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Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Lovers, Families and Friends
Father John J. McNeill thoughtfully explains how both tradition and Scripture support the love between people of the same sex and shows that a positive gay identity is compatible with Christian faith.
213 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 16, 2024
THE GAY PRIEST/THEOLOGIAN OUTLINES A ‘SEXUAL THEOLOGY’
John J. McNeill (1924-2015) was a former Jesuit priest, psychotherapist and theologian in the United States; he taught at the combined Woodstock Jesuit Seminary/Union Theological Seminary. In 1976 he published his famous book, ‘The Church and the Homosexual.’ He was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 at the request of the Vatican.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1988 book, “There is a special need today for a sexual theology, as distinct from a theology about human sexuality. Our human sexuality has always played a role in our faith, but until now it has been hidden. Feminist theology has thrown a sharp light on the fact that most traditional theologies were based exclusively on a patriarchal view of reality… The premise of this book is that there are specific questions that lesbian women and gay men ask of reality that differ from heterosexual questions., and that there is thus a distinct contribution to be made to theology and spirituality from a gay perspective. This book, then, is an attempt to formulate that theology and spirituality from a gay perspective. I try to identify and discuss some of the principal realms of experience where lesbian and gay people, because of their sexual orientation, ask different questions, have different needs and, therefore, need to work out the special theological and spiritual implications that are rooted in the gay and lesbian experience… My intention in this book is to provide a spirituality based on the revelatory experience of lesbian and gay Christians, a spirituality designed to meet their special needs and inform their pastoral action in the world.” (Pg. xv-xvi)
He recounts, “In ‘The Church and the Homosexual’ I sought to refute three traditional stances taken by the Christian community regarding lesbian and gay relationships. I opposed, first of all, the view that God intends all human beings to be heterosexual, and that homosexuality therefore represents a deviation from God’s divine plan… I suggested instead that God created human beings with a great variety of both gender identities and sexual-object choices… the second thesis … was that homosexuals, rather than being a menace to the values of society and the family… have, as a art of God’s creative plan, special gifts and qualities and a very positive contribution to make to the development of society… The third thesis …[was that] The church’s traditional position has been that since every homosexual act is sinful and contrary to God’s plan, the love that exists between gay and lesbian people is sinful and alienates the lovers from God. I argued that the love between two lesbians or gay men, assuming that it is a constructive human love, is NOT sinful, nor does it alienate the lovers from God’s plan.” (Pg. xix-xxi)
He states, “A tragic example of this can be found in those persons with AIDS who will not refrain from sexual encounters that they know can endanger the lives of their sexual partners. ‘Somebody gave it to me,’ one declared angrily, ‘so I’m going to give it to somebody else!’ … We cannot repress and deny that anger without repressing and denying ALL feelings, including feelings of tenderness and love…” (Pg. 33-34)
He recalls, “The most moving spiritual experience I ever had occurred at Mount Savior Monastery. I had been praying for months for guidance from God concerning the Vatican order to give up my ministry to lesbian and gay people. While praying for guidance, I was suddenly inundated with an intense feeling intense of being loved just as I am, a gay man and a gay priest. That love seemed to heal deep wounds in my psyche, wounds of guilt, shame, and self-lathing, and produced a marvelous, liberating feeling of peace. I had the feeling that God would go with me down whatever road I chose.” (Pg. 74)
He says, “I will deal with what I call the gay virtues: hospitality and compassion. The gay and lesbian community, community, in spite of the injustice and persecution it has suffered, has always been especially blessed with the virtues of hospitality and compassion. These are, in God’s eyes, the virtues that characterized Jesus, and they should be the principal virtues of a follower of Jesus.” (Pg. 93)
He suggests, “The gay community has always been a community with an extraordinary freedom to play. Society is keenly aware that creative gay people are represented in the arts…out of all proportion to their numbers in the population at large… some of that freedom to play comes, I believe, from the gay community’s acceptance of its exiled status. We are frequently no longer involved in competing. As a result, lesbians and gays are much freer to develop an aesthetic sense and to engage in activities for their own sake.” (Pg. 117)
He asserts, “we can be absolutely certain of one thing: It is NOT God’s will that anyone should have AIDS. Those who interpret the AIDS epidemic as God’s judgement and punishment of homosexuals reveal, first of all, their own homophobic prejudice and thinly veiled hatred of gays.” (Pg. 162)
He comments, “I want to bear witness to the importance that the gay spiritual community has had for me as a gay priest. At the time of my ordination some thirty years ago, my homosexual orientation was a fearful secret which I could barely acknowledge even to myself and which I had shared privately only with my spiritual director. I always feared that somehow my gayness would prevent me from being the priest I should be. However, now that Dignity and other gay Christian groups have come into being and I have been able to celebrate the liturgy and preach and counsel my lesbian sisters and gay brothers openly, I have discovered that my gayness, rather than being a detriment, has enabled me to be of greater service.” (Pg. 182)
This book will be great interest to LGBT Christians, and their sympathizers.
