Shanes gay definition
So, I just want you to know I’m with you. And I feel it – because of that, I feel it. Honestly, like when I hear your story, honestly, I’m kind of, you and I have talked about this in the past, but I am reminded of the story of my nephew and how his story helps me to understand the depth of your story a little better than I would have. But, really, I mean, my engagement with the LGBTQ community has been very personal and the church has not always been a safe place for me to be who I think I understand myself to be. And so, when I enter my doctoral program, I discovered the language of non-binary – that was about ten years ago – and now people use that term a lot, but there’s still really a lot of work to be done around non-binary visibility. But at that time, I didn’t feel like I needed to be male or female, and at that time, the only option was to transition to male, and I knew that I wasn’t trying to be a man, nor did I feel like I was female or woman. I did some post-grad work there, but went to the seminary and came out in seminary, and was gender-queer in seminary and gender non-conforming, and I felt very close to the term transgender. Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.
And of course, the more I grew, the more I interrogated those categories for myself, and came out as queer in college, but was deeply closeted because I was at a school that would have expelled me had I come out publicly and didn’t come out– Robyn: And I knew that I didn’t understand what it meant to be a girl or boy and neither of those really fit for me. She is a dark, caramel brown and from Mexico, and so I knew from an early age that I was different.
#SHANES GAY DEFINITION SKIN#
Robyn: Well, I think that from an early age, I knew that I was different, not just racially because my mom asked me if anyone ever treated me differently for my skin color. So how has your life, both Shane and Robin, and also, I’m thinking for myself as well, intersected with issues concerning the LGBTQ community? People are being pushed out or they are leaving churches and denominations because of the shrinking ability of church denominations to engage in honest, earnest, gracious discernment with one another, with science and with Scripture around the issue of LGBTQIA inclusion and exclusion. We agree that this is important because caught in the middle of this wrenching moment are people. We decided to lean into this conversation because we see the church being wrenched by this conversation. It helps us to see kind of what are the things we want to be talking about in the future. And we really do love to have the conversations, and I’ve been hearing so many wonderful things from so many people I didn’t even know were listening from all over the world, and it’s encouraging to hear that you’re listening, and it’s also actually informative.
Tweet to me,, or to Freedom Road, and keep sharing the podcast with your friends and networks, and letting us know what you think, because we love the feedback. Robyn, Shane, and I have come together to wade into the troubled waters of LGBTQ+ inclusion and exclusion in the church. So, I’m joined today by Robyn Henderson Espinoza, co-founder of Activist Theology who uses the pronouns they/them/theirs, and Shane Claiborne, co-founder of The Simple Way and co-director of Red Letter Christians, pronouns he/him/his, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. This month, we are partnering with Activist Theology to bring a raw, real, gut-level, honest conversation about an issue that is rending apart denominations across the country in the same way that the abolitionist movement tore asunder every single denomination in the years leading up to the Civil War. Welcome to the Freedom Road podcast.Įach month, we bring together national faith leaders, advocates, and activists to have the kinds of conversations we normally have on the front lines, it’s just that this time we’ve got microphones in our faces and you are listening in. Lisa Sharon Harper: Coming to you from Washington, DC, I’m Lisa Sharon Harper, President of Freedom Road, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap. Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate Show Transcript For more of conversation on LGBTQIA+ inclusion, check out our conversation with the folks at Church Clarity here: 05/churchclarity/ For Further ReadingĬhanging Our Mind: Definitive 3rd Edition of the Landmark Call for Inclusion of LGBTQ Christians with Response to Criticsīible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationship