Auntie Sermons

Episode 10 | The Salt of the Earth | Lot’s Wife, Pillar of Salt, and Why She Looked BackLot’s wife is one of the most reduced women in the Bible—no name, no voice, just a warning. But what if she wasn’t weak, faithless, or disobedient? What if she was human—responding to violence, loss, and devastation the way any of us would? In this episode, we challenge the story we were told and reclaim the woman behind the pillar of salt.What you’ll hear:The full story of Lot’s wife in Genesis—and what the text actually saysHow rabbinic and Christian traditions reshaped her into a warningA feminist re-reading of her turning back as grief, witness, and resistanceWhy this story reflects patriarchy—and how it harms both women and menResources:Genesis 19:15-17 (World English Bible)Genesis 19:24-26 (World English Bible)Luke 17:32 (World English Bible)Matthew 5:13 (World English Bible)Genesis Rabbah 50:4Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 25Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 54a1 Clement 11Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.36.3Susanne Scholz, “Lot’s Wife Turns as an Act of Resistance,” TheTorah.comAmos Frumkin, Geological Society of America Bulletin (Mount Sodom salt pillar formation)CDC Suicide Data (U.S. male suicide rates)NIMH, Men and Mental HealthResearch on family annihilation / homicide-suicide statisticsFollow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 9 | Hagar the Victim | Abuse, Power, and Survival in Genesis 16–21Hagar’s story is often softened, spiritualized, or turned into allegory—but when we read it plainly, it is a story of exploitation, abuse, and survival. In this episode, we center Hagar as a person, not a symbol, and examine what the text actually says about power, consent, and what it means to be told to return to harm.What you’ll hear:How Hagar is introduced and why that mattersThe reality of consent and power in her storyHow Jewish and Christian traditions reinterpret herWhy “go back” is still taught—and why it’s dangerousResources:Genesis 16:1–16 (WEB)Genesis 21:8–21 (WEB)Galatians 4:21–31 (WEB)Genesis Rabbah 45:1Rashi on Genesis 16Violence Policy Center research on domestic violenceFollow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 8 | Milcah & Iscah | Genealogy, Mitochondrial DNA, and the Women Written Out of LineageGenesis 11:29 is often treated as a throwaway genealogy verse—but when we slow it down, it reveals something much deeper. In this episode, we look at Milcah and Iscah, what their names mean, why they are included and then ignored, and how biblical genealogies prioritize control over truth. This is a story about lineage, power, and what happens when women carry the future but are written out of the record.What you’ll hear:The meanings behind the names Milcah and IscahHow rabbinic and Christian traditions handled their silenceWhy biblical genealogies are about control, not originHow mitochondrial DNA reveals a different story of human lineageResources:Genesis 11:29 (WEB)Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 7 | Sarah Enters the Story | Power, Patriarchy, and the Women We Were Told to BeSarah is one of the most praised women in the Bible—but when we slow down and actually read her story, a very different picture emerges. In this episode, we look at how Sarah is introduced, how her story unfolds, and how her actions have been taught to generations of women as a model of faith and obedience. This is a story about power, survival, harm, and the way biblical narratives shape how women see themselves, their bodies, and each other.What you’ll hear:How Sarah is introduced as barren and reduced to her bodyThe power dynamics between Sarah and Abraham, including deception and controlSarah’s treatment of Hagar and what it reveals about supremacy systemsThe double standard of doubt between Sarah and AbrahamHow Christian teachings shaped Sarah into a role modelThe real-life impact of these stories on women’s grief, bodies, and self-worthWhy these narratives train women to judge the wrong womenResources:Genesis 11:27–31 (WEB)Genesis 12–21 (WEB)Genesis Rabbah (selected passages on Sarah and Hagar)Rashi on Genesis 11–21TheTorah.com – Women and Biblical Narratives (various articles)Wenham, Gordon J. – Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis 1–15Hamilton, Victor P. – NICOT: The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 6 | Women of the Ark | The Unnamed Mothers of Humanity and the Cost of Erasure in GenesisThe story of Noah’s ark is often told as a story of obedience, survival, and divine rescue—but almost no one talks about the women who made humanity’s survival possible. In this episode, we