Our guest for 1 Corinthians 3 & 4 is Anthony Parrott. Anthony is the co-pastor at the Table Church in Washington, DC, an affirming, multiracial community committed to following Jesus without the baggage of white Christian nationalism. Anthony writes at parrott.ink about the Bible, books, and what it means to be human, with a bias toward love and liberation. He's also doing his own translation work in the Christian and Hebrew scriptures, with commitments that rhymes nicely with the LIT Bible.

• Follow Anthony on Threads

Episode Highlights

• Why porneia means sexual exploitation, not generic "sexual sin"
• How vague translations of "sexual immorality" can actually enable exploitation
• Paul's anger and consequence fall solely on the exploiter, never on the exploited party
• Reframing sarx as a self-preservation drive out of balance, rather than "the flesh is evil"
• "Handed over to the adversary" as redemptive discipline aimed at restoration, not eternal punishment
• Judging behavior without judging a person's worth — and why real community safety still requires firm boundaries and consequences
• What the lexicons actually say about malakoi and arsenokoitai

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Read LIT online: litbible.net/1corinthians-5 and litbible.net/1corinthians-6

LIT Bible apps: Download for iPhone/iPad, and on Android

Liberating Scripture Collective: www.liberatingscripture.org

Support LIT & FIT: liberatingscripture.org/support/

Our guest for 1 Corinthians 3 & 4 is Dr. Drew Hart, Associate Professor of Theology at Messiah University, director of Messiah's Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice program, and co-host with Jared McKenna of the amazing Inverse podcast. Dr. Hart is the author of Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, Who Will Be a Witness: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance, and most recently, Making It Plain Why We Need Anabaptism in the Black Church.

• Follow Dr. Hart on Threads

Episode Highlights

• Why Black Church & Anabaptism have more in common than you might think
• How rivalry, status, and self-preservation distort church life
• Paul's insistence that the church is built on Jesus, not favoritism, flex, or hierarchy
• God’s wisdom is cruciform and surprising
• How the light of Christ exposes the “successful” way of ego & empire as foolishness
• Why marginalized communities often see more clearly
• The church should measure itself by liberation, healing, and communal flourishing
• True spiritual authority comes from the scandal of Jesus, not from prestige

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Read LIT online: litbible.net/1corinthians-3

LIT Bible apps: Download for iPhone/iPad, and on Android

Liberating Scripture Collective: www.liberatingscripture.org

Support LIT & FIT: liberatingscripture.org/support/

Welcome to Season 9, where we'll be exploring Paul's expansive pastoral concerns and pleas to the Jesus huddle in Corinth. The letter has its share of landmines, which we can't wait to explore with you in the months ahead.

Our guest for 1 Corinthians 1 & 2 is Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre, one of the most influential liberation ethicists and theologians alive today. He is the author of 50 books, including Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins, Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers, and Embracing Hopelessness. Dr. De La Torre is Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado.

Episode Highlights

• 1 Corinthians 1–2 flips the all of the power structure's ideas of wisdom
• The cross challenges our ego and empire ideas of power or status
• What the world rejects comes to reveal divine power.
• A “spiritual” way of knowing that is different from elite knowledge
• Why the oppressed can read reality with unusual clarity
• Scripture must be read in community, not by gatekeepers alone
• Questions about God matter at least as much as answers about God
• Faithfulness of a translation is measured by whether it leads to life

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Read LIT online: litbible.net/1corinthians-1

LIT Bible apps: Download for iPhone/iPad, and on Android

Liberating Scripture Collective: www.liberatingscripture.org

Support LIT & FIT: liberatingscripture.org/support/

Introducing the LIT Bible app

Now you can read, highlight, and annotate the Liberation & Inclusion Translation from your iPhone or Android.

• Download on iPhone and iPad
• Download on Android

It's a Bible app that we actually want to use. They're free, no ads, and no tracking. Your LIT Bible updates as Brandon adds chapters and books to litbible.net, and each week's lectionary readings are available in its own tab.

In this episode Brandon and Brandon talk about the work behind this app, and what to poke around for once you've got it on your device.

A special thank you to all of our beta testers who helped make each app shine. Your enthusiasm for the LIT and for quality apps was invaluable.

One more thing: Brandon Rhodes paused editing this show for a few months to focus on these apps, so expect our next season, 1 Corinthians, to debut later this summer.

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Found in Translation is a production of the Liberating Scripture Collective.

Episode Highlights

• Perseverance amidst systemic injustice and economic exploitation;
• Importance of communal care and addressing chronic illness with dignity;
• Wealth as a chronic illness in spiritual and social realms;
• Church discipline and communal accountability for the wealthy;
• False security of hoarding wealth and exploitative systems.
• Allegiance to people and justice over economic stability.
• Reimagining economic security rooted in community care.
• Jesus' ethic—breaking powers that exploit and marginalize.
• Loving kindness, womb love, and compassionate care.

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Read LIT online: litbible.net/james-5

Liberating Scripture Collective: www.liberatingscripture.org

More about the LIT Bible: litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights

• The "desire for pleasures" James condemns isn't about sex — it's about golden toilets, rent-gouging, and union-busting.
• Your 401(k) might be morally complicated.
• "The world" James warns against isn't a vague spiritual fog — it's redlining, ICE raids, and every system where one human decides they matter more than another.
• Public prayer was never meant to be a private hotline to God — it's how a community surfaces each other's needs and volunteers to meet them.
• There's a reason the jet-ski buyer doesn't ask permission from the congregation first.
• "If you support ICE, you are an enemy of God. That's according to James."
• Judging someone's worth as a human is forbidden. Judging whether their actions cause harm is not only allowed — it's required.
• "If God wills it" is not a verbal get-out-of-jail-free card you can staple to a business plan.
• James asks you to let other people's suffering actually land on you — and the hosts connect that to people laughing about Alligator Alcatraz.

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Read LIT online: litbible.net/james-4

More about the LIT Bible: litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

We had an absolute blast recording this episode at the Queer Christian Fellowship Conference in Portland, Oregon. Rather than talk about the clobber passages used against queer folk, we wanted to explore how the LIT Bible opens up new insights into moral courage and resisting scapegoating in Hebrews 6.

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Follow the slide deck: https://tinyurl.com/NoMoreSacrifice

Read LIT online: https://litbible.net/hebrews-6

More about the LIT Bible: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights

• Dehumanizing words vs taboo words;
• What kind of speech disqualifies someone from church leadership;
• "you piece of 💩" vs "look at that 💩"
• Competitive self-promotion in tension with maturity;
• Open-mindedness, not certainty, as a mark of Christian maturity;
• The role of power and hierarchy in how we speak.

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Read LIT online: https://litbible.net/james-3

More about the LIT Bible: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights

• The importance of avoiding the word faith in translation;
• What James probably meant by faith;
• Comparing what James and Paul each meant by works;
• Classism and power's role in James' exhortations about modesty;
• The importance of solidarity with the poor in shaping our faithfulness.

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Read LIT online: https://litbible.net/james-2

More about the LIT Bible: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights

• The Letter of James is best understood through the lens of 1:27.
• Doubt in James is not about uncertainty in belief.
• Caring for orphans and widows is a central call of the faith.
• Avoiding the oppressor's mindset is the flipside to helping widows and orphans.

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Read LIT online: https://litbible.net/james-1

More about the LIT Bible: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights

• Is there a unifying theme behind James' meandering letter?
• Why did this letter piss off so many church leaders over the millennia?
• What can we learn about early Christianity from James?
• Why was James so fixated on power relationships?

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Welcome to Season 8 of Found in Translation! We're thrilled to spend the next several weeks exploring the memorable, passionate, no-BS, seemingly-meandering, hotly contested letter attributed to Jesus' little brother.

One of our favorite aspects of the Christian scriptures is how much better it is when heard in stereo: all of its authors are working out the meaning and beauty and scandal of Jesus. Each of the four evangelists have their own insights, Paul's pile of letters tease out what he learned about Jesus as a nationalist-turned-racial-justice advocate, Priscilla riffs on Paul's stuff in her own way, and so many more. Here we have the long-time leader of the Way in Jerusalem working out what he understood was the legacy and meaning of his older brother.

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Read LIT online: https://litbible.net/james-intro

More about the LIT Bible: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

We've been recording three seasons at once! James is coming soon, then 1 Corinthians and some bonus episodes on the translation commitments. We're so, so stoked.

Most exciting: we're recording our first LIVE episode at the Queer Christian Fellowship Conference in Portland, happening January 22-25. www.qcfconf.org for more! We hope to see you there.

Read more of the Liberation & Inclusion Translation at www.litbible.net.

Episode Highlights

• Anti-Caesar coding throughout the story;
• how much better the gospel is apart from Christian supremacism;
• how to understand the great commission through a liberation & inclusion hermeneutic;
• identifying the inclusive center in the literary structure of Matthew;
• empathy and compassion are central to the gospel.

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Our returning guest co-host today is Kalie Hargrove (she/her). Kalie is a writer, theologian, and activist who lives in the greater-Atlanta area with her partner and two kids. She is currently writing a commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew using the LIT Bible. Kalie has been part of LGBTQ+ activism bringing awareness of the legalized discrimination queer and trans students face at religious universities. She received her Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities. 

Kalie is Director of Digital Outreach at the Center for Prophetic Imagination, which seeks to connect the intersection of socio-spiritual discernment and radical justice in our world.

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Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-28

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights for Matthew 27

• Pilate and the banality of evil;
• The enduring temptation of revering the violent;
• Disability injustice in the church and the Bible;
• Solidarity is central to salvation;
• Manipulating crowds into bloodlust is as old as time;
• Scapegoating vibes on Good Friday;
• Jesus' crucifixion was (like) a lynching;
• The varying reasons for Jesus' crucifixion;
• The meaning Jesus seemed to ascribe to his state murder;
• Resisting antisemitism as a core hermeneutical commitment.

Our returning guest co-host today is Mae Forrest Barnes! She is completing her PhD on disability justice in the church, cohosts The Anarchodox Podcast, and can be found on Bluesky @dr-maeforrest.bsky.social . Her Substack is at https://maeforrestbarnes.substack.com/.

Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-27

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

Episode Highlights for Matthew 26

• The Eucharist is about an ever-widening belonging in God, and Matthew structured his entire gospel around it.
• The challenge of soothing nerves when confronting state violence.
• The cyclical nature of domination and liberation in the Bible and history.
• Resisting the antisemitic lure of seeing the Pharisees as the baddies, not just one set of antagonists.
• Jesus behavior amid a sham trial and a frothed-up lynch mob.
• The synergy between various kinds of domination power.

Our guest co-host today is Brian G. Murphy (he/him). Brian is the co-host of the Queer Theology Podcast and is the co-creator of Legalize Trans, an artistic and educational movement to advance gender justice. He has been doing LGBTQ activism and education for over a decade with organizations. Brian is also a certified relationship coach, working with folks to open up their relationship and navigate the issues that come with open relationships and polyamory. His upcoming book is Love Beyond Monogamy.

He's on all the socials with the handle @thisisbgm.

Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-25

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

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Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Highlights for Matthew 24 and 25

• "I understand that reference" – How Jesus used loads of metacultural nods to embellish his alarm toward his neighbors' self-destructive nationalism;
• the intersection of the Black church and Anabaptism;
• the Bible is holy because it is a library of testimonies of the losers;
• Jesus' advice for getting through apocalyptic times;
• immigrant-love as a defining mark of Christian witness;
• exasperation with revolutionary violence; and
• where to see Jesus every day.

Our guest co-host today is Pastor Trey Ferguson (he/him). Trey is a minister and public theologian who serves as the pastor of The Intention Church, an intentionally online church community built on the historic Black Church and the Anabaptist/Mennonite traditions. Trey also serves as the Executive Pastor at the Refuge Church in Homestead, Florida where he lives. 

You can check out Trey's wordplay on his Substack (The Son Do Move) and his podcasts, the New Living Treyslation and Three Black Men.

He's on all the socials with the handle @pastortrey05.

Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-24 and https://www.litbible.net/matthew-25

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

...

Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Highlights

• What Jesus knew would get him killed;
• Why he was fiercest to those – the Pharisees – with whom he was most theologically aligned;
• The similar anger we find in ourselves toward evangelicalism going after Christian nationalism;
• The importance of rebuking the temptation to read these passages antisemitically;
• Why religious fakers pissed Jesus off so much;
• How truthfulness and no-bullshit vibes became central to Jesus' social vision;
• Why Jesus would be so irate at Christians antagonizing LGBTQ folk in his name;
• and more!

Our guest co-host today is Jenna DeWitt (she/her pronouns). Jenna is a writer, editor, and resource curator, working primarily in queer Christian spaces and centering aromanticism and asexuality. You can find her work at InvisibleCakeSociety.com or on Substack, Threads, or BlueSky.

• Substack: https://invisiblecakesociety.substack.com/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@jennadewitt
• BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tkb2vbmnqo5wqtmnwnrsz6rm

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Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-23

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

...

Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Highlights

• The queer theology anthem that happened to be Jesus' favorite song lyric
• Jesus' street pageantry entering Jerusalem parodying the imperial occupation;
• Merch tables in the part of the temple dedicated to hosting outsiders;
• Jesus' mounting sense of his looming lynching;
• Jesus' GTFO clapbacks;
• and much more

Our guest co-host is Naphtali Renshaw (she/they). Naphtali is the director of the BeLonging Space, a United Methodist ministry which resources faith communities to support LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-led liberation groups as acts of solidarity and reparations, including as de-escalators at Pride events. They are also the on-site support for the Maxwell Community Hub, a UMC building reimagined for neighborliness and queer liberation.

• https://www.facebook.com/naphtali.renshaw
• https://thebelongingspace.org/

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Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-21 and https://www.litbible.net/matthew-22

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

...

Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

• Why did Jesus' thoughts on divorce and marriage cause his disciples to question whether anyone can get married?
• Why did Jesus respond with this thing about three kinds of eunuchs?
• Does being a not-dickish partner render someone a kind of eunuch in the eyes of patriarchy?
• Does Jesus reinforce patriarchal ideas of marriage or deconstruct them?
• How sexually engaged were eunuchs in Jesus' day?
• How do our inherited gender binaries get in the way of interpreting these stories?
• Who is the more prominent antagonist in the Bible: the devil or the rich?

Our guest co-host is Kalie Hargrove (she/her). Kalie is a writer, theologian, and activist who lives in the greater-Atlanta area with her partner and two kids. She has been part of LGBTQ+ activism bringing awareness of the legalized discrimination queer and trans students face at religious universities. She received her Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities. 

Kalie is Director of Digital Outreach at the Center for Prophetic Imagination, which seeks to connect the intersection of socio-spiritual discernment and radical justice in our world.

• https://www.kaliehargrove.com/
• https://bsky.app/profile/kaliehargrove.com
• Podcast & Substac - https://propheticimagination.substack.com/s/the-lies-that-bind-us

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Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-19 and https://www.litbible.net/matthew-20

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

...

Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

• Why is Jesus so reactive to his students' difficulty with understanding his vocation? He seems grumpy at times.
• How does Jesus plan to escalate his confrontation with the Roman Empire and their local enablers?
• How is Jesus' strong words against harming children a fierce rebuke to queerphobic parents?
• and more!

Our guest cohost is Avery Arden (they/zir). Avery is a genderqueer autistic minister in Atlanta whose work proclaims the holiness and agency of trans and disabled people. Drawing from both Catholic and Reform traditions, their theology is incarnational, Trinitarian, and rooted in breaking binaries. And of course, you've heard Avery many times on The Word in Black and Red.

• Avery's Linktree - https://linktr.ee/queerlychristian
• Avery's Website – https://queerlychristian.wixsite.com/website
• Blessed are the Binary Breakers Podcast – Apple

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Read LIT online: https://www.litbible.net/matthew-14 and https://www.litbible.net/matthew-15

More about the Liberation & Inclusion Translation: https://www.litbible.net/translation-commitments

Support LIT & FIT: https://donorbox.org/found-in-translation-1

...

Opportunity Walks by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/