Theology in the Raw

Is it a sin to be gay? Would you attend a church that has a gay pastor? What does it mean to be gay? There is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the term gay and what it means to be a gay Christian. I discuss these issues at length, which leads into Misty Irons’ incredible talk she gave at this year’s Revoice Conference. Misty Irons is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.A., Biblical Studies) and a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. She has maintained a blog on faith and sexuality since 2000. Over the years Misty has served the LGBT Christian community in various capacities, as conference speaker, seminar leader, and podcast guest, representing a straight ally perspective. Check out Revoice: revoice.us Here’s their statement on sexual ethics: https://revoice.us/about/our-beliefs/statements-of-conviction/statement-on-sexual-ethics-and-christian-obedience/Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Everyone will be challenged to think. And Jesus will be upheld as supreme. Support PrestonSupport Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1Connect with PrestonTwitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out Dr. Sprinkle’s website prestonsprinkle.com Stay Up to Date with the Podcast Twitter | @RawTheology Instagram | @TheologyintheRawIf you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review.

Martin Kulldorff was born in 1962 in Lund, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a biostatistician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He serves on scientific advisory committees to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control.  In this podcast, we talk about the efficacy of the vaccine, the concept of herd immunity, the efficacy of natural immunity, the Great Barrington Declaration, who’s at risk of dying from Covid, and many other things related to the pandemic.

In this conversation, we talk about her (or our) journey into a fuller understanding of grace, along with her perspective on the biblical counseling movement. We then discuss various issues related to women in the church, including the so-called Billy Graham rule.

John Mark Comer is the founding pastor of Bridgetown Church, right in the center of the city (by Powell's Books if you've ever been to Portland) and is the author of six books: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, God has a Name, Garden City, Loveology, My Name is Hope, and the recently released Live No Lies, which is the topic of our conversation. He’s also currently starting a non-profit called Practicing the Way, which aims to create resources for discipleship and formation in local churches in post-Christian contexts (coming in Fall 2022).

Yup, we go there. Vaccines. I didn’t even intend to go here, but our conversation sort of spilled over into a conversations about the efficacy of vaccines, why there’s “vaccine hesitancy,” and how the unvaccinated are potentially enabling the creation of new variants that could be more deadly. We also talk about what the advent of the Covid pandemic means for the future world. Basically, our future will look vastly different and the church will need to make some serious changes.

In this episode, Dr. Jenning helps us understand how the book of Acts critiques empire and imperial values, and also how the early Christians in the book of Acts were wrestling with ethnic reconciliation and inclusion. Toward the end of the episode, we talk about the concept of “Whiteness”--what it means, what it doesn’t mean, and how it can be a useful tool for people to use to think through the history and politics of race.

Kimi is an artist, YouTuber, skater, musician, and a has been speaking out about her journey through the topic of race and racism. Kimi had absorbed a certain perspective on race that viewed many things as micro aggressions, but it created so much anxiety and depression in her life that she decided to have a more charitable and, in her words, Christian perspective on race, where forgiveness is the key to freedom and reconciliation. 

Matt Chandler is a pastor, speaker, and writer. He’s been pastoring The Village Church in Texas for 18 years and is the president of Acts29. In this podcast, we talk about how he’s handled the last couple of years of politics and Covid--and all the polarization that comes with this.

In this episode, Larmer tells his story and helps us understand how the church can better understand and include people with Disabilities.

Rasool and Samuel are both Chrisian, black, and well-versed in the race conversation. While they agree on several things, they disagree on several others, including the definition of racism, whether racism is systemic, and the role of Scripture in addressing racism. In this dialogue, Rasool and Samuel dialogue through these questions and more.

Seda Collier is a transwoman with an interesting story. She had a radical encounter with God while tripping on acid in 1980. Has had several other “God moments” throughout her life. Started transitioning to a woman in 2006. Has a wife, kids, and attends a Baptist church in Eugene, OR. We had a lot to talk about! I “met” Seda through email just a couple of weeks ago. She read my book Embodied expecting it to be like all the other evangelical books out there, and she was pleasantly taken back at how much she was challenged by it. Anyway, she sent a very kind email to me to let me know, so I said “why don’t we get to know each other more by doing a podcast?” Seda liked the idea, so here we are. This podcast is us getting to know each other in real time.

In this podcast, we talk about the need of prioritizing a theology of race, looking to the Bible for guidance on the race conversation, rather than reading everything through the lens of partisan politics.

In this episode, we talk at length about a theology of film, looking at the deeper meaning of various movies and discuss how Christians should watch movies. Oftentimes, we get hung up on the big 3 sins: sex, violence, and cussing. But what about “clean” movies that have super compelling and incredibly bad narratives--like pretty much every Disney princess movie ever made? We also talk about masculinity and the idolatry of marriage.

Mike is the creator and host of the uber popular podcast series: “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,” which many people have praised and some people have critiqued. Mike and I talk about some of the concerns or pushbacks of this podcast, along with some of the things he hopes to accomplish through it. Theology in the Raw Conference - In Person or OnlineAt the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Everyone will be challenged to think. And Jesus will be upheld as supreme. Faith, Sexuality, and Gender Conference - Live in Boise or Stream Online In the all-day conference, Dr. Preston Sprinkle dives deep into the theological, relational, and ministry-related questions that come up in the LGBTQ conversation. Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.comVenmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkleInstagram | @preston.sprinkleYoutube | Preston Sprinkle Twitter | @RawTheologyInstagram | @TheologyintheRaw Check out Dr. Sprinkle’s website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review.

Preston continues his discussion of marriage and same-sex sexual relations. In this second part, Preston responds to several of the most popular affirming arguments (i.e. arguments in favor of same-sex marriage from a biblical and theological perspective).