65. Rev. Darrell Hamilton II (Baptist) | Healing Religious Trauma: Tending to Open Wounds - The Sacred Slope | Lyssna här

65. Rev. Darrell Hamilton II (Baptist) | Healing Religious Trauma: Tending to Open Wounds

What happens when the Christianity that was supposed to heal you is what wounded you?

What if questioning your faith isn't a slippery slope to hell, but the beginning of liberation?

And what if the image of God you inherited shapes how you see women, LGBTQ+ people, race, and power?

Rev. Darrell R. Hamilton II is an ordained Baptist minister, preacher, writer, and advocate for faith-rooted justice. A graduate of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, he has served at Middle Collegiate Church and worked with Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People's Campaign.

Rev. Darrell joins Alexis Rice for a powerful conversation about religious trauma, deconstruction, Black liberation theology, decolonizing Christianity, Christian nationalism, and what it really takes to heal from harmful Christianity.

Raised in Oklahoma, Rev. Darrell grew up believing that questioning certain Christian teachings could threaten his salvation.

Then he met a gay Christian whose church wouldn't allow him to sing in the choir.

How could a church silence someone's praise to God?

That question changed everything.

At Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Rev. Darrell discovered an enormous Christian theological world he had never been introduced to. Black liberation theology. Queer theology. Feminine images of God. Perspectives that challenged everything he had been taught about who God is and who belongs.

Together, Alexis and Rev. Darrell explore why so many Christians never encounter these perspectives, how white-centered theology became normalized, and what happens when Christians imagine God exclusively as a white man.

They discuss James Cone, the power of Black preaching and worship, and why liberation theology invites us to understand Christianity through the experiences of people who have been oppressed.

If the way we imagine God shapes how we treat one another, what happens when we change our understanding of God?

And then there's the question of healing.

Some people have scars from harmful Christianity. Others are still carrying open wounds. Not everyone is ready to reconstruct their faith, return to church, or even talk about God.

How can pastors, churches, and those who understand multiple Christian traditions help people heal without causing more harm?

Rev. Darrell also shares his hope for his daughter and the next generation: a Christianity rooted in love, justice, dignity, belonging, and the beloved community rather than fear and domination.

The slippery slope doesn't have to lead to hell.

Sometimes it leads to sacred ground.

WHO IS THIS EPISODE FOR?

Evangelicals in distress, exvangelicals, and anyone navigating religious trauma, deconstruction, or disillusionment.

Christians who still love Jesus but are questioning the theology, politics, and power structures they inherited.

LGBTQ+ Christians, women in ministry, and people who have been told they don't belong.

White Christians seeking to learn from Black liberation theology, decolonization, and Christian traditions beyond their own.

Cradle mainliners and progressive Christians who want to better understand the experiences of those leaving fundamentalist Christianity.

People of any faith or none seeking healing, justice, and hope.

Pastors, seminarians, scholars, bishops, and church leaders who want to create communities where people can question, heal, and belong.

✨ GUEST + FOLLOW

Rev. Darrell R. Hamilton II (Baptist) | IG: @blackandeducatedpreacher
Wake Forest University School of Divinity | IG: @wakedivinity
Middle Collegiate Church | IG: @middlechurch

📚 MENTIONED + RESOURCES

Rev. Dr. James H. Cone | Black Liberation Theology
A Black Theology of Liberation | James H. Cone
The Cross and the Lynching Tree | James H. Cone
Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas | Womanist Theology
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God | Kelly Brown Douglas
Gustavo Gutiérrez | Liberation Theology
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis | IG: @revjacquilewis
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | Trinity United Church of Christ
Bishop William J. Barber II | Repairers of the Breach
Repairers of the Breach | breachrepairers.org
Poor People's Campaign | poorpeoplescampaign.org
Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard | Wake Forest University
John Mark Comer | IG: @johnmarkcomer
Practicing the Way | John Mark Comer
Diana Butler Bass | IG: @dianabutlerbass

Find these books and more on The Sacred Slope Book Reccos List: https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope

⛪ EXPLORE AFFIRMING CHRISTIANITY

⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS

#ReligiousTrauma #Deconstruction #LiberationTheology #BlackLiberationTheology #DecolonizingChristianity

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About The Sacred Slope
thesacredslope.com

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender - raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

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