Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination, 2019

Appendix C of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation is titled “Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination.” This topic didn’t flow directly into the themes of OtherWise Christian in terms of dealing with gender–which is why the content is relegated to an appendix. However, these themes are critical adjacent issues in terms of talking about colonization, empire, white supremacy, and Christian supremacy–which is why I included them.

The content for Appendix C references (and quotes) the opening panel of the “Christianity and White Supremacy: Heresy and Hope” conference (#XWS19) at Princeton University. The opening panel (“The Tradition is a Problem“) and the closing panel (“The Tradition is an Answer“) were recorded and are still available from Princeton University’s media resource. Continue reading “Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination, 2019”

Sodom and Gomorrah, 2019

In OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation, I stick to gender and don’t rehearse arguments about “homosexuality in the Bible.” Instead, I list a few trusted resources in Appendix A for folk who want to explore those aspects. Queer Theology is one of those trusted resources.

The idea that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about the “sin of homosexuality” is another great example of how we have been bamboozled by an anti-OtherWise empire.  If you’ve heard people use “sodomite” or “Sodom and Gomorrah” as a weapon, it can be quite liberating to go back to the biblical text to see what it actually says.

Continue reading “Sodom and Gomorrah, 2019”

The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, 2018

In OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Liberation, I used so much content from Joy Ladin’s The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective that I asked her to read two of my chapters just to make sure I didn’t get anything wrong in representing her work!

Continue reading “The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, 2018”

Ebed-melech: The “Other” Ethiopian Eunuch (CORRECTED)

CORRECTION: While the “other” Ethiopian eunuch DOES n’t appear in Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible, I DIDN’T REALIZE IT!!

Here’s my advice watch BOTH the lecture version AND the performance version. There is some overlap, but you’ll miss some important insights if you only take the time to do one or the other.

Peterson Toscano has also done important work bringing this story to light. Ebed-melech wasn’t in the original performances (back in the day), but Toscano tells the story on the Transfigurations DVD in the lecture version, chapter 7, which debuted in the live performances around 2010 (according to Peterson).

Continue reading “Ebed-melech: The “Other” Ethiopian Eunuch (CORRECTED)”

Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible (DVD), 2007, 2017 (CORRECTED)

Peterson Toscano’s one-man theatrical production has been extremely impactful in terms of raising awareness of gender variant characters in the Christian Bible. Peterson performed Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible for live audiences beginning in 2007. He retired the production in 2016 and then released a DVD version in 2017–which I highly recommend as a study resource, both for individuals and for groups. The movie can be streamed on Amazon and there is also a study guide.

Continue reading “Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible (DVD), 2007, 2017 (CORRECTED)”

Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, 2011

When I was compiling the list of books for my appendix on reading the Bible again, Keisha McKenzie made an important point about rethinking heaven/hell as a key part of getting free from supremacist religion. Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived is one of the books that I included to address that topic.

Continue reading “Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, 2011”

How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How an Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers–and Why That’s Great News, 2019

Rachel Held Evans credits Peter Enns with being her teacher. When I asked around for resources related to reading the Bible again, Matthew Vines also recommended Dr. Enns. Dr Enns is Hebrew scripture scholar, but writes in a very accessible way with a self-deprecating wit, which you can see even in his ridiculous subtitle.

Continue reading “How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How an Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers–and Why That’s Great News, 2019”

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again, 2018

I wanted to include a list of more general resources about the Bible for those readers who might want to dig deeper into scripture. I asked my Facebook friends what books they would recommend. Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans was suggested by at least four different people! Check your local library, because this one is super popular! Continue reading “Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again, 2018”

Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God, 2013

When Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God came out in 2015, I saw it celebrated by intersex friends and colleagues. This book, by Megan K. DeFranza also threw open the doors and windows for me as I was writing OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation. Continue reading “Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God, 2013”