Blessed Are The Binary Breakers

Despite growing up in a heavily conservative Christian town, Azura Rose (they/she) was raised by parents who encouraged them to ask questions and explore religion on their own. They are now a Satanist in Toronto, as well as a cosplayer & sex worker. In this episode, Azura discusses the beliefs & activism of The Satanic Temple, as well as what it's like to be a queer, goth, disabled sex worker. Listen (or read along with the episode transcript) to find out what Satan & Jesus have in common; what was up with all the backlash around Lil Nas X's single Montero; how some of Azura's clients have supported them on their gender journey; and much more. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse; bullying & religious trauma + threats of hell; mention of grandparent deaths ______ Talking Points: (0:00 - 2:30) Housekeeping (2:31 - 5:11) Introducing Azura (5:12 - 10:10) Growing up — bullied for not being Christian; supportive parents; discovering Wicca and Satanism, Lilith &am

Neville and Avery talk about the weird Renaissance tendency to depict babies as small men; how stereotypes about cuckolded husbands influenced artists' depictions of Joseph; why the Church was so scandalized by Caravaggio's sex worker Madonnas AND the presence of dirty feet on Saints and pilgrims; and more. As you listen, Avery invites you to ponder: what is considered decent and moral in your own time and place, and why? For a larger conversation with Neville in which they discuss being an Australian queer Catholic who both studies and creates art, look back to episode 38: "Finding the Power in Our Queerness and Rebellion in Our Love." For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com. Avery invites you to learn how to be an ally to sex workers through resources like this one. And here is the link to their conversation with a friend on Cain, Abel, and disability that they promote at the start of this ep! Talking points: (0:00 - 5:56) Introducing the episode + promotion of "Abel-ism" ep (5

This episode is a sharing of an episode that first aired on the Bible Bash Podcast on November 30, 2020. Check out more from Bible Bash at https://biblebashpodcast.com/. By taking on Hosea 11:9, Avery Smith cracks open a rich discussion with Bible Bash co-hosts Liam Hooper and Peterson Toscano. Avery writes: “I interpret God’s declaration 'For I am God and not a man' in Hosea 11:9 as, among other things, evidence of Their rejection of being assigned a human gender and the roles implied therein.” Could God be making a declaration of gender? What is Hosea the prophet trying to do and say to the people? And what about God’s radical swings from tenderness to threats of violence? In addition to covering these topics and more, Avery highlights best practices for ministers and places of worship when addressing non-binary people by name and pronoun. The entire conversation is fresh, insightful, and a lot of fun. ____ Blessed Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find more shows, such as t

Avery was delighted to be on their friend Laura's Autistic Liberation Theology podcast; this episode features a clip from a longer conversation on "Toxic Mask-ulinity" that you can listen to at anchor.fm/laura-sommer. In this clip, Laura introduces the concept of autistic masking — concealing parts or all of yourself in order to survive in an allistic (non-autistic) world — and relates it to similar trans experiences; then Laura and Avery connect these concepts to the 1 Kings 19 story of God coming to Elijah not in fire or earthquake, but in a "still small voice." What message do we find in God meeting Elijah's feelings of frailty with vulnerability of Their own? How does God make use of "masks" to accommodate us humans? For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com. __________ Talking Points: (0:00 - 4:30) Intro — an update from Adam Richards, the guest from episodes 3 & 5 back in 2019, on their journey in Methodist ministry! (4:31 - 9:29) Laura explains autistic masking — a survival t

When we delve into any holy text together, we all come away the richer for it — just as Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch enriched one another during their odd desert encounter, each sharing what they found in the prophet Isaiah.  In this episode, Avery shares a sermon they wrote on Acts 8:26-40 that draws not only from many transgender theologians but also from a conversation with a handful of people who all brought their unique insights to the story. Philip can be read as autistic, the eunuch as trans — and so much more! What unique experiences do we need YOU to share to expand our understanding of this story even further? For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com. Talking Points: (0:00 - 4:53) Introducing Acts 8 and sermon background (4:54 - 9:00) Sermon starts - how eunuchs of old connect to trans persons today; conversing in community (9:01 - 17:30) Part 1 of the Acts 8 text — on the wilderness road, Philip's autistic enthusiasm breaks down barriers (17:31 - 26:30) Part 2 of the

