Kittredge Cherry's Blog: Q Spirit, page 63

Blessed Bernardo de Hoyos: Mystical same-sex marriage with Jesus

“The Mystical Marriage of Blessed Fr. Bernardo de Hoyos y Sena, SJ”By William Hart McNichols © www.fatherbill.org

Blessed Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos y Sena is an 18th-century Spanish priest who wrote vividly of his mystical gay marriage to Jesus. He was beatified in 2010 and his feast day is today (Nov. 29).



Bernardo (1711-1735) was 18 when he had a vision of marrying Jesus in a ceremony much like a human wedding. He described it this way:

Always holding my right hand, the Lord had me occupy the empty throne; then He fitted on my finger a gold ring.... “May this ring be an earnest of our love. You are Mine, and I am yours. You may call yourself and sign Bernardo de Jesus, thus, as I said to my spouse, Santa Teresa, you are Bernardo de Jesus and I am Jesus de Bernardo. My honor is yours; your honor is Mine. Consider My glory that of your Spouse; I will consider yours, that of My spouse. All Mine is yours, and all yours is Mine. What I am by nature you share by grace. You and I are one!”

(quoted from “The Visions of Bernard Francis De Hoyos, S.J.” by Henri Bechard, S.J.)

Bernardo’s vision inspired artist-priest William Hart McNichols to paint an icon of Bernardo’s wedding with Jesus.



“I was so taken with this profoundly beautiful account of Jesus’ mystical marriage with Bernardo, including all the symbols of a human wedding,” McNichols wrote.





Bernardo de Hoyos

(Wikimedia Commons)
Official Roman Catholic accounts emphasize how Bernardo went on to become “the first apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Spain,” but the church downplays the queer vision that inspired him. Bernardo’s marriage with Christ can justifiably be interpreted as a “gay Jesus” story.



Bernardo spent nine years in the Jesuit formation process and was ordained in January 1735. His pastoral ministry was cut short later that same year when he died of typhus on Nov. 29, 1735. Some call him a “boy saint” because he only lived to be 24. His dying words indicate that he felt the presence of his Spouse Jesus at the end. Bernardo’s last words were, “Oh, how good it is to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!”



After his death Bernardo’s reputation for holiness continued to grow, but church politics slowed his path to sainthood until recently. His beatification ceremony was held in April 2010 in the northwestern Spanish province of Valladolid, where Bernardo spent his entire life.



While the Catholic church refuses to bless same-sex marriages, the lives and visions of its own saints tell a far different story -- in which Christ the Bridegroom gladly joins himself in marriage with a man.



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This post is part of the LGBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



It is also part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Blasphemy charges filed for Greek gay Jesus play "Corpus Christi"

“Corpus Christi” photo by EJ Camp, courtesy of 108 Productions

Blasphemy charges were filed against the actors, producer and director of the gay Jesus play “Corpus Christi” in Greece this month after violent protests forced cancellation of the show.



Greek Orthodox priests and members of the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party protested outside the Hytirio theater in downtown Athens almost daily for weeks, according to news reports by Reuters and others. Protestors blocked the theater entrance and clashed with police, forcing the premiere of “Corpus Christi” to be cancelled twice before the whole production was shut down.



Blasphemy laws are rarely enforced in Greece, but director Laertis Vasilio and the cast could face several months in jail if convicted of “malicious blasphemy” and “insulting religion.”



Corpus Christi has been causing controversy since 1998, when bomb threats from religious conservatives almost prevented its Off-Broadway opening. Written by American playwright Terrence McNally, the updated Passion play retells the gospel with Jesus as a gay man in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas.



“Corpus Christi” continues to be produced around the world, including an international revival tour by 108 Productions that has continued to sell-out audience since 2006.



“We are not involved with the Greek production but have stayed acutely aware of its progress and certainly keep them all in our prayers and thoughts,” said James Brandon, producer, director and actor at 108 Productions, which is based in America. “Although we may get thousands of protest emails daily we are blessed and lucky not to be able to be charged!”



Controversy over the play is explored on film in “Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption,” a new documentary from 108 Productions (trailer below). The film follows the troupe, playwright and audiences across the United States and around the world on a five-year journey as protestors and supporters clash over a central issue facing the LGBT community: religion-based bias.









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Related links:



Blasphemy charges filed over gay Jesus play in Greece (Reuters)



Greece Prosecutes Corpus Christi for Blasphemy (Greek Reporter)



Rehearsal photos from the Greek production of “Corpus Christi” (Facebook)



Gay Jesus kiss: "Corpus Christi" play behind the scenes (Jesus in Love)



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This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Harvey Milk: Gay rights pioneer assassinated Nov. 27, 1978

“Harvey Milk of San Francisco” by Brother Robert Lentz, OFM. (TrinityStores.com)

Pioneering gay rights activist Harvey Milk was assassinated 34 years ago today on Nov. 27, 1978. Milk is the first* and most famous openly gay male elected official in California, and perhaps the world. He became the public face of the LGBT rights movement, and his reputation has continued to grow since his death. He has been called a martyr for LGBT rights -- and for all human rights.



“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country,” Milk once said. Two bullets did enter his brain, and his vision of LGBT people living openly is also coming true.



Milk (1930-1978) served only 11 months on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before he was killed, but in that short time he fought for the rights of the elderly, small business owners, and the many ethnic communities in his district as well as for the growing LGBT community.



Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 after three unsuccessful election attempts. Haunted by the sense that he would be killed for political reasons, Milk recorded tapes to be played in the event of his assassination. His message, recorded nine days before his death, included this powerful statement:



“I ask for the movement to continue, for the movement to grow, because last week I got a phone call from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and my election gave somebody else, one more person, hope. And after all, that's what this is all about. It's not about personal gain, not about ego, not about power — it's about giving those young people out there in the Altoona, Pennsylvanias, hope. You gotta give them hope.”



Shots fired by conservative fellow supervisor Dan White cut Milk’s life short. More than 30 years later, the hope and the movement for LGBT rights are more alive than ever.



Milk has received many honors for his visionary courage and commitment to equality. He is the only openly gay person in the United States to have an official state holiday in his name. Harvey Milk Day is celebrated in California on Milk’s birthday, May 22. The bill establishing Harvey Milk Day was signed in to law in fall 2009. State employees still have to work on Harvey Milk Day, but California public schools are encouraged to teach suitable commemorative lessons about the gay rights activist.



In 2009 Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was included in the Time “100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century” for being “a symbol of what gays can accomplish and the dangers they face in doing so.”



