Category Archives: Theology

ALLIn Podcast: Four Stages of Faith

It’s been two years since we ended Season 1 of the AllIn pod: twenty episodes that looked at how we can apply a conservative evangelical approach to Biblical interpretation and see that the so-called “clobber verses” against LGBTQI inclusion are not what we were taught they were. Season 2 of ALLIn was intended to be a return to the Scriptures to look at the positive, affirming verses that we find there. I think I may now only do that as Season 3.

The episode is available here, or on your podcast player of choice:

In this episode of ALLIn, I explain why it is probably a fools errand to try and convince conservative evangelicals to change their view of Scriptures about LGBTQI people. Instead, I think we need to invite them to a new stage of their faith development, and using the Bible as a weapon, dissecting verses and parsing verbs, is not going to get that job done.

Listen to this episode, and let me know if you agree with the four stages of faith outlined: moving from Simplicity to Complexity, then deconstructing to Perplexity and ultimately resolving to Harmony. Brian McLaren might have the best work on these four stages in his book, “Faith After Doubt”. Listen to his discussion with Pete Enns and Jaryd Bayis on “The Bible for Normal People” here: https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-174-brian-mclaren-the-four-stages-of-faith/.

Lessons from Jesus’ Baptism and a New Community

This is a sermon I preached at our small faith community, ‘We Are Church’ in Johannesburg, on 9 October 2022.

There are lessons from Jesus’ Baptism, as recorded in Mark 1 for churches. We need to heed these lessons of new beginnings, of not getting stuck in church structures, of not being stuck in Empire thinking, of not getting stuck in creating exclusive and excluding communities.

There are lessons here about God’s love for us all, about God’s image being in all of us, about God’s invitation to be part of new faith communities.

I was as sick as a dog as I was preaching this, so there’s not much energy or outward passion. But this sermon came from the depths of my soul. It is what I believe most deeply.

Watch it here:

Sermon: The Bible and LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation

This blog hasn’t been active for the last two years. Covid has taken my focus from these theological issues to practical, local community action. But my passion for building inclusive and affirming communities of faith remains unwavering.

My wife, Jane, is heading up a small faith community in Johannesburg, South Africa, that we have called “We Are Church”. It’s independent and informal at the moment, but we will see how things progress. I have been asked to summarise my views on LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation for this group, and will share the videos of these meetings here.

The first of these videos is entitled:
The Bible and LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation

It is a summary of the work you’ll find at this blog in my special series on how we interpret the seven verses in the Bible that appear to oppose LGBTQI people.

I become more and more convinced that we have been wrong in our historic interpretations of the Bible, and this approach I suggest is a significant improvement in our understanding of God’s Word.

There are no walls

I really wish more churches would preach this: there are no walls.

The attached Naked Pastor cartoon is one of the most powerful he’s ever done (and he even managed a touch of poetry too).

Over and over and over again in his ministry, Jesus demonstrated that those people the religious leaders were excluding and judging were actually accepted and welcomed by Jesus. The only people Jesus ever warned about being “outside” were those religious leaders themselves.

Am I saying “everyone will be saved”? No. Some people don’t want to be saved. What I am saying is that it is mainly the people who want to close the doors for others who are choosing to not be saved. They’re choosing instead to build something that is the opposite of the Kingdom of God: they’re choosing to build an exclusive, exclusionary club, and so – by their own approach – they will be allowed to choose a future where live in a space as small as they wanted it to be, as excluded as they were exclusionary, as rejected as they were rejecting and as sad as they made many seekers of love and truth. Their hell has already started.

This is not what God wants. The story of the history of God is a story of ever expanding inclusion and acceptance (or more accurately, of our ever improving understanding of God’s inherent inclusionary character). From one man and his family, to his tribe and a nation, to their neighbours and eventually to the ends of the earth, and all peoples, nations, tribes and tongues. The story starts in an empty garden and ends in a limitless, sustainable city, open to everyone and capable of accommodating us all.

And, yes: it specifically includes all genders as well.

Naked Pastor Cartoon

ALLin Podcast: Links to all the podcast platforms

We are gearing up to start Season 2 of the ALLin podcast. Season 2 will focus on what the Bible teaches and shows us about marriage, and why we are wrong to limit it to “a natural born man and natural born woman” as conservatives now frame it. We will also look at LGBTQI-positive interpretations of Scripture.

It would be really beneficial for you to listen to Season 1 before you dive into Season 2. Season 1 consists of 20 episodes that look at the seven “clobber verses” in the Bible that are typically used to argue that LGBTQI people are somehow breaking God’s natural order and are “abomination” to God. Season 1 also looks at some key issues around definitions of gender, sexual orientation and sexual biology.

To listen to Season 1, please subscribe to ALLin on your podcast player of choice:

If your podcast player of choice does not yet list ALLin, please add it using the RSS feed: https://allinlgbtqi.libsyn.com/rss

Or, if all else fails, listen to it on our hosting platform, LibSyn: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/17429297

Easter Friday: Why do Christians call it “Good Friday”?

Around 2,000 years ago a young, 33 year old, well-known teacher who had gathered quite a following and reputation was brutally beaten and then crucified on a Roman cross outside of Roman-occupied Jerusalem, while being jeered by crowds of Jewish religious leaders and their accolytes (who left their Passover preparations specifically to come and do that). What’s good about that?

You might not hear this in your church, but the answer is “nothing”. In the Christian faith, we don’t celebrate Friday (we commemorate it). We wait for Sunday.

The only thing “good” about this day is WHY Jesus was killed. The first actual Easter Friday was a complete horror show for everyone who supported Jesus. Their dreams were shattered, their hopes destroyed, their futures dark. They didn’t know that Sunday was coming.

So why was Jesus killed?
Continue reading Easter Friday: Why do Christians call it “Good Friday”?

How Evangelicals Changed The Bible To Support Their Beliefs (by Keith Giles)

Keith Giles has written a fantastic article on the Patheos blog site titled “How Evangelicals Changed The Bible To Support Their Beliefs”. In it, he gives specific examples of the ways in which conservative evangelicals have chosen to change the meaning of words in newer English translations to fit into their theological frameworks, rather than more accurately reflect the original Biblical meaning.

You can read the article in full at the Patheos website, or an extract of it below:

Continue reading How Evangelicals Changed The Bible To Support Their Beliefs (by Keith Giles)