A God We Could Believe In
by A frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today.
We're looking at the things the church says and does that are embarrassing, confusing or even downright offensive. Whether you're a lifelong churchgoer with the scars to prove it, or you've never entered a church and are just interested in the debate, this is a safe space for you. agodwecouldbelievein.substack.com
Episodes
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How do we make our church communities safer?
Content warning: This conversation touches on the topics of rape, sexual assault and spiritual abuse, so please do look after yourselves. Alongside her teaching and ministry work, Beth supports victims and survivors of abuse within churches and is involved in the development of the Church of...
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Live: What's left of God after deconstruction?
Tom and Simon explore the vexed question of ‘What is left of God after deconstruction?’. He shares the story of his own deconstruction journey and why love is the central idea that has shaped his faith ever since. About Tom Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher and scholar of...
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Live: How would Jesus 'Unite The Kingdom'?
Back in March, we welcomed Revd Dr Helen Paynter to the Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds to question just how Jesus would ‘Unite The Kingdom’, a reference to the rallies held in London by Far Right figurehead Tommy Robinson, the second of which took place just this weekend. In this talk she explores...
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Q&A: Towards a different sexual ethic
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. In particular, this episode includes discussion of sexual assault, rape and drugging in the context of the recent ‘online rape academy’ story. That section lasts from...
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Towards a different sexual ethic
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. In our last full episode of the series. we’re taking stock of all our conversations from the last 8 months and exploring what a positive...
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Q&A: Two genders and a spectrum walk into a bar
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. How toxic is traditionalist teaching on gender, and is there a nuanced way to navigate the conversation around trans-inclusion in church...
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Two genders and a spectrum walk into a bar - part II
We take a deeper dive into the Bible to look at how gender and sexuality is talked about in scripture and its interpretation. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. The…
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Two genders and a spectrum walk into a bar - part I
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. The dominant viewpoint within many church traditions is that there are two genders, male and female, and that men should play the…
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Q&A: Do christians just need a good wank?
We're responding to your questions on our latest episode, 'Do christians just need a good wank?' Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. Can sex toys and pornography help…
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Do Christians just need a good wank?
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. Now that the average age of marriage in western societies north of 30, is sexual purity really worth two decades of bottled up urges and...
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Q&A: Why do abusers thrive in church?
We’re responding to your questions on our latest episode, ‘Why do abusers thrive in church?’ Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. What does safeguarding look like in…
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Why do abusers thrive in church?
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. We discuss how theology, patriarchy and Christian cultures conspire to create the conditions that silence victims and expedite…
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Q&A: We need to talk about patriarchy
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. Can God-talk ever be redeemed from patriarchy? Where have we seen patriarchy at work in our lives and are there any positive principles...
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We need to talk about patriarchy
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. We get to the heart of the matter, exploring patriarchy and what it means for the Christian worldview. Did God really put men in charge?...
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Q&A: The binfire rages on
Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. We’re picking up your questions on marriage since Biblical times and tying up loose ends from our last few episodes. We explore Jesus’s...
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The binfire rages on
If not the Bible, where do our ideas about marriage come from? We take a jog through 2,000 years of church history, charting the evolution of Christian marriage to the institution we know today. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so...
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Talking with young people about sex
In this special bonus episode we meet Lauren Jackson, a sex educator who shares her experiences of preparing our young people to navigate the world of sex and relationships positively and safely. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so...
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Q&A: Marriage in the Bible is a binfire
We wrestle with your questions in response to our latest episode, Marriage in the Bible is a binfire. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves. If the depiction of marriage in…
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Marriage in the Bible is a binfire
A binfire? Bit harsh? Not unless you’ve read the thing… Here Dr Charlotte Naylor Davis takes us on a tour of the Bible to see if we can find an example of a marriage we’d actually want to emulate. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so...
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Q&A: Bad sex and the Church
After two full episodes of A God We Could Believe In we take stock and address some of your comments and questions on sex, relationships and the Church. Should we be affirming the “traditional” view of marriage and are we just making excuses to justify our own wants and desires? Content warning:...
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Bad sex and the Church
So what does the church actually teach about sex? We unpick the widely held view within Christianity that sex is only morally acceptable when it takes place within a marriage, and how this view is reinforced. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and...
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What did Church teach us about sex?
In this episode, we share what we remember of church teaching on sex and what that meant for us in our earliest relationships. Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, including some references to sexual violence in this episode at around 34...
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Introducing: A God We Could Believe In
Introducing A God We Could Believe In, a frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today. In this episode you’ll meet the team and find out what brought us together and why, for our first full series, we’ve decided to dive headlong into the thorny topic of sex and relationships. Content...
About this show
We're looking at the things the church says and does that are embarrassing, confusing or even downright offensive. Whether you're a lifelong churchgoer with the scars to prove it, or you've never entered a church and are just interested in the debate, this is a safe space for you.
agodwecouldbelievein.substack.com
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A frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today.
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