He is the subject of two Oscar-winning movies, “Milk” (2008) and “The Times of Harvey Milk” (1984), as well as the book “The Mayor of Castro Street” by Randy Shilts.



The Harvey Milk icon painted by Robert Lentz (pictured above) was hailed as a “national gay treasure” by gay author/activist Toby Johnson. Milk holds a candle and wears an armband with a pink triangle, the Nazi symbol for gay men, expressing solidarity with all who were tortured or killed because of their sexual orientation. It is one of 40 icons featured in the book “Christ in the Margins” by Robert Lentz and Edwina Gateley.



It is one of 10 Lentz icons that sparked a major controversy in 2005. Critics accused Lentz of glorifying sin and creating propaganda for a progressive sociopolitical agenda, and he temporarily gave away the copyright for the controversial images to his distributor, Trinity Stores. All 10 are now displayed there as a collection titled “Images That Challenge.”



The icon has also been criticized for portraying Milk, a secular Jew, in a iconographic style rooted in Christian tradition. “The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, that my friends, that is true perversion!” He is honored in the interfaith LGBTQ Saints series here as a martyr who died in the struggle for gay rights.



[*Note: When Milk was elected, two gay politicians were already in office: lesbian Massachusetts State Representative Elaine Noble and Minnesota State Senator Allan Spear, who came out after he won re-election.]



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This post is part of the LGBT Saints series at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints and holy people of special interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Happy Thanksgiving from Jesus in Love Blog!

Happy Thanksgiving from Kittredge Cherry and the Jesus in Love Blog!



I give thanks for the many people who read and support my blog on LGBT spirituality with their time, talent and resources. Thank you!



Today this scripture expresses the song in my soul: “Sing and make music from your heart to God, always giving thanks to the Creator for everything.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)



Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving with an excerpt from “Thanksgiving Rite” by Zalmon Sherwood, published in Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations:





Reader: With the rainbow we celebrate the vibrance and diversity of lesbian and gay pilgrims. We’re everywhere. Every day. And we are forever the pilgrims in this land.



All: Blessed be, blessed be. We’ve always been here. We always will be. Pilgrims in this land.



Reader: As gay and lesbian pilgrims, we believe it is a matter of faith to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. We believe in recognizing equally and loving all members of the human family, whatever their race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental capacity. We believe the Earth, its creatures, and the universe are good, beautiful, and sacred parts of creation that must be protected and cared for. We believe that we are born to accept responsibility, to take a stand on vital issues, and to work to secure freedom, justice, and love for all persons.



All: We believe it is the divine power within us that gives us courage and stamina to face the truth and to live it, even to die for it. Let us go forth, continuing this celebration in the knowledge that we are pilgrims, that hope for a new world is in our hearts, that the struggle for justice is our calling. Let us greet each other with open arms, with heads held high. Grab hold of the future and change the world as pilgrims in this land.

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This post is part of the LGBT Holidays series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to LGBT and queer people of faith and our allies.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Transgender Day of Remembrance: Nov. 20, 2012

Transgender Day of Remembrance by Mikhaela Reid

http://www.mikhaela.net/


Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov. 20) commemorates those who were killed due to anti-transgender prejudice. At the Jesus in Love Blog we also celebrate transgender visions in art, theater, religion and spirituality today.



Religious violence against transgenders goes back at least as far as medieval times, when St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for cross-dressing and St. Wilgefortis was crucified for being a bearded woman.



This day serves the dual purpose of honoring the dead and raising public awareness of hate crimes against transgenders — that is, transsexuals, crossdressers, and other gender-variant people. It was founded in 1999 to honor Rita Hester. Her murder on Nov. 28, 1998 led to the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a candlelight vigil in San Francisco. Since then it has grown into an international phenomenon observed around the world.



Political cartoonist Mikhaela Reid pictures some of the more prominent victims of anti-transgender violence in the illustration above.  We light memorial candles here for them and others like them.







In memory of: Gwen Araujo, Rita Hester, Brandon Teena (subject of the movie “Boys Don’t Cry”), Chanelle Picket, Nakia Ladelle Baker, Debra Forte, Tyra Hunter, Joe Stevens, Logan Smith, Jessica Mercado, Terrianne Summers, Venus Xtravaganza, Chanel Chandler... and all others who died due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

****






Transgender Pride Flag

Other spiritual resources for Transgender Day of Remembrance are available at TransFaith Online, including this prayer by Rabbi Reuben Zellman, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, San Francisco, CA:

God full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.



As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no prayers may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.



And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.



Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world.



Blessed is God, in whom no light is extinguished.

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Click the headlines below for more about transgender spirituality.  Not all of these people self-identified as transgender, but their stories are offered here as an inspiration for transgenders and their allies.







Jemima Wilkinson: Queer preacher reborn in 1776 as “Publick Universal Friend”

Jemima Wilkinson (1752-1819) was a Quaker preacher who woke from a near-death experience in 1776 believing she was neither male nor female. She changed her name to the “Publick Universal Friend,” fought for gender equality and founded an important religious community.





Ethiopian eunuch: A black gay man was the world’s first convert to Christianity







Pauli Murray: Queer saint / activist for civil rights and gender equality

Human rights champion Pauli Murray (1910-1985), a recent addition to the Episcopal books of saints, described herself as a man trapped in a woman’s body and took hormone treatments in her 20s and 30s.





Joan of Arc: Cross-dressing warrior-saint

Joan of Arc was a cross-dressing teenage warrior who led the medieval French army to victory when she was 17.



Image credit: Saint Joan of Arc by Brother Robert Lentz, OFM., www.trinitystores.com







We'wha of Zuni: Two-spirited Native American

We’wha was a two-spirit Native American Zuni who served as a cultural ambassador for her people, including a visit with a U.S. president in 1886.



Image credit: “We’wha” by Jim Ru







Religious threats to LGBT people exposed in Jerusalem photos

Religion-based oppression of LGBT people is revealed in “Jerusalem,” a photo exhibit by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin. It includes “Tranny,” a portrait of a drag queen from Jerusalem. Biblical words against crossdressing are projected behind her.





Queer Lady of Guadalupe: Artists re-imagine an icon

Queer art based on Our Lady of Guadalupe includes a bearded drag queen version titled “Virginia Guadalupe” by Jim Ru.







St. Wilgefortis: Bearded woman saint

St. Wilgefortis prayed to avoid marriage to a pagan king -- and her prayers were answered when she grew a beard!