John J. McNeill (1924-2015) was a former Jesuit priest, psychotherapist and theologian in the United States; he taught at the combined Woodstock Jesuit Seminary/Union Theological Seminary. In 1976 he published his famous book, ‘The Church and the Homosexual.’ He was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 at the request of the Vatican.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1988 book, “There is a special need today for a sexual theology, as distinct from a theology about human sexuality. Our human sexuality has always played a role in our faith, but until now it has been hidden. Feminist theology has thrown a sharp light on the fact that most traditional theologies were based exclusively on a patriarchal view of reality… The premise of this book is that there are specific questions that lesbian women and gay men ask of reality that differ from heterosexual questions., and that there is thus a distinct contribution to be made to theology and spirituality from a gay perspective. This book, then, is an attempt to formulate that theology and spirituality from a gay perspective. I try to identify and discuss some of the principal realms of experience where lesbian and gay people, because of their sexual orientation, ask different questions, have different needs and, therefore, need to work out the special theological and spiritual implications that are rooted in the gay and lesbian experience… My intention in this book is to provide a spirituality based on the revelatory experience of lesbian and gay Christians, a spirituality designed to meet their special needs and inform their pastoral action in the world.” (Pg. xv-xvi)
He recounts, “In ‘The Church and the Homosexual’ I sought to refute three traditional stances taken by the Christian community regarding lesbian and gay relationships. I opposed, first of all, the view that God intends all human beings to be heterosexual, and that homosexuality therefore represents a deviation from God’s divine plan… I suggested instead that God created human beings with a great variety of both gender identities and sexual-object choices… the second thesis … was that homosexuals, rather than being a menace to the values of society and the family… have, as a art of God’s creative plan, special gifts and qualities and a very positive contribution to make to the development of society… The third thesis …[was that] The church’s traditional position has been that since every homosexual act is sinful and contrary to God’s plan, the love that exists between gay and lesbian people is sinful and alienates the lovers from God. I argued that the love between two lesbians or gay men, assuming that it is a constructive human love, is NOT sinful, nor does it alienate the lovers from God’s plan.” (Pg. xix-xxi)
He states, “A tragic example of this can be found in those persons with AIDS who will not refrain from sexual encounters that they know can endanger the lives of their sexual partners. ‘Somebody gave it to me,’ one declared angrily, ‘so I’m going to give it to somebody else!’ … We cannot repress and deny that anger without repressing and denying ALL feelings, including feelings of tenderness and love…” (Pg. 33-34)
He recalls, “The most moving spiritual experience I ever had occurred at Mount Savior Monastery. I had been praying for months for guidance from God concerning the Vatican order to give up my ministry to lesbian and gay people. While praying for guidance, I was suddenly inundated with an intense feeling intense of being loved just as I am, a gay man and a gay priest. That love seemed to heal deep wounds in my psyche, wounds of guilt, shame, and self-lathing, and produced a marvelous, liberating feeling of peace. I had the feeling that God would go with me down whatever road I chose.” (Pg. 74)
He says, “I will deal with what I call the gay virtues: hospitality and compassion. The gay and lesbian community, community, in spite of the injustice and persecution it has suffered, has always been especially blessed with the virtues of hospitality and compassion. These are, in God’s eyes, the virtues that characterized Jesus, and they should be the principal virtues of a follower of Jesus.” (Pg. 93)
