Short Form video for queer theology
Does your community read scripture through Queer lenses? Many LGBTQ+ Christian youth and seekers hear little from the pulpit that affirms their value as Beloved children of God. Nelson M. Rodriguqez writes "Colonialism as a process is used to impose heteronormative ideals that uphold a rigid sex-gender system." Short-form videos are one way to affirm members of the Queer community through positive messages and exegesis, empowering them to decolonize and experience God's love and liberation.
Watch the video: "pagans in the sanctuary?!"
TRANSCRIPT
Karen: Are there trans people in the Bible?
Pastor Sarah: Yeah.
Karen: Does it say they're going to hell?
Pastor Sarah: No. Jesus actually lifts up genderqueer people as model disciples
Really?
Pastor Sarah: Yeah. Matthew 19:12 “There are eunuhs who are born that way, some who are made eunuchs by others and some who will become eunuhs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.”
Karen: And eunuchs are castrated men?
Pastor Sarah: Short answer, yes. Being a eunuch is not the same as being trans. Trans can mean a lot of things. But here's how this passage affirms gender-queer, trans, gender-nonconforming and intersex people.
Karen: Go on.
Pastor Sarah: First, it says some people are born eunuchs. Jesus affirms there can be more than just male or female at birth. Then Jesus says some will become eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. In other words, some people who are assigned male at birth will later choose a different gender identification as part of their work of following God.
Karen: Could it be symbolic? I thought this was about priests being celibate.
Pastor Sarah: Priests didn't have to be celibate until the 1100s. Also, a lot of eunuchs could and did still have sexual relationships. They just couldn't procreate.
Karen: Weren't they also outcasts?
Pastor Sarah: Yes, while some eunuchs had high-powered jobs in the royal courts, they also faced a lot of discrimination. So it's notable when a Christian Philip runs into an Ethiopian eunuch along the road and the eunuch says “What is there to prevent me from being baptized?” Philip doesn't say, you can't be a Christian because you don't fit the gender binary. Philip stops the chariot, goes down to the water and baptizes them.
Karen: So if people don't fit the binary whether they're born that way, or they even choose that later in life, they're cool with Jesus?
Pastor Sarah: It’s not just cool with him. They're celebrated as models of discipleship!
PRODUCTION NOTES
The hate on this particular video was worse than any other video I've done, reminding me just how important it is to share trans-affirming messages online and in the public square. While this video is far from perfect, I am so glad it is out there and getting seen!
I tell folks regularly, this is not the ONLY interpretation of the text nor is it the only FAITHFUL interpretation (there are many!), but it is a Queer and decolonial interpretation worth sharing! This video became an excellent introduction to exegesis for many of my followers, empowering them to read the Bible in new ways!