Ruth Institute Podcast

AJ Benjamin joins Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse to share a powerful story of healing from same-sex attraction and the deeper wounds that fed it — fatherlessness, confusion, and emotional pain. With honesty and humility, AJ walks us through the trauma he experienced as a child and how it distorted his identity, his relationships, and his view of God. Through years of spiritual growth and personal reflection, he came to see that his deepest needs weren’t about sexuality, but about truth, healing, and belonging.   Together, AJ and Dr. Morse explore how our culture often exploits emotional wounds rather than healing them — especially when it comes to sex, gender, and family life. They speak candidly about the ways trauma can mask itself as identity, and how the loss of strong father figures leaves children vulnerable to false ideologies. At the heart of their conversation is a call to compassion — not the kind that affirms everything, but the kind that loves enough to tell the truth.   This interview is filled with h