April Willow Castillo knows what it is to believe yourself to be the only queer person in all of Peru; to question your sexuality while in Catholic youth group in the US; and to finally grow into yourself at a university supportive of LGBT faculty and students.  In this episode, April discusses how the love of God has pulled her from depressive states and religious trauma into deep joy and pride in being herself and bonding with other Hispanic queer folk. She also talks about LGBT community in Peru and the US; the history of Indigenous and Catholic religion in Peru; and how God is often twisted into a political weapon in the US. For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com. Content warnings: swearing; depression; grandparent's death; homophobia & transphobia from friends, family, & faith leaders; internalized queerphobia; brief mentions of conversion therapy _______ Talking Points: (0:00 - 5:35) Introducing April - Latina trans Catholic university student, Peruvian immigrant,

Avery shares their sermon from a recent worship service centered around the goodness of all bodies - particularly those the world labels broken or lesser. When so many of us are made to feel imprisoned by our own flesh, how do we embrace embodiment as something holy? Let's look to ancient interpretations of the first human (ha-adam) as intersex; connect this human's story to gender affirming surgery; and explore Jesus's choice to rise in a physical body with disabling wounds to discover how what the world calls broken, God calls Good. For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com. Talking Points: (0:00 - 7:27) Intro: unlearning Greco-Roman dualism that pits spirit over flesh; learning how autistic stimming connects our minds & bodies (7:28 - 12:15) Scripture readings from Genesis 2:7-25, John 20:19-29, & 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 (12:16 - 14:11) The sermon begins - our bodes become cages in a world that teaches us some bodies are normative and all others are deviant; but Genesis 2 &

The scriptures and liturgy that Christian communities read during Holy Week, the week we commemorate Jesus's arrest and crucifixion, have borne violent antisemitic fruit across the centuries. Particularly poisonous is the "Solemn Reproaches of the Cross," or Improperia, which pins the blame for Jesus' death squarely on the Jewish community. In this episode, Avery shares the alternative liturgy they wrote, with the hope that it might be a jumping off point for conversations on this topic. Rather than pretending the "Solemn Reproaches" never existed, Christians must grapple with it, guide our communities in understanding why it is so evil, and thus move towards acknowledging and dealing with our antisemitism, past and present. For an episode transcript, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast-archive. Find the referenced article by Amy-Jill Levine with its strategies for dealing with problematic New Testament texts here.  Avery also published their alternative text at binarybreakingliturgy.com. 

Amy Neville (he, she, or they pronouns) is a 21-year-old Australian art historian & artist whose work celebrates being both Catholic & queer. In this episode, Avery and Neville discuss Neville's life and how they've learned to stand up for themself and other queer persons; the way women & queer artists have used textile arts over the years; and Europe’s Renaissance Period, focusing on queer artists who navigated adhering to & rebelling against the Catholic Church's rules for art in that period. For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Find Neville on instagram @krem.caramel; check out their work at amyneville.art. Talking Points: (0:00 - 4:51) A reminder to Christians to confront antisemitism in Holy Week - see here for Amy-Jill Levine's article (4:52 - 13:43) Discovering queerness while in Catholic high school - finding resources, standing up against a teacher's homophobia (13:44 - 18:04) Meeting confident queer persons at univers

In this first episode focusing on the interconnections between trans & disability communities & theologies, Avery draws from Mel Baggs' theory of embedded forms of oppression to describe how ableism is at the heart of many manifestations of transphobia, including pathologization and coerced treatments.  When transness is perceived as a disability, and disability is perceived as brokenness, the logical result is to try to "fix" or "cure" the trans individual - as evinced in the non-affirming "disability framework" through which some Christians view transness as a symptom of a Fallen world. How can trans persons and disabled persons join together to fight their similar battles, within faith communities and beyond? For an episode transcript (with citations) and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Talking Points: (0:00 - 5:13) Introducing the topic: why we must be anti-ableist in order to be anti-transphobic (5:12 - 6:48) At least 39% of trans people have on