He suggests, “The gay community has always been a community with an extraordinary freedom to play. Society is keenly aware that creative gay people are represented in the arts…out of all proportion to their numbers in the population at large… some of that freedom to play comes, I believe, from the gay community’s acceptance of its exiled status. We are frequently no longer involved in competing. As a result, lesbians and gays are much freer to develop an aesthetic sense and to engage in activities for their own sake.” (Pg. 117)
He asserts, “we can be absolutely certain of one thing: It is NOT God’s will that anyone should have AIDS. Those who interpret the AIDS epidemic as God’s judgement and punishment of homosexuals reveal, first of all, their own homophobic prejudice and thinly veiled hatred of gays.” (Pg. 162)
He comments, “I want to bear witness to the importance that the gay spiritual community has had for me as a gay priest. At the time of my ordination some thirty years ago, my homosexual orientation was a fearful secret which I could barely acknowledge even to myself and which I had shared privately only with my spiritual director. I always feared that somehow my gayness would prevent me from being the priest I should be. However, now that Dignity and other gay Christian groups have come into being and I have been able to celebrate the liturgy and preach and counsel my lesbian sisters and gay brothers openly, I have discovered that my gayness, rather than being a detriment, has enabled me to be of greater service.” (Pg. 182)
This book will be great interest to LGBT Christians, and their sympathizers.
June 12, 2021
A superb collection of essays that span queer Eucharistic theology, AIDS and the question of divine judgement, the Mother of God, and a sacramental understanding of queer sex. Though written decades ago, the underlying emphases of these essays still carry tremendous import for the current movements of queer liberation, even if some essays are unable to foresee the full extent of those movements due to their occasionally dated vision. This is some of the finest queer spirituality that I have ever read.
Of additional value is the very useful bibliography, which has pointed me toward unique, groundbreaking texts of which I was previously unaware. Read this book.
Of additional value is the very useful bibliography, which has pointed me toward unique, groundbreaking texts of which I was previously unaware. Read this book.
September 6, 2023
I read this on a recommendation from my Mom, and I ended up really enjoying it. I thought the author had some really interesting things to say about scripture and religion, and while I don't see christianity having a place in my life in the future, I enjoyed being able to connect the topics discussed in the book to my experience growing up in the lutheran church.
June 19, 2024
Again, found someone else who solved it all back in the 80's! Where have we been? The gays have been writing trauma-informed theology for decades!
January 3, 2013
I guess I came into this book thinking it would be something else, and perhaps since the author was a former Jesuit and he got a degree from the oldest Catholic university either in Belgium or in Europe (can't remember which. What up Leuven!), AND he taught at Fordham University, a beloved school of mine, I might've expected more out of him. His writing wasn't always cohesive, and he made some pretty silly claims. Having said all that I think I benefited a lot from reading it. It is a massive and really complicated subject he's trying to talk about. Plus, I loved all of his personal stories. The ending was decent too. Read if you've got some time on your hands!
March 17, 2009
McNeill addresses the spiritual and psychological concerns of the lesbian & gay communities. He draws from his counseling and ministry with the gay & lesbian community and his experience as an ordained Catholic priest who was expelled because of his beliefs and work with these communities. Some parts of the book are dated but not irrelevant. He does not bash religion which I respect, but challenges it using the gospels.
April 19, 2014
I very much wanted to rate this higher. Unfortunately, while remarkable in its time, much of the content is now frightfully dated and I was frustrated by how shallow many of the essays are. They seemed to end before saying much at all. I think it is a volume best left as an important historical resource.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews