1
00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:05,640
I've recently started using an 
AI tool called Notebook LM that 

2
00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,080
can take my podcasts and remake 
them as short videos. 

3
00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:15,200
I have been astonished by the 
quality of what it generates, so

4
00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,280
I'm going to start posting them 
here. 

5
00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,240
Let me know what you think. 
You can watch the videos on 

6
00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:25,720
Spotify or YouTube, but even if 
you can't see the graphics, the 

7
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:30,240
audio is quite amazing. 
Here is the first one I want to 

8
00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,720
share with you. 
It is based on episode 5 from 

9
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,720
the original series and the AI 
redo just took my breath away. 

10
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,800
OK, so this comes from a podcast
series called The Bible and 

11
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,760
Homosexuality, an LGBTQ Positive
View by Elton Sherwin. 

12
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,320
We're summarizing an episode 
titled What did Jesus Say about 

13
00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,280
Sexual and Gender Minorities? 
And the answer, as Sherwin 

14
00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,040
suggests, well, it might have 
been hiding in plain sight for 

15
00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,120
the last 2000 years. 
But before we even get into the 

16
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,280
theology, I want to start with 
why this conversation matters so

17
00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,560
much. 
This is a real review that was 

18
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,520
left for the podcast we're 
talking about today. 

19
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,120
It says, your podcasts helped me
stop my suicidal thoughts. 

20
00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,280
You saved my life. 
It's just a gut punch, right? 

21
00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,360
It really shows that for so many
people, this is not some 

22
00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,480
abstract debate. 
It's truly a matter of life and 

23
00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,640
death. 
You know, for the longest time, 

24
00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,160
the Christian conversation 
around this topic has really 

25
00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,640
fixated on just a handful of Old
Testament verses. 

26
00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,400
People call them the clobber 
verses, and they're often used 

27
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,240
to condemn gay people. 
Now, the author of our source 

28
00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,880
material, he actually started 
out by trying to refute those 

29
00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,120
specific verses, but that whole 
process led him to ask a much 

30
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,360
deeper question. 
Forget all that for a second. 

31
00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,520
What did Jesus himself actually 
have to say about it? 

32
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,040
And that one question, well, it 
changed everything for him. 

33
00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,240
He went from just trying to play
defense, you know, neutralizing 

34
00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,640
the negative verses, to actively
searching for a proactive, 

35
00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,200
affirming message from Jesus 
about sexual and gender 

36
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,360
minorities. 
He eventually came to believe 

37
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,200
that the Bible doesn't just not 
condemn them, but that it 

38
00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,920
actually suggests they were 
specifically created and are 

39
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,800
uniquely blessed by God. 
So this brings us to a really 

40
00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:11,760
fascinating puzzle in the book 
of Matthew. 

41
00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,720
It's a passage that Jesus 
introduces in a way he never, 

42
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,440
ever does anywhere else in the 
Bible. 

43
00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,400
It's like he's putting up a 
giant flashing neon sign that 

44
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,240
says, hey, pay attention, this 
is really important. 

45
00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,400
And by the way, not everybody's 
going to get it. 

46
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,160
This is the line. 
This is how he opens. 

47
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:28,960
Just stop and think about that 
for a second. 

48
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,840
Out of all the parables, all the
sermons, all the teachings he 

49
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,160
ever gave, this is the only time
he kicks it off with a warning 

50
00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,560
like this. 
Not everyone can receive this. 

51
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,240
He's basically telling his 
audience that what's coming next

52
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,560
requires a very special kind of 
understanding. 

53
00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,760
And here it is. 
This is the teaching he sets up 

54
00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,400
so carefully, Jesus says, For 
there are eunuchs who have been 

55
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,000
so from birth, and there are 
eunuchs who have been made 

56
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,920
eunuchs by men, and there are 
eunuchs who have made themselves

57
00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:56,760
eunuchs for the sake of the 
Kingdom of heaven. 

58
00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,880
And then, just to make sure we 
get the point, he closes by 

59
00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,920
repeating that same challenge. 
Let the one who is able to 

60
00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:07,160
receive this, receive it. 
So yeah, the big question is, 

61
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,440
what on earth is he talking 
about? 