Solaris Baldwin is a 21-year-old Black, genderfluid Methodist who first learned about Jesus as a watchful judge ready to throw people into hell. However, as they explored their identity and sought out community, they uncovered the God who does not will suffering but who suffers alongside us; who does not demand unquestioning obedience but desires our joyful efforts to emulate God's own love. Join Solaris and Avery in a conversation about finding our people, wrestling with scripture, and letting go of fear in order to embrace growth and love.​ Find Solaris @seraphic_sapphics on Instagram. For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Timestamps: (0:00 - 6:17) Lent as a time for openness and self-nourishment; introducing Solaris (6:18 - 12:34) Solaris' childhood - white-majority Christian schools, learning that God is a watchful judge (12:35 - 17:53) First school with Black classmates - don't recognize Solaris as one of them; first Methodist church

Trans persons experience drastically higher rates of mental illness and suicide attempts - when they are denied support and safety. In this episode, five trans and/or nonbinary persons of faith share their own mental health journeys, that move them from harmful theology to discovering God's deep love for them; and from isolation or hostility into relationships where they are embraced for all that they are.  CONTENT WARNING for discussions of suicide ideation & suicide attempts and brief mentions of self harm; as well as mentions of non-LGBT affirming ideologies. Timestamps: (0:00 - 9:00) Statistics & studies surrounding transgender mental health; Avery discusses how mental illness is higher in trans populations because of lack of support, not because of sin or brokenness. (9:01 - 15:34) Solaris Baldwin discusses how their suicide ideation stemmed from lack of options, and tells the story of how God sent two strangers to save their life. (15:35 - 23:18) Avery and Solaris discuss how prevalence of

For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Rudra Maharaj navigates feeling disconnected from many of the communities around them due to racism, ableism, homophobia, and cultural differences, even while embracing the gods whose stories show them that queerness is compatible with Hinduism.  In this episode, Rudra discusses their family's unique ways of practicing Hinduism as descendants of the indentured Indian diaspora living in Canada by way of Fiji; how Shiva gave them their name; and how being disabled intersects with their faith and family life. Find Rudra on Twitter @RY_Maharaj Talking Points: (0:00 - 3:00) Intro - explaining that the interview was held over text message; Avery's sister helps read the transcript (3:01 - 5:49) Rudra's time at university - disconnect within a largely white and abled department; studying history because of their family's history in the indentured Indian diaspora (5:50 - 8:20) Rudra's Hinduism - about the world

For an episode transcript and more info, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Avery shares their plans for this podcast for 2021! But first, they discuss the hard work that won white Jewish man Jon Ossoff & Black Christian Rev. Raphael Warnock the seats that flipped the US Senate blue, using an interfaith and interracial lens to do so. Talking points: (0:00 - 4:21) Episode intro, summary of presidential election & GA's runoff election (4:22 - 10:05) Exploring Ossoff and Warnock - how their respective faiths fuel their civil work; comparing them to Congress's white Christian majority (10:06 - 13:23) Shifting the narrative about faith in politics (13:24 - 18:09) Stacey Abrams and others' hard work (18:10 - 23:51) This podcast's future: expanding the binaries we "break"; 2 episodes per month (23:52 - 27:02) Call for submissions on mental illness and health among trans persons - due Feb 15; wrapping up Blessed  Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find mor

For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. Find more of Avery's poetry at binarybreakingliturgy.com. Avery reflects on the queerness of Advent + Christmas, including 3 original poems. They show how the Nativity story (as presented in Luke & Matthew) is bursting with binaries broken, assumptions flipped on their head, and God's uplifting of persons the world calls unworthy. They explore Divinity's transition into a physical, finite form assigned male at birth; Mary's "yes" that put her at risk of social condemnation - not unlike what trans persons risk when coming out; and Joseph's initial confusion and rejection transformed into solidarity due to his openness to God's word. Talking points: (0:00 - 4:00) Mary's Magnificat and God's revolution (4:01 - 4:56) Poem: "God's Revolution" (4:57 - 8:30) God's transition + Poem: "Snowball" (8:31 - 15:16) Mary's betrothal, and her "yes" to social condemnation (15:17 - 19:06) Poem: "Mary, Mother of Your Tra

For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. This is the second of two episodes featuring excerpts from authors who speak on religious pluralism and interfaith relationships. In this episode, Avery reiterates how opening oneself to beliefs beyond one's own can enrich one's connection to divinity and to humanity - rather than posing a threat to one's own faith life. The passages Avery shares in this episode come from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' Making Space for Difference, Philip Vinod Peacock's "Some Insights on Imago Dei," Rev. Jonathan Thunderword's From Christendom to Freedom, and Eboo Patel's Acts of Faith. Talking Points: - (0:00 - 3:30) Announcement - this podcast is now part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network! - (3:31 - 9:01) Peering out from our own boxes to avoid stagnation - seeking knowledge is an act of faith, not fear - (9:02 - 11:31) Rabbi Sacks and Philip Vinod Peacock on no one person or group fully representing the Image of God  - (11:3

This is the first of two episodes featuring excerpts from authors who speak on religious pluralism, interfaith relationships, and how diverse identities and cultures enrich religion. In this first episode, Avery focuses in on the extra complexities faced by Christians in approaching interfaith relationships respectfully, as members of a religion with a history and present tangled up in colonization and assimilation.  The passages Avery shares in this episode come from Barbara Brown Taylor's 2018 book Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others and Kaitlin B. Curtice's 2020 book Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God. The next episode will feature authors from religions other than Christianity. (0:00 - 5:35) Why trans persons of all (and no) faiths need to include religious identity in our solidarity and activism; why the focus on Christianity for this first ep (5:36 - 10:35) Excerpts Barbara Brown Taylor's Holy Envy begin - "Could my faith be improved by the faiths of others?" (10:36 - 16:4

Avery draws from multiple sources to discuss Halloween as a holiday that has elevated gender diversity since its origins deep in the ancient Celt observance of Samhein. As a holiday that has undergone various transitions, traveling across time and space and religious experiences while maintaining its binary-breaking core, Halloween is the perfect time for those of us who don't fit into gender norms to live into our holy truths. Indeed, its rise in popularity in the United States may well have relied on LGBT communities!  Talking Points:  - (2:50 - 5:19) Leslie Feinberg - "...The old butches told me there was one night of the year that the cops never arrested us – Halloween." - (5:20 - 8:10) Judy Grahn - "The qualities of impersonation and the dangerous business of crossing over from one world to another help explain why Halloween is the most significant Gay holiday." - (8:11 - 16:10) Samhein's survival in spite of Church suppression; history of matrilineal peasants vs. patriarchal landlords and prie

Andy Thornton shares their research into the exclusion experienced by bi and trans persons not only in Christian spaces, but also in LGBT/queer spaces. They found that many persons are made to feel like they are "not enough" - not Christian enough, not queer enough, not trans enough - and feel compelled to alter or suppress aspects of themselves to fit in better. How do we learn to stop hurting one another in the same ways that the normative world hurts us?  For a transcript and more places to listen, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast-archive. Talking points:  - (0:00 -  4:12) Intro: relating Andy's research to the tv show Pose - (4:13 - 6:47) "The gays don't want me and the Christians don't want me" + the cliquey elements of both Christian spaces and queer spaces - (6:48 - 8:35) Methods of exclusion: ignoring, making exceptions, virtue signalling, conformity - (8:36 - 9:50) "You cannot be religious and queer" - (9:51 - 15:00) Internalizing, self blame when excluded or misgendered -

In this special episode, 8 trans and/or nonbinary persons share their insights on solidarity and allyship, intersectionality and wholeness. How do we resist assimilation and recognize our interdependence? How does religion uplift or fail trans persons? What can all of us, cis and trans alike, do to recognize our privilege and show up for other marginalized communities? Let's keep the conversation rolling. Talking Points: (1:50 - 5:38) Hadassah (she/they) is a Black Jew who wants those who would be their ally, accomplice, or co-conspirator to understand that they must support every part of her. Every human and community must be taken holistically, for we are all journeying towards wholeness. (5:39 - 9:23) Andy Thornton (they/he) discusses how trans persons must show up for other marginalized groups, both members who are also trans and those that are cis. They bring up the issue of assimilation within the trans community and the need to fight the tendency to "other" others. (9:24 - 11:14) William (they/he) is a