In this episode, we sit down with Meghan Tschanz to explore her journey from evangelical purity culture and missionary work to faith deconstruction, feminist theology, and a more expansive understanding of Christianity. Meghan shares how her experiences growing up in purity culture shaped her understanding of women, sexuality, and faith—and how questioning those teachings eventually led her to examine the ways patriarchy, culture, colonialism, and power influence biblical interpretation and Christian practice. We talk about her work with marginalized women in mission contexts, including the process of confronting the harmful assumptions and systems sometimes embedded in missionary work. We grapple with female genital mutilation, as well as myths around "virginity" and they hymen. The conversation explores the role of women in Christianity, feminist approaches to biblical studies, and Meghan's evolving understanding of salvation. Rather than seeing salvation solely as something that happens after death, she describes salvation as something that we work out here and now—through liberation, justice, healing, and living in relationship with one another. This is a conversation about questioning what we've been taught, examining the cultural assumptions behind our faith, and finding new ways to imagine Christianity beyond patriarchal and restrictive interpretations. Meghan's Bio: Meghan Tschanz is a writer, speaker, former missionary, and Christian feminist passionate about gender equality, justice, and reimagining the role of feminism within the Christian faith. Her experiences working with women who had experienced trafficking, exploitation, and violence around the world challenged her understanding of faith and led her to confront the ways patriarchal beliefs can contribute to injustice. She is the host of the Faith and Feminism podcast, which explores the intersection of Christianity, feminism, justice, and the experiences of women, with the goal of reclaiming an inclusive, intersectional feminism within the Christian church. She is also the author of Women Rising: Learning to Listen, Reclaiming Our Voice, a memoir and call to action that chronicles her journey of questioning the gender roles she was taught in her evangelical upbringing and finding her voice as a Christian feminist. Through her writing and podcast, Meghan encourages Christians to challenge systems of inequality, listen to women's stories, and pursue a faith rooted in justice and gender equality. In This Episode, We Explore: The lasting impact of evangelical purity culture on women Meghan's journey of faith deconstruction and reconstruction How missionary work shaped—and challenged—her understanding of Christianity Marginalized women, mission work, and confronting white saviorism The influence of colonialism and culture on Christian missions Myths surrounding virginity and the hymen—and what medical science actually tells us Sexuality, pleasure, abstinence, and the legacy of purity culture How patriarchal interpretations of scripture have shaped the role of women in Christianity Feminist theology, rape in the Bible, and Biblical-women learning to use their intuition Myths Christians believe the Bible teaches Meghan's work in biblical studies and her forthcoming books Why Meghan continues to identify as Christian Rethinking traditional ideas about salvation and understanding salvation as a present, lived experience The future of gender equity and women's leadership in the church