EPISODE SUMMARY
In this powerful masterclass, Tanya Alkhaliq deconstructs one of the most neglected forms of harm in the Black church: the spiritualization of financial suffering. Using the now-viral meme - “I used to rob Peter to pay Paul to pay tithes and offering” - as a cultural touchpoint, Tanya leads listeners through a deep, honest examination of how sacrifice, scarcity, shame, and inherited theology have formed an economy of pain inside many Black religious spaces.
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This episode weaves together Black psychology, womanist theological critique, religious trauma, historical context, ethical giving, and communal healing, offering a liberatory path forward for those recovering from fear-based religious teaching.
Tanya also shares a deeply personal segment on why Inner Healing Therapeutic Services is LGBTQIA+ affirming, addressing the question many religious people ask behind closed doors and emphasizing that no theology is of G-d if it requires erasure of the people G-d created.
This episode is a call to honesty, healing, and restoration.A call back to a G-d who does not require your exhaustion to feel honored.A call to reclaim your autonomy, your resources, and your spiritual dignity.
CONTENT WARNING
This episode discusses:
* Religious trauma
* Financial exploitation in religious institutions
* LGBTQIA+ exclusion
* Effects of spiritual coercion
* Emotional and psychological abuse within church systems
If these topics are sensitive for you, please take breaks as needed and engage at your own pace.
Connect with Tanya Alkhaliq
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KEY THEMES
• The spiritualization of suffering in the Black church
How pain became holy, scarcity became righteous, and financial collapse became “proof of faith.”
• The history behind Black church economics
Why a community built under oppression inherited a theology of sacrifice - and why it no longer serves us.
• The pastor’s invisible burden
How leadership is often crushed under impossible expectations, leading to burnout, depression, and family strain.
• The church as a “religious spa”
Why emotional release is not emotional healing and how worship became a coping mechanism instead of a transformational one.
• Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS)
A 5–7-minute-deep dive into the symptoms of religious trauma, including fear-based giving, identity suppression, and anxiety.
• Ethical giving and the misuse of Malachi
A breakdown of how scripture is misapplied and how giving practices can be restored to integrity.
• Affirming LGBTQIA+ people publicly and unapologetically
A bold, necessary section addressing why Tanya affirms LGBTQIA+ people, including the question religious people ask her privately:“How can you affirm them?”…and Tanya’s counter-question:“How many of you affirm me or support my ministry?”
• A vision for the future Black church
One rooted in mental health, rest, justice, affirmation, and ethical community care.
PULL QUOTES
“Giving is not the issue - manipulation is the issue.”
“You were never called to bankrupt your household to keep a sanctuary open.”
“Suffering is not a spiritual badge of honor. It is a trauma response the church baptized.”
“A pastor is not a sacrificial lamb. Burnout is not ministry.”
“If worship only soothes you but never transforms you, you are coping not healing.”
“I affirm LGBTQIA+ people because they are sacred, not because they require my approval.”
“G-d is not glorified by your collapse. G-d is glorified by your wholeness.”
“To critique the church is not rebellion, it is restoration.”
“If the church won’t help people heal, it will keep their trauma and call it tradition.”
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
• Opening Invocation - “The Cost of Praise”
How financial suffering became normalized in Black religious life.
• The Idol We Didn’t Mean to Build
Unintentional theology that grew into fear-based obedience.
• The Black Church Economy: A Holy Burden
Historical roots of sacrifice and scarcity.
• The Pastor’s Burden & The People’s Myth
How leaders are expected to bleed more than anyone.
• When Church Becomes a Ritual of Avoidance
Emotional release vs emotional healing.
• Mental Health Moment: Religious Trauma Syndrome
Identifying symptoms and naming harm the church never acknowledged.
• Why Calling This Out Is Not Rebellion
Prophetic critique as a sacred act.
• Inner Healing Therapeutic Services Segment
Why IHTS was created, who it serves, and why Tanya is LGBTQIA+ affirming.
• The Religious Spa: Dumping Pain Instead of Healing It
The difference between coping and transformation.
• Reimagining the Black Church
A prophetic vision for liberation, restoration, and mental health integration.
• The Psychology of Sacrifice
How fear, scarcity, and generational trauma shaped giving practices.
• The Ethics of Giving
Boundaries, dignity, and community care.
• Deconstructing the Curse: The Misuse of Malachi
Correcting theological manipulation.
• “May You Be Free”
A prayer for liberation, joy, and wholeness.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
* Inner Healing Therapeutic Services (IHTS)A safe, affirming, trauma-informed space for individuals, couples, LGBTQIA+ clients, and anyone healing from religious trauma, burnout, grief, or deconstruction.→ www.innerhealingtherapeutic.com
* Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS)Resources for understanding and healing spiritual abuse and fear-based theology.
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📖 Projected Release: December 19–25, 2025
In the ashes of a fallen empire, a story takes root.
The Tree that Watched the Nations Burn is a soul-rich, speculative Afro-futurist novel where memory is sacred, storytelling is resistance, and healing is generational. Told through the weathered yet unyielding voice of Mzazi Mavi - a 103-year-old Black griot and former young lady from Louisiana - this epic fuses oral history, spiritual insurgency, and diasporic myth. As Mavi recounts the rise of a sovereign Black nation born of exile and ancestral rage, readers are invited into a multi-layered journey through time, truth, and transformation.
🔥 For those who carry stories in their bones.🌍 For those who know the land remembers.🌌 For those building freedom in the dark.
Subscribe to stay updated on pre-orders, early chapters, behind-the-scenes notes, and the griot’s call to memory.
CALL TO ACTION
If this episode resonated with you…
1. Share this episode with someone who needs permission to question harmful theology.'
**2. Subscribe to the Substack so you never miss an episode of Let Us Reason Together.
3. Consider booking a session with Inner Healing Therapeutic Services.
You do not have to heal alone.You do not have to choose between G-d and mental health.You do not have to sacrifice yourself for a system that refuses to see you.
4. Leave a comment: How has the church shaped your relationship with giving and worthiness?
Your voice matters.Your story matters.Your healing matters.
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