of course us neurodivergent theater nerds had to invite her to the pod. Ashley shares about becoming a Christian as a young adult and resonating with Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels, how we should lead with love and shouldn’t dehumanize the people we disagree with. She talks about her journey of being in HTDiO and we discuss the ways the show is revolutionary for accessibility and autistic representation in the musical theater industry despite its short run (we need more federal funding for the arts, damn this late stage capitalist hellscape!). Ashley also talks about meeting Lin-Manuel MIranda! You can find Ashley on social media @ashley_wool. She encourages people to support their local theater productions! We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

Note: the dolphin noises that come up in a section of this episode are to take out some identifying information about April’s old church that she doesn’t want made public In this episode, we have a conversation with Tim Whitaker, founder of the non-profit The New Evangelicals, an inclusive, Jesus-centered community that holds space for those marginalized by the evangelical church. Tim talks about his upbringing in conservative churches and his way of living “counter-culturally” within it (listening to hardcore punk Christian bands and wearing “abortion is homicide” t-shirts) and how his faith started to shift over time, realizing so many church practices have actually been stolen from “pagan” religions, being appalled by the evangelical support of Trump in the 2016 election-onward, and finally getting kicked out of his church when he started TNE. We talk about how witchy Christianity can be sometimes (how is “open your Bible to a random page, that’s God’s message for you” that much different from Tarot?). Tim discusses how he tries to use his privilege as a “theobro-passing” white guy to go into Christian Nationalist spaces to understand why people are being radicalized and what harmful narratives and conspiracy theories are being pushed there–and to fight back against that misinformation with reliable data. Tim also shares his journey of becoming LGBTQ+ affirming. We are so excited about the work that TNE is doing! You can find Tim/TNE on Instagram and other platforms @thenewevangelicals (you should check out the Facebook group!). You can donate to them here (and see a complete financial statement here). We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with LGBTQ+ Mindset Coach and host of the Queer Consciousness Podcast, Kit Sargent! They reflect on their experience of this year’s QCF Conference and talk about their “fundie lite” upbringing (they had a True Love Waits Ring!). We discuss the sexualization of prepubescent girls’ bodies and all the things that are wrong with that.They talk about their experience of realizing their queer identity (crushing on best friends and totally being oblivious to that), and questioning and examining their beliefs in order to find their true self during the pandemic, and how The Lavender Mafia podcast helped them come out (shout out to Jess Grace Garcia and Jonathan Quinn!). We talk about how the Bible is living and active which means by its nature the way we interact with it changes over time, and how Jesus is the Word of God, not the Bible. We also talk about reclaiming our divinity–we are spiritual beings having an integrated mind-body-spirit human experience. Kit shares about the work they do as a mindset coach to help LGBTQ+ people figure out who they really are. You can find Kit on Instagram @sargent.says and their podcast here. We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

Note: there is discussion of child abuse in this episode In this episode, we have a conversation with our friend Starchild, a queer autistic somatic psychotherapist, poet, musician, mystic, and ex-pastor. Starchild talks about their Southern Baptist upbringing, their journey from autistic Wonder Church Boy to renegade mystic to inclusive orthodox Methodist to the joyful queer ecstatic dance enthusiast they are now. Starchild shares some of their wonderful poetry and talks about their experiences of knowing God’s grace and love deep in their body, and connecting with God as Mother and the earth as God’s body. You can find Starchild on Instagram @starchilddruid. You can listen to their album Dolly for President here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6cO7ZNbMxKss3AziN6qArd?si=rgtiga62SVWiEQEx5XA9FQ. You can also find them on Facebook with their other name, Morgan Guyton. We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we reflect upon what’s happened in the faith/religion/spirituality and deconstruction world in 2023 with our dear friends Briana and Artie (who, along with us, make up the QCF Squad group chat). We talk about the Asbury Revival, the Pope’s recent “LGBTQ Blessing” statement, the Ruby Franke case, and the queer Christian music wins (Semler and Flamy Grant making history, hell yeah!). We also discuss the Shiny Happy People Documentary (as well as the two books by Duggar daughters released this year) and the increasing awareness about religious trauma in our culture (more therapists specializing in this is a good thing!). April gives her annual UMC update– lots more congregations are leaving the denomination, but hopefully in 2024 full LGBTQ+ inclusion may be possible. We also discuss the conflict in Israel-Palestine and the way social media has played a role in spreading awareness.  We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop  Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!