300 protest transsexual Jesus play

More than 300 conservative Christian protesters picketed the Scottish opening of “Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” a play about a transsexual Jesus by Jo (formerly John) Clifford.







 Transgressing gender in the Bible

“Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible” is an LGBT-positive play by Peterson Toscano.



Transvestite Jesus appears in photo project

A transvestite Jesus appears in a series of alternative Christ photos by Colorado artist Bill Burch



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Attacks on transgenders are nothing new. An excellent summary of Trans Martyrs throughout church history is posted at the Queer Saints and Martyrs Blog. The trans martyrs include Joan of Arc, crossdressing monks, and the “bearded woman” Wilgefortis.



More spiritual and religious resources for transgenders include:



Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach by Virginia Mollenkott



Trans-Gendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith (Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry) by Justin Tanis



Transgendering Faith: Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality by Leanne Tigert (editor)



Call Me Malcolm (video)



Dignity USA's Transgender Resource Page:

http://www.dignityusa.org/transgender



Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) Transgender Resource Page:

http://mccchurch.org/ministries/transgender/



Trans Faith In Color Conference

http://transfaithincolor.org/



Call me Malcolm Video and Training Guide (United Church of Christ)



Voices of Witness: Out of the Box (Episcopal film)

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This post is part of the LGBT Holidays series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to LGBT and queer people of faith and our allies.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts





Icons of Joan of Arc, We’wha of Zuni and many others are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores

Happy 7th birthday, Jesus in Love!

Today Jesus In Love celebrates seven years of supporting LGBT spirituality and the arts. I founded it on Nov. 17, 2005 to present a positive spiritual vision for queer people and our allies.



To send a birthday gift, click the “GoFundMe” button below or visit my donate page.



Crowdfunding

Jesus In Love promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or religious faith. It is needed because Christian rhetoric is often misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people.



I launched JesusInLove.org with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then it has grown to serve more people in more ways.



Traffic at the Jesus in Love Blog more than doubled this year with 97,000 visits and 187,000 page views. Subscriptions to the free Jesus in Love e-newsletter continue to grow, recently surpassing 800 subscribers.



The content has also expanded beyond the original emphasis on the queer Christ, and now includes a wider variety of artists, holidays and my popular LGBT saints series.



Jesus in Love has won many honors -- and I also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians. A typical negative comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.”



The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus In Love is needed now as much as ever. Readers call it “the most radically progressive and life affirming Christian LGBT site on the Internet” and “one of the most refreshing voices I currently encounter online.”



Thank you for your support over the years. I look forward to another year of bringing joy and justice to LGBT people of faith and our supporters.



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Image credit: Birthday cake from Eyehook.com.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Top 20 gay Jesus books: Queer Christ is ready for readers

A selection of gay Jesus books from my personal library,

including the good old family Bible (photo by Audrey)

I compiled a list of 20 books about the gay Jesus and the queer Christ. These books are important because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people.



The number of books about the queer Christ continues to grow. They include works of theology, anthropology and history as well as art, poetry, and fiction. There might be others, but I don’t know about them -- yet.



Every community presents Jesus in their own way. There’s black Jesus, Asian Jesus -- and now gay Jesus to heal the damage being done in Christ’s name. The queer Christ has been denounced as blasphemy, but I experience the queer Christ as a blessing that builds faith by embodying God’s wildly inclusive love for all.



Some of Christ's followers preach hate, but Christ loved everyone, including sexual outcasts -- and was killed for it. Whenever anyone commits violence against another, Christ is crucified -- including when LGBT people are attacked or killed for loving someone of the same sex. Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of these my brothers, you do unto me.” It’s okay to imagine yourself in the story of Jesus. He is ALL of us.” We are the body of Christ.



Nobody knows for sure whether the historical Jesus was attracted to other men. Being human, Jesus must have had sexual feelings. Being divine, Christ lives in every individual of every sexual orientation and gender identity. The following books explore his queer identity from a wide spectrum of different viewpoints.



1. The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament by Theodore W. Jennings Jr. Pilgrim Press, 2003.

The historical Jesus defied gender roles, supported same-sex relationships—and probably had a male lover himself. A Chicago Theological Seminary professor tells all. This is the definitive book on Biblical evidence for a gay Jesus.



2. From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ by Patrick Cheng. Seabury Books, 2012.

Cheng proposes seven new models of sin and grace based on LGBT experience. The author is an Episcopal Divinity School theology professor with a law degree from Harvard. He sweeps away the old law to make room for the Out Christ, the Erotic Christ, the Liberator Christ, and more.



3. Gospel of John in the Bible.

Here is where it all began -- the book of the Bible written by the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” The beloved disciple describes how he lay on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper and witnessed the crucifixion. He reports how Jesus spoke to him from the cross, entrusting his mother and his beloved into each other’s care. The story is in every Bible. If you don’t already have a favorite, I recommend The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version.



4. Corpus Christi by Terrence McNally. Grove Press, 1998.

Bomb threats almost prevented the off-Broadway opening of this bittersweet play about Jesus as a gay teen in 1950s-era Texas. The play is still causing controversy. A theater in Athens, Greece canceled performances of “the gay Jesus play” this month after protests by neo-Nazis grew violent.



5. Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More by Kittredge Cherry. AndroGyne Press, 2007.

Art that dares to show Jesus as gay or female has been censored or destroyed. Eleven artists tell the stories behind their controversial images, and an introduction puts them into context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom. This Lambda Literary Award finalist was written by a lesbian art historian. Packed with glorious color illustrations.



6. The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark by Morton Smith. Dawn Horse Press, 2005 (reprint).

A lost gospel with homoerotic details about Jesus’ relationship with a naked young man was discovered in 1958 by Morton Smith, professor of ancient history at Columbia University. His discovery caused a sensation and spawned other books studying the text. Alas, recently Secret Mark was discredited as a possible hoax in books. (See #15).



7. Queering Christ: Beyond Jesus Acted Up by Robert E. Goss. Pilgrim Press, 2002.

Scholarly yet provocative and sometimes personal, this Lambda Literary Award finalist explores the queer Christ through such topics as erotic contemplatives and the heart-genital connection. Ordained as a Jesuit, Goss wrote the book when he was a religion professor at Webster University.



8. Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love by Will Roscoe. Suspect Thoughts Press, 2004.

Did Jesus do a naked baptism rite with the man he loved? An anthropologist seeks answers in the Secret Gospel of Mark, tribal cultures, and his own life.



