In 'Queering Christ', Robert E. Goss summarizes a decade of his thinking as a queer Christian theologian, sharing his queering of four critical areas: sexuality, Christ, the Bible, and theology. These areas form the quadrants of his own spirituality that aims at the queer reconstruction of Christianity and reflects a life that strives to integrate the depths of spirituality and sexuality with a practice of justice. Many aspects of the work are guaranteed to be highly controversial within and outside of the LGBT community.
Gay activist and former Jesuit priest Goss rejects the imperial Christ of institutional religion and embraces the radical activist Jesus of the Gospels. Goss calls on church leaders to make their churches truly open to gay and lesbian Christians.
A fascinating read for anyone seeking to understand the conflict between Christianity and LGBTQI individuals, this book is, as its editors proclaim, "a fearlessly wide vision of queer Christians finding a place within Christianity—and claiming their authentic experience and voice." Through essays by noted lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) religion scholars, this important compilation summarizes the history and current status of LGBTQI theology, exploring its relationship to the policies, practices, and theology of traditional Christianity. Contributors contrast the "radically inclusive" thinking of LGBTQI theology with the "exclusivity" practiced by many Christian churches, explaining the reasoning of each and clarifying contentious issues. At the same time, the book highlights ways in which "queer" theology and practice benefit Christian congregations. Writing from the perspective of grassroots Christian LGBTQI movements, many of the contributors draw upon their own experiences. They provide graphic examples of the effects exclusion has on individuals, congregations, and denominations, and also share examples of inclusion and its effects. Equally important, the work creates the basis for dialogue between traditional churches and followers of LGBTQI theology, offering practical suggestions for Christian congregations that wish to put aside exclusionary policies and practices.
Throughout the history of Christianity, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT” or“queer”) people have been condemned as unrepentant sinners who are in dire need of God’s saving grace. As a result of this condemnation, LGBT people have been subjected to great spiritual, emotional and physical abuse and violence. This issue takes on a particular urgency in light of the ongoing harassment and bullying of LGBT young people by their classmates. Cheng argues that people need to be liberated from the traditional legal model of thinking about sin and grace as a violation of divine and natural laws in which grace is understood as the strength to refrain from violating such laws. Rather Cheng proposes a Christological model based upon the theologies of Irenaeus, Bonaventure and Barth, in which sin and grace are defined in terms of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. This book serves as a useful resource for all people who struggle to make sense of the traditional Christian doctrines of sin and grace in the context of the 21st century.
If the church is ever tempted to think that it has its theology of grace sorted, it need only look at its reception of queer black bodies and it will see a very different story. In this honest, timely and provocative book, Jarel Robinson-Brown argues that there is deeper work to be done if the body of Christ is going to fully accept the bodies of those who are black and gay. A vital call to the Church and the world that Black, Queer, Christian lives matter, this book seeks to remind the Church of those who find themselves beyond its fellowship yet who directly suffer from the perpetual ecclesial terrorism of the Christian community through its speech and its silence.
Fifty years after Stonewall, the experiences of LGBTQ+ Christians are--rightfully--beginning to be received with interest by their churches. Queering Wesley, Queering the Church presents a prototype for thinking about Wesleyan holiness as an expansive openness to the love and grace of God in queer Christian lives rather than the limiting and restrictive legalism that is sometimes found in Wesleyan theology and praxis. This inventive project consists of queer readings of ten John Wesley sermons. Reading these sermons from a queer perspective offers the church a fresh paradigm for theological innovation, while remaining in line with the tradition and legacy of Wesley that is so central and generative to Wesleyan churches. Arguing that a coherent line of thought can be drawn from Wesley's conception of holiness to the queer, holy lives of LGBTQ+ Christians, Queering Wesley, Queering the Church playfully utilizes queer theory in a way that is fully compatible with Wesleyan teaching. This book aims to be a first step in seriously considering the theological voices of LGBTQ+ Christians in the Wesleyan tradition as a valuable asset to a vital church.
The first introductory textbook on the subject of queer theology. Contextual theologies have developed from a number of perspectives – including feminist theology, black theology, womanist theology, Latin American liberation theology, and Asian American theology – and a wide variety of academic and general introductions exist to examine each one. However, Radical Love is the first introductory textbook on the subject of queer theology. In this lucid and compelling introduction, Cheng provides a historical survey of how queer theology has developed from the 1950s to today and then explicates the themes of queer theology using the ecumenical creeds as a general framework. Topics include revelation, God, Trinity, creation, Jesus Christ, atonement, sin, grace, Holy Spirit, church, sacraments, and last things, as seen through the lenses of LGBT theologians.
Editorial:Queer theories and theologies /Stefanie Knauss and Carlos Mendoza-Álvarez --As queer as it gets /André S. Musskopf --Constructive theological perspectives: what is queer theology? /Susannah Cornwall --Queer is God /Murph Murphy --The will of God /Paul Uchechukwu --Letter from a reluctant Indian /Lukas Avendaño --Queering Jewish theology in parables /Gwynn Kessler --The multiple bodies of Jesus /CarmenMargarita Sánchez de Léon --Ecclesiology: becoming the queer, postcolonial, (eco- )feminist body of Christ in Asia /Sharon A. Bong --'Can anything good come from Nazareth? Come and see!': an invitation to dialogue between queer theories and African theologies /Nontando Hadebe --Love in the last days: the eschatological marking of bodies resembling an infinitely queer desire /Ángel F. Méndez-Montoya --Queer liturgy /Marilú Rojas Salazar --A queer (beginning to the) Bible /Gerald O. West and Charlene van der Walt --Queer Muslim theologies /Shanon Shah --Exiles in the global village and political compassion /Conrado Zepeda Miramontes --The imperative of reforestation in fighting climate change in Asia /Reynaldo D. Raluto.
Testimonies for LGBTQ+ Christians and all who love them What happens in a family when one member comes out? How does LGBTQ+ identity affect relationships with parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins? What does Christian love require and make possible for families moving forward together? A social scientist and a pastor, both from Galileo Church on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas, asked their LGBTQ+ friends from church to help them understand how they navigate relationships with their affirming, non-affirming, and affirming-ish families of origin, even as they also find belonging in other families of choice. The resulting stories, crafted from interviews with fifteen queer Christians and family members, kept anonymous at their request, are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. Over the years, some grew closer to their families of origin; others grew more distant. Some were surprised by the hardness of heart they encountered; others were amazed by the breadth of their family's love. Most all describe a trajectory, a journey, from the coming-out moment till now and beyond, as their families of origin, like all families, remain a work in progress.
Deepen your relationship with God by diving into Scripture through a queer lens. Have you ever wanted a daily devotional but couldn't find one that affirmed your sexuality/gender identity? or took social justice seriously? Do you want something you can do in five minutes in the morning OR can use for an extended time of study? Are you looking for a devotional that takes Scripture seriously, but also affirms the goodness of queer and trans people? In this 40-day devotional you'll find entries from a queer and trans perspective written to support you in strengthening your faith and affirming your identity. 40 entries--40 different Bible passages with a queer/trans reflection for each one. Journal prompts--several journal prompts for every day. Use them to reflect more deeply on how each passage relates to your faith and life. Action items--ideas for things you can do right now to put your faith into action in the world. The first in a series of devotionals from the creators of QueerTheology.com designed to offer insight and inspiration to queer and trans Christians.
