Drawing Near—Genesis 44

In this episode of the Bible Bash podcast, Liam Hooper does a new thing.

First, Liam invites listeners to draw near to our new co-host, Don Durham, and invites Don to draw near to listeners as well. We learn a little about Don, who is - among other things - a trained organizational change and transition consultant, and strategic coach helping clients be who they want to be and accomplish what they want to accomplish. Don is also an ordained minister who runs a small farm where he grows food to give away and hosts a podcast about what people are doing to end hunger. 

Don and Liam then weave into their conversation a deeper look at the complicated story between Joseph and his brother, especially, Judah. What does the Hebrew phrase, vayigash, mean? And why does the text tell us that Judah, who is already in close proximity to Joseph, draws near to him?

What can we learn from this text about our own sometimes complicated paths to one another, more relationally, and what can we learn about our positions as would be allies and receivers of ally-ship? Listen in as Liam and Don offer some thoughts on these questions.

At the close, as we do, Don offers another, non-Biblical text, a Wendell Berry poem, A Dance.

To find out more about Don Durham, follow these links:
farm:  https://healingspringsacres.org/

podcast:  https://welcometothetablepodcast.com/

coaching:  https://healingspringsacres.org/coaching/

A Dance by Wendell Berry

The stepping stones, once

in a row along the slope,

have drifted out of line,

pushed by frosts and rains.

Walking is no longer thoughtless

over them, but alert as dancing,

as tense and poised, to step

short, and long, and then

longer, right, and then left.

At the winter's end, I dance the history of its weather.

Available NOW! Check out Liam Hooper's NEW Book

In Trans-Forming Proclamation, Liam Hooper tenderly explores gender and the Bible. This book actually defies genre. With rich patches of poetry, memoir, and devotional, Liam weaves together inspiring literary insights with grounded, original, and informed scholarship. Trans-Forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence is new wine in a new wine skin. It is Inventive, artful, and liberating. Available on Amazon and published by Otherwise Engaged.  

About US

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, , Liam Michael Hooper, a white trans Bible scholar and Don Durham, a white, cis, heterosexual farmer, minister, and podcaster take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present another text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam & Peterson:  ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter

@beyond_welcome

Liam @LiMHooper

Don @RealDonDurham

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network 

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Brown Suga Diaries
• Blessed are the Binary Breakers hosted by Avery Smith
• Sacred Tension by Stephen Long
• Bubble&Squeak by Peterson Toscano
• Eleventylife by EleventySeven
• Common Creatives
• Hot Tea Hot Takes

Cain, Abel, and Buried Trauma—Genesis 4

Am I my brother's keeper? Cain asks G-d after killing his brother. In Sunday and Sabbath Day school's this story of fratricide turns into a simple moral tale, but as always Liam Hooper takes us deeper. He explores the ways G-d probes and seeks to draw out Cain.

The subsequent discussion with Peterson Toscano raises other questions, as he and Liam reflect on the knee-jerk reactions by some white men (cis, gay, and trans) in conversations about historic race and gender oppression. 

Peterson follows up with "another text," In an Artist's Studio, a poem by Christina Rossetti.  

Available NOW! Check out Liam Hooper's NEW Book

In Trans-Forming Proclamation, Liam Hooper tenderly explores gender and the Bible. This book actually defies genre. With rich patches of poetry, memoir, and devotional, Liam weaves together inspiring literary insights with grounded, original, and informed scholarship. Trans-Forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence is new wine in a new wine skin. It is Inventive, artful, and liberating. Available on Amazon and published by Otherwise Engaged.  

About US

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Peterson, cisgender gay Bible scholar and co-host, Liam Michael Hooper, a trans Bible scholar, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present another text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam & Peterson:  ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter

@beyond_welcome

Peterson @p2son

Liam @LiMHooper

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network 

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Brown Suga Diaries
• Blessed are the Binary Breakers hosted by Avery Smith
• Sacred Tension by Stephen Long
• Bubble&Squeak by Peterson Toscano
• Eleventylife by EleventySeven
• Common Creatives
• Hot Tea Hot Takes

Sodomy, Terrorism, and Looking Back — Genesis 19

Bible Bottoms–A LIVE Bible Bash Event

For the first ever LIVE Bible Bash, Peterson, Liam, and guests, take on the topic of Biblical Bottoms. Who is a bottom in the Bible and what does that even mean?? We talk bottoms, tops, subs, doms, power bottoms, agency, consent, and much more. Hear about Jonah, Hagar, Samson, Delilah, and others. It is a fun, informative, and insightful conversation. 

This episode is very different from previous ones. In mid-December 2020 Bible Bash held the very first LIVE on-line  event. It was a chance to converse with listeners while discussing a topic--Biblical Bottoms in the Bible! As a result, we had many voices contribute to the conversation. 

For the "Other Text, Peterson's husband, Glen Retief, read, The Museum of Stones, a poem by Caroline Forché. (Copyright © 2007 by Carolyn Forché. Originally published in The New Yorker) Glen is the author of the Lambda Award winning memoir, The Jack Bank. 

Another difference you will find in today’s show is the sound quality. Since we conducted this meeting on Zoom, the quality is not the typical Rock Candy Production standard audio. It is such a rich conversation though, we hope you will not be distracted by the click and zips that happen at some points. 

Enjoy this presentation which was recorded live on December 15, 2020. 

Many thanks to the guests that showed up! Thanks to those who spoke out: Autumn, Don, Sherri, and Penina.

Available NOW! Check out Liam Hooper's NEW Book

In Trans-Forming Proclamation, Liam Hooper tenderly explores gender and the Bible. This book actually defies genre. With rich patches of poetry, memoir, and devotional, Liam weaves together inspiring literary insights with grounded, original, and informed scholarship. Trans-Forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence is new wine in a new wine skin. It is Inventive, artful, and liberating. Available on Amazon and published by Otherwise Engaged.  

About US

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Peterson, cisgender gay Bible scholar and co-host, Liam Michael Hooper, a trans Bible scholar, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present another text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam & Peterson:  ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter

@beyond_welcome

Peterson @p2son

Liam @LiMHooper

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network 

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Brown Suga Diaries
• Sacred Tension by Stephen Long
• Bubble&Squeak by Peterson Toscano
• Eleventylife by EleventySeven
• Common Creatives
• Magnified Pod

God’s Gender with Avery Smith–Hosea 11:9

By taking on Hosea 11:9 Avery Smith, host of Blessed Are the Binary Breakers podcast, cracks open a rich discussion with Bible Bash co-hosts, Liam Hooper and Peterson Toscano. 

Avery writes: "I interpret God's declaration For I am God and not a man in Hosea 11:9 as, among other things, evidence of Their rejection of being assigned a human gender and the roles implied therein." 

Could God be making a declaration of gender? What is Hosea the prophet trying to do and say to the people? And what about God's radical swings from tenderness to threats of violence? 

In addition to covering these topics and more, Avery highlights best practices for ministers and places of worship when addressing non-binary people by name and pronoun.

The entire conversation is fresh, insightful, and a lot of fun. 

Avery also presents, The Other Text, their poem, Binary Breaker from their book of poetry, the kin-dom in the rubble: a queer Christian's wrestling with God, scripture, and humanity. 

Born and raised in Ohio, Avery Smith studied various languages at the University of Alabama. They attended Louisville Seminary and now resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with their wonderful wife and two cats.

You can often find Avery translating Biblical texts and ranting about Hebrew to no one in particular. A firm believer that binaries were made to be broken, Avery is both Catholic and Protestant. They also believe that Divinity thrums through all of Creation and breathes life into every human community, not just Christian ones. This belief led them to start up Blessed Are the Binary Breakers, a multi-faith podcast of transgender stories. 

Avery ran an advice blog at queerlychristian on tumblr, and creates work centered around transgender theology and disability theology.  Links to all of their work can be found at blessedarethebinarybreakers.com.

Announcing LIVE on-line Bible Bash Event! Dec 15th at 8 pm Eastern

Coming Soon!

In Trans-Forming Proclamation, Liam Hooper tenderly explores gender and the Bible. This book actually defies genre. With rich patches of poetry, memoir, and devotional, Liam weaves together inspiring literary insights with grounded, original, and informed scholarship. Trans-Forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence is new wine in a new wine skin. It is Inventive, artful, and liberating. Available fall 2020 and published by Otherwise Engaged.  

------------------------------------------------------------------

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Peterson, cisgender gay Bible scholar and co-host, Liam Michael Hooper, a trans Bible scholar, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present another text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam & Peterson:  ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter

@beyond_welcome

Peterson @p2son

Liam @LiMHooper

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network 

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Brown Suga Diaries
• Sacred Tension by Stephen Long
• Bubble&Squeak by Peterson Toscano
• Eleventylife by EleventySeven
• Common Creatives

Trans-Forming Proclamation — Transgender Theology of Daring Existence with Liam Hooper

Liam Hooper will publish is his first book, Trans-Forming Proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence. Peterson Toscano interviews Liam about this book that in its very structure models a bold new way of living. Liam then reads an excerpt from the book

In Trans-Forming Proclamation, Liam Hooper tenderly explores gender and the Bible. This book actually defies genre. With rich patches of poetry, memoir, and devotional, Liam weaves together inspiring literary insights with grounded, original, and informed scholarship. Trans-Forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence is new wine in a new wine skin. It is Inventive, artful, and liberating. Available fall 2020 and published by Otherwise Engaged.  

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Peterson, cisgender gay Bible scholar and co-host, Liam Michael Hooper, a trans Bible scholar, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present another text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam & Peterson:  ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter

@beyond_welcome

Peterson @p2son

Liam @LiMHooper

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network 

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Brown Suga Diaries
• Sacred Tension by Stephen Long
• Bubble&Squeak by Peterson Toscano
• Eleventylife by EleventySeven
• Common Creatives

Ruth, Naomi, and Patriarchy with Diamond Stylz

Liam and Peterson welcome Diamond Stylz to the podcast. She unpacks and repackages the Book of Ruth, while she relentlessly highlights the patriarchy that fuels the narrative. 

Man with a Pitcher of Water–Luke 22:10

Peterson shares the story of "the man with the pitcher of water," who appears in Luke 22:10 (also Mark 14:13 Matthew 26:18, 19 "a certain man.") This is someone who breaks gender and class rules. We do not know all the reasons, but somehow Jesus knew to look out for this gender transgressor and gender transcendent person. 

While the passage is short, and we never learn the person's name, this moment serves as an essential incident in what is known as Passion Week for some Christians. This person leads the disciples to the place where the Last Supper occurs, which is commemorated during Holy Communion today. 

Peterson references Mx. Chris Paige and their book, Otherwise Christian, A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation. You will also hear about Liam's soon to be released book, trans-forming proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring and Existence. 

Liam joins in for a lively discussion about cisgender gays and lesbians who latch onto then later renounce gender differences in their own life, confusing and conflating gender and orientation. 

Liam then shares the "Other Text," and reads from Angela Davis' collections of essays and speeches, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. 

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Liam, a trans queerish man, and co-host, cis gay Bible scholar, Peterson Toscano, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present an other text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam and Peterson: ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy NetworkBible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Stephen Long's Sacred Tension
• Brown Suga Diaries hosted by a plus sized, busy brown girl, a doula, an OBGYN in training, the founder of a nonprofit, a podcaster, do mover, a shaker, a do-er and a thinker.
• Peterson Toscano's Bubble&Squeak
• EleventyLife hosted by Matt Langston of the Band EleventySeven
• Common Creatives with a composer/musician and a doctor of comic book

Ancient Gay Lovers–Luke 7

Liam Hooper takes on the "gayest" passage in the Christian Bible, the story of the Roman Centurion and the healing of his personal servant. Does this text condone gay sex? Gay relationships? Slavery?

Liam deepens the significance of the passage by connecting it to the narrative that comes immediately afterwards: Jesus raising a widow's only son from the dead. 

See Luke 7:1-17

Peterson joins in the discussion as they look at queer readings of ancient texts, privilege, white supremacy, and the central role relationships have in the texts they are discussing. 

For the "Other Text" Peterson reads an excerpt from Mary Renault's novel, The Persian Boy. Alexander the Great and his lover, a eunuch from Persia, travel back to the eunuch's homeland. Together they share an intimate moment. 

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Liam, a trans queerish man, and co-host, cis gay Bible scholar, Peterson Toscano, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present an other text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam and Peterson: ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Stephen Long's Sacred Tension
• Brown Suga Diaries hosted by a plus sized, busy brown girl, a doula, an OBGYN in training, the founder of a nonprofit, a podcaster, do mover, a shaker, a do-er and a thinker.
• Peterson Toscano's Bubble&Squeak
• EleventyLife hosted by Matt Langston of the Band EleventySeven
• Common Creatives with a composer/musician and a doctor of comic book

Demons, Pigs, and Privilege–Mark 5

Peterson Toscano recounts the epic story of a "day in the life" of Jesus and the disciples as found in Mark chapter 5. There we see a demon possessed man, a herd of pigs, really pissed off towns people, and very frightened disciples. As an actor, Peterson is curious about the backstory of "the man who dwelt amongst the tombs." What brought him to this place in his life? What trauma did he experience that he feels safe among the dead while avoiding family and friends?" This raises questions for Liam about the way queer people, particularly trans people are treated by society and family. 

The story continues on the other side of the lake where Jesus and the gang encounters an important man with power and privilege and an outcast person suffering in body and mind. Peterson and Liam talk about the many shifts in the narrative as Jesus refuses to play the game where society defines who deserves attention and who gets overlooked. The woman who has been hemorrhaging for 12 years ultimate finds healing, affirmation, and praise. 

Liam follows up with "another text," a prose poem by Mary Oliver. He reads Thirst.  

In each episode of Bible Bash Podcast, Liam, a trans queerish man, and co-host, cis gay Bible scholar, Peterson Toscano, take turns presenting the text. They then discuss. In addition, each episode they present an other text, a non-Biblical text of note--religious or secular--that may or may not correspond to the Bible text. 

Bible Bash Podcast is a project of Ministries Beyond Welcome. 

Our theme song is Playbill by The Jellyrox. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or through Rock Candy Recordings

To share your questions, comments, requests for passages to be discussed, or suggestions for guests who can talk about texts, email Liam and Peterson: ministriesbeyondwelcome@gmail.com

Bible Bash Podcast is part of the Rock Candy Network

Bible Bash logo was designed by Diana Coe at Crone Communications

Check out other Rock Candy podcasts

• Stephen Long's Sacred Tension
• Peterson Toscano's Bubble&Squeak
• EleventyLife hosted by Matt Langston of the Band EleventySeven
• Common Creatives with a composer/musician and a doctor of comic book