9. Conjuring Jesus by Brian Day. Guernica Editions, 2008.

A vibrantly alive Jesus, complete with homoerotic desires, emerges from the poetry of Toronto teacher Brian Day in this book. He conjures up a Jesus who is both sexual and spiritual, “wholly versatile” and “an unscrupulous party boy” who eats and drinks with sinners.



10. Jesus in Love: A Novel by Kittredge Cherry. AndroGyne Press, 2006.

A queer Christ has today’s emotional sophistication as he lives out the Christian story in first-century Palestine. The gender-blind, gender-bending Jesus falls in love with people of both sexes -- and with the omnigendered Holy Spirit. He leads disciples of both sexes beyond ordinary consciousness to reach ecstatic union with God. In the sequel, At the Cross, Jesus transcends gender identity, sexual orientation and ultimately death itself.



11. The Kairos by Paul Hartman. CarpeKairos Publishers, 2011.

Get ready for a wild ride that reads like a gay version of “The DaVinci Code.” In this thriller an archeologist finds evidence confirming a favorite dream of LGBT Christians: Jesus was gay! Dead Sea Scrolls fragments with eyewitness accounts that say Jesus and John, the Beloved Disciple, became intimate life-companions in Qumran. Powerful forces, including the Vatican and the CIA, unite to stop him from revealing the truth. Hartman is a Presbyterian elder and retired PBS/NPR exec.



12. If Jesus were Gay by Emmanuel Xavier. Queer Mojo, 2010.

Both sacred and profane, Xavier’s poems honor Christ in a delightfully queer way. He makes sweet poetry out of his experiences as a gay Latino whose painful past includes sexual abuse at age 3 and rejection by his Catholic mother for being gay at age 16, leading to homelessness, drug dealing, prostitution -- and at last to poetry. The title poem questions whether people would still love and worship Jesus if he was gay.



13. The Gay Disciple: Jesus' Friend Tells It His Own Way by John Henson. John Hunt Publishing, 2006.

This novel reimagines the events of the New Testament from the viewpoint of minor characters such as the Beloved Disciple, who describes his infatuation with Jesus. The author is a LGBT Christian activist and retired Baptist minister in Wales.



14. Dark Knowledge by Kenneth Low. AuthorHouse, 2011.

The author, a retired California physician, presents a disturbing portrait of a closeted Jesus who felt shame over his same-sex relationships. The whole book is an analysis of why Jesus was condemned to death. The “dark knowledge” of the title is that Jesus was executed for homosexual acts with John, witnessed by Judas.



15. The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith’s Invention of Secret Mark by Stephen C. Carlson. Baylor University Press, 2005.

Hopes ran high that the historical Jesus’ homosexuality could be proven by the Secret Gospel of Mark (See #6). Here an attorney debunks the document as a modern forgery. Another book unmasking the fraud is The Secret Gospel of Mark Unveiled: Imagined Rituals of Sex, Death, and Madness in a Biblical Forgery by Peter Jeffery, Yale University Press, 2007.



16. The Marien Revelation by Miguel Santana. Alligator Press, 2010.

Santana depicts Jesus as the lover of the male “Beloved” in this imaginative novel. Born in Mexico, Santana is a gay man and an internationally published author with a Ph. D. in Hispanic Literature from the University of Texas. His novel weaves together the lives of Mary, mother of Jesus, and Marién Valbuena, a 21st-century feminist theology professor whose roots are both Mexican and Mormon. The relationship between Jesus and his male lover is only a minor subplot -- but what a subplot!



17. It Was Too Soon Before: The Unlikely Life, Untimely Death, and Unexpected Rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden”… by Dirk Vanden. Lethe Press, 2012.

In this autobiography Vanden tells how he fell in love with Jesus while growing up gay in a sexually repressive Mormon family. During an acid trip at a gay bathhouse in San Francisco in 1970, Vanden had a life-changing experience of seeing Jesus incarnated in every Gay man, including the author himself. He also writes about that gay Jesus vision in his gay murder mystery/romance All of Me (Can You Take All of Me?).



18. McCleary, Rollan. Signs for a Messiah: The First and Last Evidence for Jesus. Hazard Press, 2003.

An Australian theologian finds evidence of Jesus’ homosexuality in the Bible and astrology.



19. Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey. Hodder Export, 2011.

Jesus is an actively bisexual hipster in America today in this novel. It follows the spirit of the gospels and critics call it “brilliant.” Frey is the bestselling author who caused a scandal by fabricating parts of his bestselling autobiography "A Million Little Pieces."



20. Gay Jesus by Steve Gillman. Webhiker LLC, 2012.

“What if Jesus was gay?” is the provocative question explored in the title essay of “Gay Jesus” by entrepreneur Steve Gillman. He makes some witty and valid predictions about how conservative Christians would reveal their anti-gay prejudice. However, it seems like Gillman uses “gay Jesus” mostly as a gimmick to gain attention.

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Related links:



Queer Theology Books - a list by Patrick Cheng



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This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others. More queer Christ images are compiled in my book Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Ruth and Naomi: Whither thou goest, I will go

“Ruth’s Wise Choice,” 1907 Bible card by the Providence Lithograph Company (Wikimedia Commons)

Love between women is honored in the lives of Biblical figures Ruth and Naomi. The story of Ruth’s vow to Naomi (Ruth 1:1-18) is the Sunday lectionary reading today (Nov. 4) in many churches.



Ruth’s famous vows to Naomi are often used in weddings -- heterosexual as well as same-sex marriages. Few people realize that these beautiful promises were originally spoken by one woman to another:



“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

(Ruth 1:16-17)



The old-fashioned King James translation, still beloved by many, begins, “Whither thou goest, I will go…”



Ruth was born to a pagan family and married the Jewish man Boaz. In Judaism she is honored as a convert. Ruth is an ancestor of Jesus Christ, listed in his genealogy in the gospel of Matthew. It reports mostly a male lineage, and Ruth is one of only four women who are included.



Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah. After their husbands died, Naomi urged both of them to remarry. But Ruth refused, declaring her love in words that have extra meaning for LGBT people because they were spoken between women.



Enjoy a selection of Bible illustrations that celebrate the love between these two women of spirit. If you look closely, it sometimes seems that they are about to kiss.



Ruth and Naomi from ChristianImageSource.com





The previous two images are details from larger scenes that show Orpah leaving while Ruth stays with Naomi.



Ruth clings to Naomi (ChristianImageSource.com)

“Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law” from Doré's English Bible, 1866 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ruth and Naomi’s love has been illustrated by many artists, including the great English Romantic painter William Blake.



“Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab” by William Blake, 1795 (Wikimedia Commons)

The painting below, “Whither Thou Goest” by Trudie Barreras, was commissioned in 2004 by Rev. Paul Graetz, pastor of First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, for a sermon series that he was doing on the Book of Ruth.



“Whither Thou Goest” by Trudie Barreras, 2004

Acrylic, 18” x 14.” Collection of First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, GA.

A billboard featuring Ruth and Naomi is part of the Would Jesus Discriminate project sponsored by Metropolitan Community Churches. It states boldly, “Ruth loved Naomi as Adam loved Eve. Genesis 2:24. Ruth 1:14.” The website WouldJesusDiscriminte.org gives a detailed explanation.





Ruth and Naomi billboard from from WouldJesusDiscriminte.com and WouldJesusDiscriminte.org

For more info on the billboards, see our previous post, “Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.”



Were Ruth and Naomi lesbians? The same Hebrew word (dabaq) is used to describe Adam’s feelings for Eve and Ruth’s feelings for Naomi. In Genesis 2:24 it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” The way that Adam “cleaved” to Eve is the way that Ruth “clung” to Naomi. Countless couples have validated this interpretation by using their vows as a model for how spouses should love each other.



___

For more on Ruth and Naomi, visit the following links:



Queering the Church: Ruth and Naomi



Pharsea’s World: Homosexuality and Tradition: Ruth and Naomi



Stroppy Rabbit Blog: Naomi and Ruth in art



Conjubilant with Song Blog: “Song of Ruth” hymn by Fanny Crosby, 1875



_________

This post is part of the GLBT Saints series at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints and holy people of special interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

All Saints Day: Queer and LGBT saints honored

“37 Santos” (37 Saints) by Tony De Carlo (tonydecarlo.com)


All Saints Day is celebrated today with the addition of 13 new profiles to the LGBTQ Saints page at JesusInLove.org.





Jemima Wilkinson

The most popular new saint is a little-known historical figure: Jemima Wilkinson, a queer American Quaker preacher reborn in 1776 as “Publick Universal Friend.”



New saints on the list also include Biblical characters such as the gay centurion plus more recent writers, theologians and activists. Traditional Christian saints are joining the list too.  For example, Saint Valentine is presented as a role model for marriage equality. Two popular figures, Saint Francis of Assisi and Blessed John Henry Newman, received totally new profiles that explore their same-sex love relationships in depth.





LGBT Saints page

With these new saints, the LGBT Saints page grows to 55 profiles. They include 31 traditional Christian and 24 alternative figures. Along with official saints, there are martyrs, prophets, mystics, witnesses, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to LGBTQ people and our allies.



Queer and LGBT saints are important because people are searching for alternative ways to lead loving lives. Churches have tried to control people by burying queer history. The LGBTQ saints show us not only their place in history, but also our own place -- because we are all saints who are meant to embody love. We can tap into the energy of our ancestors in faith. For some they become friends, helpers and miracle-workers. I created the LGBT Saints page to give people an easy way to find the spiritual resources that they seek.



The 13 new profiles were all published over the past year in the LGBT Saints series by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry. The Saints page provides a user-friendly list of links to these resources at the Jesus in Love Blog. Almost every profile on the page has been updated and expanded this year.



The following new saints are welcomed to the LGBT Saints page today. Visit the page at http://www.jesusinlove.org/saints.php.




Biblical




Jesus heals

a gay centurion's lover

Gay centurion: Jesus heals a soldier’s boyfriend in the Bible



Esther and Vashti: Biblical queens inspire LGBT writers



Ethiopian eunuch: A black gay man was the world’s first convert to Christianity








Historical
Christina Rossetti: Queer writer of Christmas carols and lesbian poetry



Jemima Wilkinson: Queer preacher reborn in 1776 as “Publick Universal Friend”




20th-21st century




Pauli Murray

Marcella Althaus-Reid: Queer theology pioneer



FannyAnn Eddy: Lesbian martyr in Africa



Peter Gomes: Gay black Harvard minister preached “scandalous gospel”



Pauli Murray: Episcopal church votes on queer saint / activist for civil rights and gender equality



Henri Nouwen: Priest and author who struggled with his homosexuality



Adrienne Rich: Lesbian feminist poet of the soul (1929-2012)




Traditional Christian




John Henry Newman

New additions:

Blessed Bernardo de Hoyos: Mystical same-sex marriage with Jesus



Saint Valentine: Marriage equality role model



Total rewrites:

Francis of Assisi’s queer side revealed by historical evidence



Cardinal Newman and Ambrose St. John: Gay saint and his “earthly light” share romantic friendship



___

This article is illustrated with “37 Santos” (37 Saints) by artist Tony De Carlo. He affirms the holiness of gay love with colorful, festive paintings of gay saints, Adam and Steve, same-sex marriage and more. For more info, see my interview with him.



Let us be inspired by the LGBT saints who surround us as a “great cloud of witnesses” and commit ourselves to our own queer paths toward sainthood.

___

Related links:



LGBT Saints list at JesusInLove.org



Why we need LGBT saints by Kittredge Cherry



A queer theology of sainthood emerges (99 Brattle blog of Episcopal Divinity School)



Feminism leads to a queer theology of sainthood (Feminism and Religion Blog)



Who are the "Queer Saints and Martyrs"? by Terence Weldon (Queering the Church)



LGBT-friendly memorial for All Saints, All Souls and Day of the Dead



TrinityStores.com (innovative icons, including some LGBT saints)



Sanctity And Male Desire: A Gay Reading Of Saints by Donald Boisvert



Passionate Holiness: Marginalized Christian Devotions for Distinctive People by Dennis O’Neill



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

2012 LGBTQ guide to AAR (American Academy of Religion) and SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) Annual Meeting

A mind-boggling variety of about 40 LGBT and queer events are planned for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature Nov. 17-20 in Chicago.



Here is the Jesus in Love guide to LGBTQ activities at AAR-SBL. My unique guide covers both AAR and SBL, including all the official LGBTQ events, plus “buried treasures” that are sponsored by other interest groups, and panels on other topics with a lone queer voice. Please let me know if I missed anything!



The joint annual meeting is the largest gathering of biblical and religion scholars in the world with more than 11,000 attendees. This list is a useful summary for those attending -- and a sneak-preview of the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer religious scholarship for those of us who can’t be there.



Events on this list cover everything from Arab masculinities to Zambian Pentecostal ideas on homosexuality. LGBTQ programs at the conference present liberating new ideas about the Bible, the church and the impact of Christianity on individuals. They go on to take a queer look at every major world religion from various racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives.