62
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,520
Who are these eunuchs? 
And why is this one specific 

63
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,400
teaching wrapped in so much 
mystery and importance? 

64
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,480
Well, according to our source, 
the answer is all about the 

65
00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,200
language. 
The whole key to cracking this 

66
00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,800
puzzle is understanding what 
that word eunuch actually meant 

67
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:28,840
back then. 
Not what it means to us today, 

68
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,600
but what it meant in the 1st 
century world. 

69
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,240
And it turns out its meaning was
way, way broader than we usually

70
00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,200
think. 
And here is the absolute crucial

71
00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,720
point. 
In antiquity, eunuch was 

72
00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,160
basically a catch all term. 
It was used for any man who just

73
00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,680
didn't fit the standard mold of 
getting married to a woman and 

74
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,320
having kids. 
This went far, far beyond the 

75
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:49,960
idea of just physical 
castration. 

76
00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,400
I mean, the term covered a huge 
range of people. 

77
00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,080
It could be a high-ranking 
official in the court, a guy who

78
00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,480
was seen as effeminate, someone 
who just wasn't attracted to 

79
00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,160
women, or even someone who 
simply chose to be celibate. 

80
00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,000
It was this big umbrella for any
man who stood apart from what 

81
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,680
was considered the procreative 
norm. 

82
00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,040
OK, and this is the absolute 
game changer from the source 

83
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,680
material. 
You see, neither ancient Hebrew 

84
00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,760
nor Greek had a specific word 
for a homosexual. 

85
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:15,640
It just wasn't a concept they 
had. 

86
00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,880
So what word would you use for 
someone who didn't fit the 

87
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,839
sexual norm? 
You'd use eunuch. 

88
00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,040
The author argues that a much 
more accurate translation of 

89
00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,480
that word in this context isn't 
eunuch at all, but rather 

90
00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,160
sexually different. 
Now just look at this side by 

91
00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,360
side. 
The common translation we all 

92
00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,680
know says for there are eunuchs 
who have been so from birth. 

93
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,200
But when you swap in that 
proposed translation, it becomes

94
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,920
for there are those who have 
been sexually different from 

95
00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,680
birth. 
All of a sudden the meaning is 

96
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,720
radically different and feels a 
lot more relevant to our world 

97
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,240
today. 
And the implication of that is 

98
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,880
just profound. 
According to this 

99
00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,120
interpretation, Jesus is stating
crystal clear that some people 

100
00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,440
are Born This Way. 
It's not a choice. 

101
00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,480
It's not a defect or a moral 
failing. 

102
00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,000
It is an intentional part of 
God's creation. 

103
00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,120
They are different from birth 
because that is exactly how God 

104
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,680
made them. 
All right, so looking at this 

105
00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,920
passage through this completely 
new lens, the source material 

106
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:15,280
leaves us with a final 
challenge. 

107
00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,080
It's kind of like a homework 
assignment, inviting us to take 

108
00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,800
this interpretation and really 
apply it for ourselves. 

109
00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,280
So let's quickly recap those 3 
categories Jesus laid out, but 

110
00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:28,680
let's use our new translation. 
First, there are those who are 

111
00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,560
sexually different from birth. 
Second, those made so by others,

112
00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,400
which, yeah, back then could 
mean castration, but you could 

113
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,000
also interpret it more broadly 
today. 

114
00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,960
And third, those who choose this
path for the sake of the Kingdom

115
00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,400
of heaven. 
And that really brings us to the

116
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,480
final question to chew on. 
Who is Jesus talking about 

117
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,080
today? 
If we read eunuch as sexually 

118
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,640
different, how could these three
ancient categories map onto the 

119
00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:57,240
incredibly diverse experiences 
within the modern LGBTQIA plus 

120
00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,560
community? 
It's a message that might have 

121
00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,880
been hidden for 2000 years, just
waiting for those who are able 

122
00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:09,280
to receive. 
I'm Alton Sherwin, stay safe, be

123
00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,040
brave, and God bless.