Identity Formation, Faith Reconstruction, Hermeneutics & Queer Theology - Father Shannon T.L. Kearns

Father Kearns was a former fundamentalist who became the first openly transgender man ordained in the Old Catholic priesthood. He believes in the transformative power of story and has made it his life's work to explore the intersection of theology, church life, and creativity.

Father Kearns grew up in a rural area in the 80s and 90s when access to information and language around gender identity was limited. He struggled with his own gender dysphoria but didn't have the words to express it or anyone to know how to talk about it. As a result, he felt a sense of isolation and had to form his identity in a vacuum. This experience of not being able to name himself was alienating and made him feel like he was the only one in the world. It's a reason he became a writer and storyteller.

As he began to question his faith and re-examine his relationship with scripture, Father Kearns found it helpful to read books from theologians who were doing theology from a very particular place and were naming the place they were doing it from. He found this approach to be eye-opening and it helped him to better understand the context in which the Bible was written and how different lenses can affect how we read and interpret scripture.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Challenges of Identity Formation for Gender Minorities
• Puberty, Purity Culture & Gender Dysphoria
• Grappling with sexuality and sadness
• Leaving church communities. asking questions, and finding a new spiritual home
• Questioning evangelical doctrines and discovering older faith traditions
• Dispensationalism & Getting Left Behind
• Passion for scripture, going to seminary, and getting educated in church history
• How to read and understand the Bible with a beginner’s mindset
• John Dominic Crossan (Historian) and Marcus Borg (Pastor)
• On reading theology from different marginalized perspectives
• Empowering passages for LGBTQ+ Christians
• The power of reading in community (and seeing texts differently)

About Father Shannon T.L. Kearns:
Father Shannon Kearns is the co-founder of QueerTheology.com. His first book "In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey With Scripture " was just released from Eerdmaan’s books. He started and led Uprising Theatre Company for 6 years.

Shannon is a Humanitas New Voices Fellow for 2022 and was a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and he was a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 (in playwriting) and 2022 (in screenwriting) and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought after speaker on transgender issues and religion as well as a skilled facilitator of a variety of workshops.

His work with Brian G. Murphy at QueerTheology.com has reached more than a million people all over the world through videos, articles, and online courses and community.

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