The dizzying array of topics includes lesbian dharma teachers, queer Quaker utopias, the homosexuality of the Hebrew patriarch Joseph, a theology of LGBTQ homeless youth, and the Korean Christian fundamentalist antigay movement. There are drag kings in Corinth and “gender performance” in the Prophets. They’ve got “outsider theology” and “indecent ecology.” And much more.



A few trends emerge: Same-sex marriage is discussed in various contexts ranging from ancient Mesopotamia to today’s historically black churches. Two separate sessions will examine gay artist David Wojnarowicz, whose video art was recently censored by the Smithsonian after pressure by religious conservatives. At least four sessions apply ideas from the book Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others by Sara Ahmed, professor of race and cultural studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London.



The meeting also features LGBTQ entertainment, such as the animated film Tokyo Godfathers and the one-person play “Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible” by Peterson Toscano -- both followed, of course, by scholarly reflections on their queer Christian content.



It’s possible to do LGBTQ religious events almost non-stop for five days! Sometimes multiple events even overlap.



Getting access to this information is not easy. The Jesus in Love AAR-SBL guide offers a rare glimpse into the fairly private world of scholarship-in-the-making. I spent many happy hours searching the conference program books with a fine-toothed comb to create this list.



As one friend wrote when I posted my guide last year, “Wow - that is so great that you will be consolidating all the LGBTQ sessions - very helpful! Your blog is going to become my go-to site for choosing where to go next :)”



Best wishes to the many friends of the Jesus in Love Blog who will be attending and presenting at AAR-SBL!



Note: Session numbers begin with "A" for AAR and other letters for SBL. These events are subject to change.



Friday, Nov. 16

A16-108 AAR Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Committee Meeting

Friday - 9:00 AM-5:00 PM



M16-407: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Caucus at AAR

Friday - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM





Saturday, Nov. 17

A17-120 Gay Men and Religion Group

Theme: Behold the Book, the Author, and the Critics: Kent Brintnall's book Ecce Homo: The Male-Body-in-Pain as Redemptive Figure (University of Chicago Press, 2012)

Saturday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Patrick Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School, Presiding

(The Ecce Homo book analyzes the way narratives of Christ's death and resurrection both support and subvert cultural fantasies of masculine power.)

Panelists:

Björn Krondorfer, St Mary's College, Maryland

Aaron Klink, Duke University

Joseph A. Marchal, Ball State University

Karmen MacKendrick, Le Moyne College

Stephen Moore, Drew University

Responding:

Kent Brintnall, University of North Carolina, Charlotte



***



A17-123: Liberal Theologies Group

Theme: New Contexts for Liberal Theology

Saturday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Panelists include:

Hussein Abdul Latif, University of Alabama, Birmingham

Towards Muslim Same-sex Unions



***



A17-109 Theology and Religious Reflection Section

Theme: Theorizing Maternality

Saturday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Panelists include:

Carolyn Roncolato, Chicago Theological Seminary

Mimetic Conception: Infertility Treatment as Deconstruction and Reinscription of Western Maternality and Heteronormativity

(She applies queer theory to infertility treatments.)



***



A17-135 LGBTIQ Mentoring Lunch

Saturday - 11:45 AM-12:45 PM

Melissa M. Wilcox, Whitman College, Presiding

Panelists:

Claudia Schippert, University of Central Florida

Cameron Partridge, Harvard University

Mary E. Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual

Rudy V. Busto, University of California, Santa Barbara

Kent Brintnall, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Patrick Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School

Horace Griffin, Pacific School of Religion

W. Scott Haldeman, Chicago Theological Seminary

Rebecca Alpert, Temple University

Mark Jordan, Harvard University

Laurel Schneider, Chicago Theological Seminary

Jennifer Harvey, Drake University

Heather White, New College of Florida



***



A17-220 Lesbian-Feminist Issues and Religion Group

Theme: Queering Women's Religious History: Desire, Identity and Religious Practice

Saturday - 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Yvonne Zimmerman, Methodist Theological School, Ohio, Presiding

Panelists:

Judith Weisenfeld, Princeton University

“From Father in Me”: Celibacy and Same Sex-Desire in Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement



Emily L. Silverman , Graduate Theological Union

Out of Line: Sarah Ahmed’s “Queer Phenomenology” Applied to Edith Stein’s and Regina Jonas’ “Out of Place” Religious Identities.



Marie Cartier, California State University, Northridge

Wendy Griffin, Cherry Hill Seminary

Herlands: Finding Goddess on Lesbian Land



Responding:

Heather White, New College of Florida

Melissa Wilcox, Whitman College



***



A17-233 Latina/o Critical and Comparative Studies Group and Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group

Theme: Contested Spaces: A Critical Engagement of Latina Spirituality

Jennifer Hughes, University of California, Riverside, Presiding

Saturday - 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Panelists include:

Laura Perez, University of California, Berkeley

Latina/o Feminist Spirituality and the Decolonial: (Non)violence and the (Non)Western

(She examines the recent work of queer U.S. Latina/o artists, including Alex Donis and Maya Gonzalez.)



***



A17-322 Queer Studies in Religion Group

Theme: Queer Reorientations: Questioning Bodies and Futures

Saturday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM

Claudia Schippert, University of Central Florida, Presiding

(Panelists discuss topics in the context of Sara Ahmed’s book Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others)

Panelists:

Brandy Daniels, Vanderbilt University

Is Kinship Always Already Reproductive? Ecclesiology, Ethics, and the Antisocial Thesis



Brian Blackmore, Chicago Theological Seminary

Quaker Unprogrammed Liturgy as Queer Futurity



Sarah Bloesch, Southern Methodist University

Maximus Confessor and God's Queer Table



Heike Peckruhn, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology

Bodies as Orientation in/to the World – Bodies in Queer Phenomenology and Religious Studies



***



A17-326 Roman Catholic Studies Group.

Theme: Disrupting Complementarity II: Male Bodies

Saturday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM

Panelists include:

Jeffrey Marlett, College of Saint Rose

Getting the Cloud: Leo Durocher and Catholic Manliness

(He applies queer theory to Hall of Fame baseball manager Leo Durocher)



***



A17-319 Kierkegaard, Religion, and Culture Group

Theme: Memory and the Ethics of Forgiveness

Saturday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM

Panelists include:

Adam Pryor, Graduate Theological Union

Who Are We? Remembering and Forgetting in the Reparation of Communal Memory

(He proposes that Kierkegaard’s ideas on forgiveness can help congregations heal after votes on gay and lesbian ordination.)



