The Spiritual Abuse of Queer People (Intended for Restore 2025)
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- While I was not invited to deliver this at Restore 2025, this video is framed around that conference, which is organized by Julie Roys and The Roys Report (@JulieRoysReport) A brief segment at the end of the video explains that further.
In this video, I lay out two arguments:
The condemnation, exclusion, and demonization of LGBTQ+ people by the white, American evangelical church is rightly labeled as spiritual abuse.
That we cannot end spiritual abuse in the church while we allow it to be done to LGBTQ+ people.
I know my delivery here is less natural than normal. I am comfortable with public speaking, but reading off a prepared script, straight into the camera, is a skill I am developing. I will also be publishing the script to this on my blog later tonight for those who prefer to read.
Citations
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Quote from Bridget Eileen Rivera, author of “Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ Christians Experience Harm in the Church”, from a tweet here: x.com/Travelin...
Michael Kruger - Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church - I should note that Kruger introduced me to the phrase “Spiritual Abuse” in his 2020-2021 blog series “Bully Pulpit.” It very much helped me escape the toxic church I was in.
Chuck DeGroat - When Narcissism Comes to Church
Emily Joy Allison - #ChurchToo: How Purity Culture Upholds Abuse and How to Find Healing”
Billie Hoard and Paul Hoard have developed the concepts of “Eucontamination” (contamination, but good) and the Theology of Disgust. They both friends of mine, and they are brilliant and you can/should learn more about these concepts here (theotherjourna...) and here (podcasts.apple...)
David Gushee - Changing our Mind: Definitive 3rd Edition of the Landmark Call for Inclusion of LGBTQ Christians with Response to Critics
I wrote a lengthy response to the article I describe as advocating for child sacrifice (or at least permitting it). You can read that here, and it links to the original as well as two other articles that make similar points as mine: www.celestefin...
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg - On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World (with apologies to other authors, this continues to be one the most impactful books I’ve ever read)
Jenai Auman is a friend and the author of the outstanding, “Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues the Hurt, Harmed, and Marginalized”
Rachel Held Evans - Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church (Like many others, I cannot say enough good things about the legacy RHE left).
I wrote the following articles on Julie Roys. The second includes a summary of the first, but both are worth reading, despite their length. I will say, yet again - I only want Roys to see the damage she has done and correct it. Both articles here are primarily concerned with the demonizing language and misinformation, but obviously this talk is expanding that to hopefully make the point that non-affirming theology drives abuse to begin with.
July 2023: www.celestefin...
December 2024: www.celestefin...
You can read more of my writing at www.celestefin..., and I am @celestefinally on Twitter (and some other places) and @celestefinally.bsky.social on Bluesky.
#restore2025
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This is just amazing. It's everything I've wanted to say, but I could never shape the words. Thank you for giving me this to share with my folks, who I have been trying to hold onto, at great cost to myself, for decades.
@@VitriolicVermillion Wow, thank you - I’m so glad you found it helpful!
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Oh, hello. I think you might have something I need to hear here.