Here’s a quote from the episode. Not word for word, but the general idea …
“In the Roman Greco Culture, if a man penetrated he was seen as powerful. Anyone who was penetrated was seen as less than and useable by the class of people who were the penetrators. The act of crucifixion, then … it’s not a stretch at all to say that the people who saw Jesus being paraded through the streets of Jerusalem understood that this was an act of sexual violence, an act trying to show that Jesus was not a man at all, but a ‘sissy’ - they beat him, they mocked him, and they pierced him with nails, a crown of thorns, punctured his side. They were essentially saying, ‘we, the Empire, are penetrating Jesus. We are taking away his social currency, his manhood.”
Brandan Robertson is no rookie when it comes to theology. He’s a very well-read and well-studied theologian / scholar and this episode made me REALLY nervous because although I read the book and loved the book, I wasn’t sure I had processed the book deeply enough to have a conversation with him.
BUT.
I knew I had to go here in the episode regardless of how uncomfortable it made me because, really, if what Brandan is arguing is true (and after my own reading and research, I see no reason why it isn’t) - Jesus literally stood in solidarity with everyone, even LGBTQ people.
This is important.
I once had a gay friend who said to me that he didn’t feel like Jesus was very relatable to him because he wasn’t gay (that we know of). He said, “I feel like Jesus can relate to homeless people, people with financial issues, even people who are divorced. But what about me? What about my problems? What about my perspective? How can I pray to Jesus and ask him for help when he has no idea what it’s like to be … me?”
I had no words for him, honestly. This was long before I knew of Brandan and long before this book was even written … long before I was affirming, really. But I had no words for him because, really, what “evidence” is there that Jesus could relate to an LGBTQ person?
On the surface, there’s zero.
But this insight from Brandan. Wow oh wow. It’s a year later and I still have very little words for this part of the episode other than, “thank God for Brandan Robertson” because these ideas that he shared in the episode show us that on the cross Jesus truly did stand in solidarity with everyone - even our LGBTQ friends.
Is there an LGBTQ person in your life who needs to hear this? Share the episode with them, it very well could change everything for them.
Much love.
Glenn || SUPPORT THE SHOW: PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
SPECIAL EVENT! 📢 🎉
On Friday October 22 at 8PM EST David Hayward (AKA THE NAKED PASTOR) will answer YOUR QUESTIONS in an hour long Zoom call. The event is for $20 and higher Patrons so head over to PATREON.COM/WHATIFPROJECT to sign up.
AND.
If $20/month doesn’t work for you right now, but you still want to be part of the event, NO WORRIES - EMAIL ME and I’ll send you a link!
NEW VLOG ON YOUTUBE! 📺
New VLOG up on YouTube called “Are You Sure You Have A Relationship With God?”
Watch. Like. Or Dislike (if that’s your thing!). SUBSCRIBE.
MORE HERESY ON THE BLOG! ✍️
New blog up called “Should Our Ideas About God Change?” Here’s an EXCERPT!
“In his book, ‘Jesus and Bicameral Brain’, Dr. James Danaher argues that ‘the nice thing about having a static belief in God is that if God doesn't change ... I don't have to either.’
I think this is true. I know a lot of people would read that and say, "well God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! God doesn't change, and we must hold fast to the truths we know about God from the Bible and be sure that we don't let the world try to change our minds about God!"
But I think the wording of this quote from Dr. Danaher is key because the point he's making is that although God might be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow ... we aren't.
Right?
Because as encounter different events in our lives ...
We grow.
We change.
We evolve.
(Or, at least, we SHOULD.)
I've been married for 11 years and marriage has CHANGED ME. I have a 4 year old daughter and when she was born and I held her for the first time, it CHANGED ME. It took me 3 years to get my Master's Degree and the journey CHANGED ME. It took me another 3 years to get my doctorate and it CHANGED ME. 4 years ago my wife and I uprooted out entire universe and moved from New Jersey to North Carolina and it CHANGED ME. When my grandma passed away a bunch of years ago, it CHANGED ME. When I heard that my friend committed suicide over the Summer, it CHANGED ME.
We change.
We evolve.
We grow.
And so although God doesn't change ... we do, and that necessitates that how we view and understand God changes as well.
Why?
Marriage has impacted how I view God.
Having a daughter has impacted how I view God.
My education has impacted how I view God.
And this is important, this is the way it must be! Because if our beliefs about God never change, if our theologies and all the things we think about God forever remain the same.
Well.
That gives us a really good excuse to stay the same too.”
NEW IN THE HERETIC SHOP! 👕👚
We often talk about how the What If Project is a LIFEBOAT trailing behind the ship of Evangelicalism, picking up people who were thrown off or jumped off.
As we say - THIS is your lifeboat. Design comes in a HOODIE, T-SHIRT, or LONG SLEEVE TEE.
Go get it!