***



A17-404 LGBTIQ Scholars/Scholars of LGBTIQ Studies Reception

Saturday - 8:00 PM-10:00 PM



***



A17-407 Film: Tokyo Godfathers

Saturday - 8:00 PM-10:00 PM

(Japanese anime film about three homeless people, including a flamboyant ex-drag entertainer / transvestite, who find a baby on Christmas Eve.)





Sunday, Nov. 18

A18-100 Sex, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion Cluster

Theme: Naming Our History, Rebuilding Our Alliances, Mapping Our Future

Sunday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Jacqueline Hidalgo, Williams College, Presiding.

Panelists:

Bjorn Krondorfer, Men, Masculinities and Religions Group; St. Mary's College, Maryland

R. Marie Griffith, Religion and Sexuality Group; Washington University, St. Louis

Stephanie Mitchem, Womanist Issues in Religion and Society Group; University of South Carolina

Jay Emerson Johnson, Gay Men and Religion Group; Pacific School of Religion

Jung Ha Kim, Women and Religion Section; Georgia State University

Marie Cartier, Lesbian Feminist Issues in Religion Group; California State University, Northridge

Karen Alliaume, Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Group; Lewis University

Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Women of Color Scholarship, Teaching and Activism Group; Moravian Theological Seminary

Melissa Wilcox, Queer Studies in Religion Group; Whitman College



***



S18-131 LGBT/Queer Hermeneutics

9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

James Hoke, Drew University, Presiding



Kathleen McCaffrey, Independent Scholar

Same Sex Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia (Newt is Wrong)



David Tabb Stewart, California State University, Long Beach

Another Look at Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13: Can Anything New Be Said?



Nicholaus Benjamin Pumphrey, Claremont Graduate University

The Lack of Action: Textual Evidence for Joseph’s Homosexuality



***

A18-101: Arts, Literature, and Religion Section

Theme: Expanding Borders: Religion and the Arts

Sunday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Panelists include:



Benjamin Lindquist, Yale University

Sex, Art, and Censorship: Chris Ofili’s Black Madonna and David Wojnarowicz’s A Fire in My Belly



***



A18-110 Asian North American Religion, Culture, and Society Group

Theme: Asian North American “Conservative” Christian Communities, Masculinities, and Gender Issues

Sunday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Michael Sepidoza Campos, Graduate Theological Union, Presiding

(Topics include the experience of a trans-male in a Korean American Christian community in New York, and the activism of conservative Asian Americans in opposing LGBTQI rights in America.)

Panelists:

Steve B. Hu, University of California, Santa Barbara

Mark Chung Hearn, Azusa Pacific University

Sung Won Park, Union Theological Seminary

Justin K.H. Tse, University of British Columbia

Patrick S. Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School



Responding:

Grace Yia-Hei Kao, Claremont School of Theology



***



S18-141: Reading, Theory, and the Bible. Theme: Affect Theory and Biblical Interpretation

Joint Session With: Reading, Theory, and the Bible, Bible and Cultural Studies

9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Panelists include:

Alexis G. Waller, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

The Thunder: Perfect Mind as a queer approach to trauma

(Looks at shifting gendered self-characterizations in a Nag Hammadi text)



***



S18-240: Postcolonial Studies and Biblical Studies. Theme: Postcolonial Theory in Dialogue

1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Panelists include:

Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University

Does the Empire of Heaven Run on Roman Time? Postcoloniality, Queer Temporality, and Matthew’s Canaanite Woman



***



A18-208: Religion in South Asia Section

Theme: Re-figuring Bodies That Matter: Sex, Gender, and Alternative Bodily Identities in South Asian Traditions

Sunday - 1:00 PM-2:30 PM

Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida, Presiding

(Panelists engage the queer theories of Judith Butler)

Panelists include:

Barbara A. Holdrege, University of California, Santa Barbara

Alternative Bodily Identities in Gaudiya Vaishnava Discourse: From Karmically Constructed Sexed Bodies to Eternally Gendered Nonmaterial Bodies



Anya Pokazanyeva, University of California, Santa Barbara

Sexed Voices, Gendered Bodies: Constructions of the Feminine Subject in Bhakti Poetry



Harshita Mruthinti Kamath, Emory University

Paris is Burning, Gender is Burning: The Drag Performer versus the Kuchipudi Female Impersonator

(Female impersonation is done by brahmin male Kuchipudi dancers in South India)



Elaine Craddock, Southwestern University

Altered Bodies and Alternative Lives: Tirunangai Communities in Tamilnadu (Tirunangais are Tamil male-to-female transgender people.)



***



A18-282 World Christianity Group

Theme: Sex, Gender, Society, Faith: Homosexualities in World Christianity

Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

Jane Redmont, Guilford College, Presiding



Min-Ah Cho, St. Catherine University

The Other Side of Their Zeal: Evangelical Nationalism and Anticommunism in the Korean Christian Fundamentalist Antigay Movement Since the 1990s



Adriaan van Klinken, University of London

The Homosexual as the Antithesis of “Biblical Manhood”? Queer(y)ing a Zambian Pentecostal Discourse



***



A18-272 Religion and Cities Group and Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

Theme: Roots in the Concrete: Urban Tales of Redemption, Hybridity and Family

Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

Panelists include:

Julie Hawks, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Constellations of Redemption in the Inner City in Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers

(Analysis of Japanese anime film about a homeless transvestite who finds a baby on Christmas Eve)



***



A18-276: Ritual Studies Group

Theme: Performed Ritual Expression: The Ethnographic Study of Art, Prayer, and Song

Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

Panelists include:

Avvia Goldberg, York University

Reimagining Ritual: Examining Ritual through a Jewish Queer Lens



***

A18-279: Sociology of Religion Group

Theme: Sociology of Public Religion: A Global Perspective

Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM

Panelists include:

Helene Slessarev-Jamir, Claremont Lincoln University and Claremont School of Theology

A Cross National Analysis of Religion’s Role in Legislative Debates over Gay Marriage



***



A18-321 Gay Men and Religion Group

Theme: The Borders of Queer Religion

Sunday - 5:00 PM-6:30 PM

Jared Vazquez, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, Presiding

Panelists:

Justin Tanis, Graduate Theological Union

David Wojnarowicz: Outsider Theologian

(Wojnarowicz was a gay artist and AIDS activist.)



