Moral center of the universe or petty, local hill-god? Sacrifice, spiritual terrorism, and more. The Binding of Isaac is a terrible story. There’s no getting around it, but there are lots of layers to explore. Let’s get into it.
Episodes
Opening Prayer for Wisdom
An opening prayer for wisdom. Could be used with a reading from Proverbs/Wisdom literature or on its own.
Lord, grant us wisdom as we seek your way. Remind us that you deal lovingly and graciously with us, and we are meant to do so with others. Help us grow in wisdom, works, and worship. Move us to share your love with each other and the world. Amen.
New Resources
Hello! As we put the finishing touches on Season 2’s pre-launch, we’re also working on adding new resources. We write a lot of liturgy, and we figured, hey, why not share it? Check back soon. If you’re a worship planner (or someone who just likes liturgy), what kinds of things would you like to see?
Season 2 (Even Worser) Coming Soon!
We’re getting ready for Season 2!
Interesting, Isn’t it?
During Season 1, we ran some Facebook ads to get the word out about the podcast. The comments (and DMs) mostly came from two groups who, on the surface, have little in common. There were triggered diatribes from people who think all Christians are mean-spirited fundamentalists, and there were the triggered diatribes from actual fundamentalists who think all people who aren’t fundamentalists are going to the Bad Place. Interesting, isn’t it?
People who have actually listened to the show seem to appreciate it, and we’re grateful for that. As we launch Season Two (Even Worser), we invite you to bring your questions, (respectful) feedback, suggestions for topics and guests, and welcome you to share your stories.
Here’s what we’re planning:
- Continuing with the stories of the Old Testament through the lens of generational trauma
- Deconstructing fundamentalist approaches to scripture in general.
- Sharing Bonus Episodes (short, sweet, and random)
New for this Season:
- Interviews
- Special Guests
- Supplemental looks at Gospel passages, Epistles, Psalms, and Proverbs (following the Narrative Lectionary cycle, more or less)
Stay tuned! New shows start in July, but some warm-up Bonus Episodes (Short, Sweet, and Random) may drop sooner!
Ep 14: Headfakes & Heartbreaks (The Banishing of Hagar and Ishmael, Genesis 21)
“A few chapters back, Sarah tells Abraham to get rid of Hagar, and Abraham says “she’s your slave. She’s your issue. Do whatever you want.” In other words, you’ve already trafficked this Egyptian to me, I’ve already raped her, I don’t give a shit.” But now, oh, but now. But now there is a son involved, and so now, this jackass seems to care…”
Hagar’s story is far from over as the cycle of trauma in Abraham’s family continues. A few episodes later, we’ll see how Sarah’s actions in this chapter haunt Isaac into adulthood and into his own marriage.
Ep 13: Lots Daughters Keep the Score
Lots of trigger warnings in this episode. It’s just a terrible story. Trauma is repeated and repeated, partly because that’s what our brains and bodies do.
Ep. 12: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Was Never About Homosexuality (Genesis 19)
In this extended episode, we follow the Genesis narrative(s) into Chapter 19, and we take some journeys to later Christian scripture. We look at the reasons why this text and later texts are not about homosexuality why if you take the Bible on its own terms, they simply can’t be. Trigger warnings: sexual assault, rape.
Episode 11: Abraham’s Big, Bad Daddy Issues
Abraham haggles with God, but with language and deference that sound an awful lot like the way a victim talks to an abuser, or, at the very least, to someone with explosive anger issues on the rich side of a huge power differential. Listen for yourself.
Strange New Worlds (and Patreon)
Hello!
Worst Church Ever here. We started our podcast on May 5, 2021, and we’re about to hit our 500th download. That’s not earth-shaking news, but it’s also not bad for a new pod with no budget that comes out and tells you how much it sucks right from the start.
Why Worst Church Ever? The name is part joke, part humblebrag, part theological aspiration. It’s a reminder (to ourselves) that we don’t know everything, that we don’t claim to represent the entirety of the progressive Christian tradition, and it’s a little bit of flaming coal for those pastors (conservative and progressive alike) that think it’s their job to be the hippest, coolest, biggest, best. That’s not our journey, but we hope they’re warm and well-fed on theirs.
We’re as sick as you are of words like “deconstructing,” but we have a hunch that deconstruction hasn’t gone nearly as far as it needs to in Christian circles. No, we can’t just slap together a flaming pile of garbage and call it deconstruction (this isn’t a cooking competition), but we can continue to look our scriptures, traditions, and theologies with fresh eyes. This podcast has a near-obsessive need to do just that. In the process, we’re rejecting theologies of exclusion, believing that the Good News is going to be good, and not just for people who “get it” (whatever that means).
Our costs are fairly low (most of the platforms we use are free), but we’re launching a Patreon account to help defray the occasional (modest) social ad buy and to connect to people who are interested in taking an honest, thoughtful look at these issues together.
That’s our story. What’s yours? Let’s connect!
Quantum Gospel, Cosmic Christ
Hushed and tired tones from 1AM. Holy Ghost Coast to Coast. Quantum physics, Upanishads, Schrodinger, Eden, and Jesus…
We skipped the bumper music and reached directly for the warm milk and melatonin. The snoring dogs scared away Schrodinger’s cat.
Many quantum theories predict that objects move from the quantum to the macro realm only when (and only because) they are observed. This bonus episode considers the incarnation of Christ as God’s quantum choice to observe us from within the flesh and blood of Jesus. In choosing to enact this course of action from the infinite scenarios in the probability cloud of God’s consciousnesses, God elects a reality in which God is bound to us. We also consider the quantum origins of evil and more.
Worst Church Ever 