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Bad theology kills your soul.
Good theology kills what’s crushing your soul.
Welcome to Theology Kills, a podcast about letting our shame & violence die so that life & love can thrive.
You were never meant to feel like a problem to be fixed. You were made for joy, freedom, peace, belonging, and creativity. But creativity can be hijacked — mis-used to create shame and blame that keep you anxious, angry, and perpetually unmoored.
What if you could quit that toxic cycle?
This season on Theology Kills, we’re looking at Christian scripture through the lens of Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey. This mythological framework sheds unexpected light on the stories of Eve and Mary, inviting us to consider that creativity, not correct behavior, is how God brings the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. As we follow these women from the fall of humanity to the foot of the Cross, we’ll reclaim discipleship as a creative adventure of trust, integrity, and vulnerability that transforms us into peacemakers, not just peacekeepers.
Each episode includes:
— A theological insight that reads Scripture from a posture of wholeness and divine nonviolence
— A conversation between the hosts where we wrestle with what that looks like in real life
— A simple creative or contemplative practice to help you live it, not just think about it
Good theology kills what’s crushing your soul.
Welcome to Theology Kills, a podcast about letting our shame & violence die so that life & love can thrive.
You were never meant to feel like a problem to be fixed. You were made for joy, freedom, peace, belonging, and creativity. But creativity can be hijacked — mis-used to create shame and blame that keep you anxious, angry, and perpetually unmoored.
What if you could quit that toxic cycle?
This season on Theology Kills, we’re looking at Christian scripture through the lens of Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey. This mythological framework sheds unexpected light on the stories of Eve and Mary, inviting us to consider that creativity, not correct behavior, is how God brings the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. As we follow these women from the fall of humanity to the foot of the Cross, we’ll reclaim discipleship as a creative adventure of trust, integrity, and vulnerability that transforms us into peacemakers, not just peacekeepers.
Each episode includes:
— A theological insight that reads Scripture from a posture of wholeness and divine nonviolence
— A conversation between the hosts where we wrestle with what that looks like in real life
— A simple creative or contemplative practice to help you live it, not just think about it
“This is for anyone tired of facile answers to deep questions about relating to ourselves and relating to God. You’ll appreciate how January and Andrew articulate complex ideas with humor and grace. You're going to want to listen more than once! (I did!)” —Rev. Kari Reiten
Creators and Guests
What is Theology Kills?
Toxic theologies have been weaponized to wound, but the gospel was always meant to be medicine. January Jaxon and Andrew McRae blend Internal Family Systems theory with the mimetic anthropology of René Girard to uncover a Christ-centered theology of integrity that heals shame, fosters embodiment, and creates contagious peace in the midst of a world at war. Balancing scriptural insight with personal reflections and simple everyday practices, each episode explores the ways that violence warps our creativity, our relationships, and our sense of self — and how divine love sets us free.
January Jaxon: If you've ever wondered why a religion that proclaims unconditional love can feel so full of hatred, shame, and violence, you're not alone — and you're not wrong to want something more from Christian faith.
I'm January Jaxon,
Andrew McRae: and I'm Andrew McRae,
January Jaxon: and this is Theology Kills, a podcast about letting our shame and violence die so that life and love can thrive.
Andrew McRae: We've seen beautiful spirits crushed by theologies that told them to strive harder, behave better, and cut themselves off from their very selves in order to belong.
January Jaxon: That kind of theology is deadly. It kills peace. It kills belonging. It kills trust. So many walk away from the church because they can't shake the gut feeling that that's just plain wrong
Andrew McRae: But something is stirring in the dark earth under all that institutional decay: it's resurrection.
January Jaxon: Together, Andrew and I blend René Girard's Mimetic Theory with Internal Family Systems to uncover a Christ-centered theology of integrity, one that heals, shame, fosters embodiment, and points us toward a lit up life of deeply rooted joy. Balancing scriptural insight with vulnerable conversations about our own experience, Theology Kills is for anyone ready to heal the bruises left by bad theology and reclaim the gutsy, grace-filled adventure of coming fully alive in the image of Christ.
Andrew McRae: This season, we use Maureen Murdock's Heroine's Journey to read the stories of Eve and Mary through a lens of wholeness and nonviolence,
January Jaxon: so you can let go of toxic beliefs without losing the living heart of Christian faith.
This mythological framework invites us to consider that creativity, not correct behavior, is how God brings the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.
Andrew McRae: We'll explore shame and blame as the origins of violence, how trust is the antidote to rivalry, and how Christ invites us home to a faith that doesn't try and sell you trite answers;
January Jaxon: it helps you ask more interesting questions.
Andrew McRae: You won't need a seminary degree to keep up, but you might find yourself reaching for a journal, or calling a friend, or texting your therapist, or — uh — your pastor...?
January Jaxon: You might even find yourself praying.
Andrew McRae: Most of all, Theology Kills is an invitation to hope.
January Jaxon: Not the kind of magical thinking that papers over despair with a fake smile, but a bone deep patience with the process of unfolding, of discovering just how trustworthy love is.
Can you imagine a world where we betray our fear in order to come fully alive?
Andrew McRae: Where we allow our shame and blame, our thirst for control, our social reputations, our greed and our violence to decay so that connection, vulnerability, tenderness, compassion, justice, and trust can bloom?
January Jaxon: If you're struggling to picture that future, we can help. We're so glad you're here.
Andrew McRae: Yeah?
January Jaxon: Yeah.
Andrew McRae: Let's dive in.