center the unnamed women of the ark, explore how different traditions chose to remember—or erase—them, and examine what it means when the mothers of civilization are reduced to background characters.What you’ll hear:What Genesis actually says about the women on the ark—and what it leaves outHow rabbinic and Christian traditions handled their silenceHow the Ethiopian biblical tradition chose to name themWhy being unnamed allows others to define women’s storiesResources:Genesis 6:18; 7:7, 13; 8:16, 18 (WEB)Jubilees 4:33; 7:1–2Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 5 | Daughters of Humans | Nephilim, Consent, and the Women Erased in Genesis 6Genesis 6 introduces one of the strangest and most overlooked passages in the Bible—where “sons of God” take human women, and the story quickly shifts away from what happened to them. In this episode, we slow the text down and center the women who were seen, taken, and erased. This is a story about power, violation, and how the question of consent disappears from the narrative entirely.What you’ll hear:What Genesis 6:1–4 actually says—and why it feels out of placeHow Jewish and Christian traditions interpret the “sons of God”Why the text never addresses consent or accountabilityHow this story connects to modern conversations about power and consentResources:Genesis 6:1–4 (WEB)Featured in this episode:“Consent” — from the album Ex ParteFollow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 4 | The Woman Who Was Named | Naamah, Naming, and the Power of Being Seen in GenesisNaamah appears in a single verse—and yet her name stands out in a genealogy that largely ignores women altogether. In this episode, we examine what it means for a woman to be named in a text that so often erases them, how later traditions tried to redefine her, and why simply existing without explanation has always been threatening to systems built on control.What you’ll hear:What Naamah’s name means and why it mattersHow the Bible treats named vs. unnamed womenWhat later traditions did with Naamah—and whyThe pattern of rewriting women’s names to protect powerResources:Genesis 4:22 (WEB)Revelation 2:20 (WEB)Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 3 | Ornament and Shadow | Adah, Zillah, and the Women Who Built Civilization in GenesisAdah and Zillah enter the story with names—but almost nothing else. In this episode, we look at what those names mean, what flows through these women, and what it says about a text that records the achievements of men while leaving the women who made those achievements possible in silence. This is a story about erasure, roles, and what happens when women are reduced to what they provide instead of who they are.What you’ll hear:The meaning behind the names Adah (“ornament”) and Zillah (“shadow”)How culture, creativity, labor, and survival flow through these womenThe pattern of women being categorized by function instead of identityHow these roles still show up in modern life—and how they can be reclaimedResources:Genesis 4:19–24 (WEB)Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 2 | The Woman God Didn’t Bother to Name | Cain’s Wife, Erasure, and the Cost of Silence in GenesisIn the story of Cain and Abel, we’re taught to focus on the first murder—but almost no one talks about the woman who comes after. In this episode, we look at Cain’s unnamed wife, what the text actually says about her, and what it means that the Bible gives a murderer a name, a voice, and protection—while the woman who carries the future is erased. This is a story about silence, power, and the cost of not being seen.What you’ll hear:Why Cain’s offering is rejected without explanationHow the text introduces Cain’s wife—and what it leaves outThe pattern of naming men while erasing womenHow this story connects to modern experiences of being overlooked or dismissedResources:Genesis 4:1–17 (WEB)Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae

Episode 1 | The Woman Who Knew Too Much | Eve, Knowledge, and the First Woman in GenesisEve is often blamed for everything—but what if she was never given the full picture to begin with? In this episode, we take a closer look at how Eve is introduced, what she actually knew, and how the narrative shifts when you read the text carefully. This isn’t a story about weakness—it’s a story about curiosity, knowledge, and what happens when a woman seeks both.What you’ll hear:Who actually received the command in GenesisWhether Eve was ever given the full instructionsWhy the “fall” narrative may not be what we were taughtHow this story reflects patterns we still see todayResources:Genesis 2:16–18; 3:1–6 (WEB)Follow & Support:https://linktr.ee/iamcrystaljae