MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

Queer blog runs gay Passion and Easter series

Image at right: Jesus Before the Priests (from The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision) by F. Douglas Blanchard (counterlight@earthlink.net)

A queer version of Christ’s Passion is running in daily installments at the Jesus in Love Blog this week through Easter.

Each daily post features a queer Christian painting and an excerpt from my new novel Jesus in Love: At the Cross.

Jesus Before the Priests (above) is one of my personal favorites from the series. The priest looks like so many I have known.  They stand by, wringing their hands while they let injustice and violence happen.  Artist Doug Blanchard has got that churchly smug indifference down cold.

The eight-day Passion series at my blog covers the dramatic events of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.  Jesus is in love with his disciple John and faces religious homophobia in the selections from “At the Cross.”

The online Holy Week series includes paintings by Blanchard, Gary Speziale and Becki Jayne Harrelson.  Click here to visit the gay Passion series.

New novel shows Passion of a queer Christ

A queer Christ lives out the Easter story of death and resurrection in my new novel Jesus in Love: At the Cross.

I'm excited that the book is being released in time for Ash Wednesday (Feb. 6), which begins the season of Lent when Christians remembering the sufferings of Jesus to prepare for Easter.

Jesus commits the ultimate act of love in At the Cross, a fictional autobiography of a bisexual Christ.  The dramatic events of Christ’s Passion happen in the context of a gay love story between Jesus and his disciple John.  The novel covers Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, ending on Pentecost.  Jesus has today’s queer sensibilities and psychological sophistication as he reveals the erotic, mystical experiences that may have led to the first Easter. 

At the Cross is a sequel to the popular Jesus in Love: A Novel, but there’s no need to read the other book first.  At the Cross stands alone in its own right.

Christ’s story is for everyone, but queer people often feel left out because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination.  I wrote At the Cross so more people could understand the powerful story of Jesus’ human struggles and how he rose above them.  Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people can relate to a queer Christ -- and so can many others.

The prequel, Jesus in Love, became a surprise hit with more mainstream readers after achieving success in the GLBT community.  I receive fan mail from a diverse range of readers -- male and female, queer and straight, ranging from Roman Catholic priests to atheists and Jews.  And I get hate mail from conservative Christians, too.

Books in the Jesus in Love series follow the Biblical text and standard Christian doctrine while speculating on Christ’s erotic inner life.  The gay love story between Jesus and John has sparked controversy.  Some conservatives labeled me “a hyper-homosexual revisionist.”

Meanwhile, secular literary critics and progressive Christians affirm the Jesus in Love series as “profound,” “spiritually mature” and “beautifully written.”  Gay spirituality author Toby Johnson praises it as “a real tour de force in transforming traditional myth to modern consciousness.” 

The Bay Area Reporter called it “revolutionary religious fiction” and syndicated book critic Richard Labonte hailed it as “a winsome affirmation of erotic love’s sacred potential.” 

Mel White, founder of Soulforce, says, “Kitt Cherry has broken through the stained-glass barrier.  This is not a prurient look at the sex life of Jesus, but a classic re-telling of the greatest story ever told.” 

At the Cross grows out of my own spiritual journey and my experiences as a minister in the LGBT community.  One of my duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (U.S.A.) and the World Council of Churches as National Ecumenical Officer for Metropolitan Community Churches.  I wrote At the Cross after Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forced me into a more contemplative life

My previous books include Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More, Equal Rites and Hide and Speak.  The New York Times Book Review praised my “very graceful, erudite” writing style. 

My website, JesusInLove.org, features the growing number of books and art based on the queer Christ.  I blog at the Jesus in Love Blog and edit the Jesus in Love Newsletter on queer spirituality and the arts. 

At the Cross (ISBN 1933993421) is published by AndroGyne Press, a new queer studies press in Berkeley, CA.  Ingram Book Group distributes it.

For more info on At the Cross, visit jesusinlove.org or androgynepress.com

Sex and spirit mix on new Jesus book cover

A homoerotic Christ on the cover of a new German book is sparking international debate as Christmas approaches.

The provocative cover appears on the German translation of Jesus in Love, my novel about a queer Christ.

The cover art by Berlin painter Alexander von Agoston shows a near-naked Jesus and John the Baptist rising from the water together after Christ’s baptism. The men’s genitals shine through their wet clothes. A shared halo affirms the union of body and spirit.

My book says that gay sexuality is holy to Christ and I’m a passionate promoter of queer spiritual art. However, even I thought the German image was too frankly erotic for a cover at first. Discussions with my German publisher, Edition EuQor changed my mind.

“German readers are used to seeing nudity on covers, much more than Americans,” my publisher told me. “Sure, the cover attracts attention. That’s what a cover is for.”

Gay-positive Christian images are needed now because conservatives are using religious rhetoric to justify discrimination against queer people. The cover goes all the way in showing that God loves gays. Jesus is completely comfortable in his skin. Now I’m sure that it’s the right cover for the German edition.

The German translation of Jesus in Love was released in time for Christmas by Edition EuQor, a start-up German press specializing in provocative books.

“When Jesus in Love was published in English, websites in Germany buzzed with excitement,” the publisher told me. “The idea of a bisexual Jesus seemed to fascinate Germans more than anyone else outside the English-speaking world.  Soon Edition EuQor offered to do a German translation.” 

Reactions to the Jesus in Love cover vary widely from delight to shock and disdain, even within the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.

The original English version of Jesus in Love was published in 2006 by AndroGyne Press with a more romantic cover drawing of Jesus and John wreathed in roses. Conservative Christians attacked the novel as blasphemy because it portrays a Jesus who felt sexual attraction to men. However, it received praise from literary critics and GLBT Christian leaders.

Toby Johnson, author of Gay Spirituality, described it as “a wonderful, gay-sensitive, and delightfully ‘shocking’ reassessment of the stories of the old-time religion.”

What do YOU think of the new book cover? Please post your comments here or email them to kitt@JesusInLove.org.
_________

Kittredge Cherry is an author who promotes queer spiritual art at the Jesus in Love Blog and JesusInLove.org. Her most recent book is Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.

COMING OUT OF FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIANITY: An Autobiography Affirming Sensuality, Social Justice, and The Sacred, by Carolyn Baker

In early 2005, in anticipation of my sixtieth birthday, I began working on an autobiography. Certainly, I reasoned, now entering my sixth decade, I should be putting in ink my reflections on life as I officially become a senior citizen. Following the publication of three books and countless articles, it seemed that my “memoirs” was the very next step.

Little did I realize that in the fall of 2006, just a few weeks after the release of my third book U.S. HISTORY UNCENSORED, a bombshell breaking news story that would hit a pivotal nerve in my own personal history would compel me to integrate the almost-finished memoirs with commentary on the story, not merely from my intellect but from my personal life experience. That news item was the revelation that fundamentalist Christian icon, Pastor Ted Haggard of the New Life Church of Colorado Springs, Colorado, ostensibly rabidly homophobic, had been involved for three years in a sexual relationship with another man.

Memoirs just lying around, serving no purpose except navel-gazing, are easily ignored and postponed for “some other day.” But when one’s autobiography so eerily parallels breaking news on CNN, one should consider taking it out, dusting it off, and disclosing to the world that human beings do not have to live a lie in order to follow the calling of their hearts in pursuit of the sacred.

Reviews of Rising Up, etc.

Hey folks, Joe here. I've been light on the blogging recently owing to demands on my time and attention from health concerns and a creative spurt on my forthcoming book (tentatively titled Kronology). Just thought I'd check in here with a brief note. I expect to be back blogging more regularly soon.

In the meantime ... I have a few posts up in the last month on my personal blog, Until. You can also read an interview with me on the Craig Photography blog, a review of my book Rising Up at White Crane Journal, and another review of Rising Up at Holons. You can buy the ebook version of Rising Up for only $4.99 (so what are you waiting for?)

Speaking of Rising Up, FYI it's in the running for a Lammy but judging from this list of books the competition will be stiff. Congratulations to all the nominated writers! Meanwhile, my forthcoming book Soulfully Gay: How Harvard, Sex, Drugs, and Integral Philosophy Drove Me Crazy and Brought Me Back to God is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Understanding Where We Come From, but not Losing Ourselves

I don’t know how many of you have been following all the to-do about a researcher in Oregon investigating the physiological aspects of sheep sexuality, but I have been. In the first reports to come out of Dr. Roselli’s research, I was among the many queers who were very frightened about prospects of research into hormonal “cures” of homosexuality. Now, as Dr. Roselli tries to distance himself and his research from these notions, I remain worried and skeptical.

 

While I have avoided posting on this subject because I feel there is not enough solid information available, I was reminded of Dr. Roselli’s work and investigations into the causes of homosexuality by an interview I read today on Salon titled God and Gorillas. This interview is just one example of scientific investigation into the origin of religion. I find both the investigation into the causes of homosexuality and the evolutionary origins of religion to be similarly worrying on a gut level, even though I support them on an intellectual level.

 

Like many queers, I feel threatened by research into the specific causes of homosexuality because I worry that if a gene, hormone, hormone balance, etc., were found that directly caused homosexuality, some might be tempted to develop a “cure” for homosexuality (or alternatively, mothers might be tempted to abort babies simply to avoid having a gay child).  While those of us who are out and proud and our allies recognize that such a “cure” is nonsense, it would likely appeal very strongly to those struggling with their sexuality, parents of those struggling, and homophobic policy makers and lobbyists.

Respecting the beliefs of others, even (if grudgingly) the religious Right

Truth is, its hard to get into a discussion about politics without also discussing religion. And when I get into discussions with my friends, on web and blog forums, or with authors who I wish could here me as a verbally respond while reading their books/articles, I am often miffed at how dismissive my fellow progressives and other Left-leaners are towards the faith of the religious Right. Recently I wrote a post on Mormonism which was inspired not only by a few articles I linked to in the post, but also by the Mormon bashing I hear from my progressive friends (who think of themselves as very tolerant). For whatever reason, people whose political beliefs lie a little left of center tend to be a little two faced about respecting diverse religious beliefs, as they continue dismissing fundamentalist and conservative Christians as nut jobs, whackos, or other similar epithets. At times, I’m guilty of it, too.

But do any of us really think that we’re going to get anywhere if we refuse to accept the genuineness and sincerity of fundamentalist and conservative political beliefs? While it may make us feel superior to dismiss those on the other side of the political fence as unintelligent, or worse, in doing so we do ourselves and our democracy a grave disservice. One has to recognize that there are some pretty smart cookies over on the right hand side of the political divide. The sophistication of the Right’s political and media machine betrays the amount of brain power that went into building and maintaining the religious Right. But recognizing the intellectual prowess of the religious Right is just the first step and, in my opinion, the easiest.

A word from our sponsor

The ebook version of Rising Up: Reflections on Gay Culture, Politics, and Spirit is on sale for only $4.99, so it's now "stocking stuffer" priced! You can get the ebook at Lulu ... or if you like something to hold, you can order a print-on-demand book from Lulu, Amazon.com, or other booksellers. You can read several free chapters of the book on my Until weblog.

Neal Drinnan's Izzy and Eve explores gay spirituality

A new novel, Izzy and Eve, explores the connections between hedonism, debasement, and enlightenment. Australian author Neal Drinnan's fourth novel, Izzy and Eve looks at a gay man and his female friend who live together in a bohemian district in an imgarinary city named The Gilgal.

Cross-posted at this blog's future home: gayspirituality.zaadz.com/blog. Please add your comments at the new location.

Introducing Seventy Times Seven, gay-themed novel by former Catholic brother

SAUGATUCK, MI – June 20, 2006 – Salvatore Sapienza’s debut novel, Seventy Times Seven, is an exploration of religion and homosexuality with a Catholic brother and teacher at its center – as told by a real-life former religious brother and openly gay man.