Jennifer Loh, School of Oriental and African Studies

Spiritual Practices Among the Hijras of India: Amalgamating Traditions



Elizabeth Perez, Dartmouth College

A 'Trans' Formation of Religious Experience: Transgender and Transsexual Subjects of Afro-Atlantic Traditions



Responding:

Peter Savastano, Seton Hall University



***



A18-315: Buddhist Critical-Constructive Reflection Group and Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Group

Theme: Buddhists Shifting Gender Paradigms through Teaching, Chanting, and Transcending

Sunday - 5:00 PM-6:30 PM

Panelists include:

Barbara Sullivan, University of Queensland

Women Dharma Teachers in the West

(She interviewed 20 women dharma teachers, including lesbian and transgendered.)



Hsiao-Lan Hu, University of Detroit, Mercy

Queering Avalokitesvara: From the Thirty-Three Forms in the Lotus Sutra to Minority Identities in Today's World

(Avalokitesvara is also known as Kuan Yin)



***



A18-336: Beyond the Boundaries

Theme: Religion and Politics

Sunday - 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Panelists include:

Jermaine McDonald, Emory University

President Obama, Historically Black Churches, and Public Discourse about Same-Sex Marriage



***



A18-402 Arts Series: Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

Sunday - 8:00 PM-10:00 PM

Joseph Marchal, Ball State University, Presiding

Theatrical performance followed by cross-disciplinary conversation.

Peterson Toscano, Performance Artist and Guest

Responding:

Deborah Haynes, University of Colorado

Erin Runions, Pomona College

Lou Ruprecht, Georgia State University

Sharon Fennema, Harvard University

Ken Stone, Chicago Theological Seminary

Peterson Toscano, Performance Artist and Guest





Monday, Nov. 19

S19-128: LGBT/Queer Hermeneutics

Theme: Drag, Performance, and Biblical Traditions

9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

David Stewart, California State University, Long Beach, Presiding

M Adryael Tong, Yale Divinity School

"Dude Looks Like A Lady": Queering Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9



Susan E. Haddox, University of Mount Union

The Queenmakers: Gender Performance in the Prophets



Steffan Mathias, King's College London

Making Perfect Men: Isaiah 56:3-5 Through Torah as an Anti-Queer Text



Joseph A. Marchal, Ball State University

Female Masculinity in Corinth?: Drag Kings, Laggings, and Imitations



Lynn Huber, Elon University, Respondent



***



A19-127 Men, Masculinities, and Religions Group

Theme: Rethinking Hegemonic Masculinities after Twenty-five Years

Monday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Panelists include:

Amy Chaney, Syracuse University

Fragmented Hegemonies: Recovering Arab Masculinities

(She draws from Sara Ahmed’s book Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others to discuss the Arab male body.)



***

A19-227 Queer Studies in Religion Group and Transformative Scholarship

and Pedagogy Group

Theme: Vanguard Revisited: A Transformative Theology for/with/by LGBTQ Homeless Youth in the 1960s and Today

Monday - 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Panelist: Megan Rohrer, Pacific School of Religion



***



S19-221: Gender, Sexuality, and the Bible

Theme: Methods and Afterlives

1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Panelists include:

Heather R. White, New College of Florida

The Sexologist’s Bible: Homosexual Acts and Sexual Identities in the Science of Biblical Interpretation



***



S19-246: Women in the Biblical World

Theme: Bible Trouble: Queer Reading at the Boundaries of Biblical Scholarship

(book edited by Teresa J. Hornsby and Ken Stone; Semeia Series; SBL August 2011)

1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Luis Menendez, Vanderbilt University, Presiding

Hal Taussig, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Jennifer Knust, Boston University

Gail Streete, Rhodes College

Kent Brintnall, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Ellen Armour, Vanderbilt University

Teresa Hornsby, Drury University, Respondent



***



A19-207 Religion and Ecology Group

Theme: Religion, Ecology, and the Body: Inscribing and Enacting Eco-Imaginings

Monday - 1:00 PM-3:00 PM

Panelists include:

Jacob Erickson, Drew University

Indecent Ecologies: Karen Barad, Naturecultural Performativity, and Queer Ecotheology



***



A19-224 Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Group

Theme: Feminist Theory on Disability, Trauma and Vulnerability

Monday - 1:00 PM-3:30 PM

Panelists include:

Lisa Powell, St. Ambrose University

The Infertile Womb of God: Ableism and the Doctrine of God

(She challenges ideas about Mother God with feminist and queer theory.)





***

A19-311 Special Topics Forum

Theme: Mentoring Across Sexualities and Genders

Monday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM

Horace Griffin, Pacific School of Religion, Presiding

Panelists:

Cameron Partridge, Harvard University

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology

Thelathia Young, Bucknell University

Patrick Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School

Mary Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual

Alice Hunt, Chicago Theological Seminary

Laurel Schneider, Chicago Theological Seminary







Tuesday, Nov. 20

A20-118 Gay Men and Religion Group and Lesbian-Feminist Issues and Religion Group

Theme: (Un)holy Bullies in LGBTQ Lives

Tuesday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, University Denver and Iliff School of Theology, Presiding



Benjamin Lindquist, Yale University

Touch and the Ex-Gay Movement



Carolyn Davis, Vanderbilt University

Bullying as Christian Practice? Homophobic Harassment and Christian Speech



Mauricio Najarro, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology

"Your Son, Your Only One, Whom You Love": Sacrifice, Idolatry, and Reproductive Futurism



Jeanine Viau, Loyola University, Chicago

Does It Get Better? Considering the “Capacity to Persevere in a (Queer and) Livable Life”



Responding:

Kate Ott, Drew University



***



A20-128 Paul Tillich: Issues in Theology, Religion, and Culture Group.  Theme: The Radical Tillich

Tuesday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Panelists include:

Christopher Rodkey, Lebanon Valley College and Pennsylvania State University, York

Pirating Paul Tillich, the Patriarch with Good Ideas: Mary Daly and the Radical Tillich

(Mary Daly is a lesbian philosopher.)



___



If you appreciate this list, please donate to support my work at Jesus in Love.



Last year a couple of readers asked Are the AAR-SBL presentations available in any way to people who can't attend?



The panels are usually not recorded or available in printed form, but abstracts of some of the papers are online now. Visit the AAR and SLB links below, go to the online program books and start searching. You can also try contacting the speakers directly.



For more info, visit:



Meeting events list from AAR Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer Persons in the Profession



American Academy of Religion

http://www.aarweb.org/



Society of Biblical Literature

http://www.sbl-site.org/default.aspx



Here’s another resource for those who want to follow the latest research and scholarship of various LGBT theologians (and others).

http://www.academia.edu/



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts