Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves.

We get to the heart of the matter, exploring patriarchy and what it means for the Christian worldview. Did God really put men in charge? Is God even male? Can Christianity be redeemed from a hierarchy that consistently privileges and places men over women.

Coming up

Our next Q&A episode is on Monday 5th January, so if you’d like to ask a question on anything you’ve heard from the podcast so far, then make sure you get your question to us by Friday 26 December to feature. Contact us via email, social media or our Substack page.

Episode 6 – Why do abusers thrive in Church? – is released on Monday 19 January. High profile churches across the world have been rocked by stories of abuse and cover-ups at the very heart of their organisations. We ask why, instead of siding with victims and survivors, the first instinct of these institutions is to close ranks?

About A God We Could Believe In:

A frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today. We’re examining the things the church says and does that are embarrassing, confusing or even downright offensive. In other religious contexts, your questions might be forbidden but not here. So whether you’re a lifelong churchgoer with the scars to prove it, or you’ve never entered a church and are just interested in the debate, this is a safe space for you.

New episodes are released every other Monday.

Support the project by sharing it widely and join our Substack community for bonus episodes and reflections at agodwecouldbelievein.substack.com

Stay in touchEmail: agodwecouldbelievein@gmail.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/agodwecouldbelieveinInstagram: www.instagram.com/agodwecouldbelievein

Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves.

We’re picking up your questions on marriage since Biblical times and tying up loose ends from our last few episodes.

We explore Jesus’s teaching on divorce and how we should read that today. We’ll be unpicking ideas like ‘soul ties’ and ‘becoming one flesh’ - the implication that sex between two people creates an eternal spiritual bond.

Charlotte and Simon also get chance to share their thoughts on our episode with Lauren Jackson - Talking with young people about sex. They reflect on some important ideas Lauren raised, including ‘should’ stories and ‘emotionally safe’ sex.

Coming up

Episode 5 – We need to talk about patriarchy – is released on Monday 22 December. Patriarchy is the invisible thread that has run through all of our conversations so far. Can our relationships ever be truly equitable under a patriarchal system?

About A God We Could Believe In:

A frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today. We’re examining the things the church says and does that are embarrassing, confusing or even downright offensive. In other religious contexts, your questions might be forbidden but not here. So whether you’re a lifelong churchgoer with the scars to prove it, or you’ve never entered a church and are just interested in the debate, this is a safe space for you.

New episodes are released every other Monday.

Support the project by sharing it widely and join our Substack community for bonus episodes and reflections at agodwecouldbelievein.substack.com

Stay in touchEmail: agodwecouldbelievein@gmail.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/agodwecouldbelieveinInstagram: www.instagram.com/agodwecouldbelievein

If not the Bible, where do our ideas about marriage come from? We take a jog through 2,000 years of church history, charting the evolution of Christian marriage to the institution we know today.

Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves.

Has the Church always cared about marriage? When did marrying for love become the norm and how does commonlaw marriage fit into the picture? How has marriage been used as a tool in religious power struggles?

Simon explains all, along with a few important ideas from the past few millenia that have shaped our view of relationships.

Coming up

Our next Q&A episode is on Monday 8th December, so if you’d like to ask a question on anything you’ve heard from the podcast so far, then make sure you get your question to us by Friday 28 November to feature. Contact us via email, social media or our Substack page.

Episode 5 – We need to talk about patriarchy – is released on Monday 22 December. Patriarchy is the invisible thread that has run through all of our conversations so far. Can our relationships ever be truly equitable under a patriarchal system?

About A God We Could Believe In:

A frank and honest look at Christianity as we find it today. We’re examining the things the church says and does that are embarrassing, confusing or even downright offensive. In other religious contexts, your questions might be forbidden but not here. So whether you’re a lifelong churchgoer with the scars to prove it, or you’ve never entered a church and are just interested in the debate, this is a safe space for you.

New episodes are released every other Monday.

Support the project by sharing it widely and join our Substack community for bonus episodes and reflections at agodwecouldbelievein.substack.com

Stay in touchEmail: agodwecouldbelievein@gmail.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/agodwecouldbelieveinInstagram: www.instagram.com/agodwecouldbelievein