New LGBTQ Christian books: May 2015

Six new LGBTQ Christian books include a delicious assortment on theology, history, spirituality, fiction and church life.

Theology


“Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God” by Megan K. DeFranza.

Solid theological analysis challenges the gender binary with Biblical resources on eunuchs and critiques various models of sexuality and gender based on images of Christ and God. Author Megan K. DeFranza shows that all people are made in God’s image: male, female and intersex. She has taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. This is her first book, but it is published by a major academic religious press (Eerdmans) and endorsed by queer scholars such as Susannah Cornwall. Sometimes queer theology books are extremely expensive, but this one is only $18.



LGBT people in the church


“Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian” by Wesley Hill.

A prominent evangelical scholar in the new celibate LGBT Christian movement writes about friendship as a spiritual path, offering practical ways for building stronger friendships. Wesley Hill. includes extensive discussion of classic writings on friendship by 12th-century saint Aelred of Rievaulx (who is often considered a gay saint). Hill has many fans, but this book isn’t to everyone's taste. One chapter is titled “Friendship is a Call to Suffer.” The author is assistant professor of biblical studies at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.



History


“Visions of Queer Martyrdom from John Henry Newman to Derek Jarman” by Dominic Janes.

Closeted queer devotion to Christ shaped the cultural expression of homosexuality since the 19th century. A professor from London’s University of the Arts begins with a chapter on Cardinal Newman as a queer martyr suffering in the ecclesiastical closet. Janes goes on to examine liturgical expressions of same-sex desire, the role of Victorian monasteries and other religious institutions in forming queer families, and how the Biblical story of Jonathan and David became a model for same-sex partnerships. He finds that Christianity has ongoing significance in homoerotic works such as the films of Jarman and the literature of Oscar Wilde. An interview with the author will be posted soon at the Jesus in Love Blog.



“Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality, and Authority in Late-Roman Manhood” by Mark Masterson.

Homosexuality was much more common in the early Christian Roman Empire than previously believed says scholar Mark Masterson in “Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality, and Authority in Late-Roman Manhood.” He surveys the presence of same-sex desire between men in the later Roman empire. For example, he takes a fresh look at the love between Saint Anthony of the Desert and Saint Paul the First Hermit. “My work pushes the conversation further along about sexuality in ancient times,” the author told the New Zealand Daily News. Ohio State University Press published this book by a senior lecturer of classics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.



Spirituality


“Gay Men and the New Way Forward” by Raymond L. Rigoglioso.

Gay spiritual leadership and religious reform are among the 14 distinctly gay gifts described in this easy-to-understand guide and call to action by the writer who founded Gay Men of Wisdom. Using a contemporary tone, he discusses Christianity along with other religions in a broad vision that balances masculine and feminine, individual freedom and collective good. Christianity is discussed along with other religions in a grand vision that balances masculine and feminine, individual freedom and collective good. Renowned gay spirituality author Toby Johnson wrote the introduction, and it was endorsed by such gayspirit luminaries as Mark Thompson, Will Roscoe, John Stasio and Michael Bronski.


Fiction


“Inclination” by Mia Kerick.

A gay Catholic Korean high school student adopted into an Italian American family falls in love, gets bullied and faces opposition from his church in this young-adult novel by an author who focuses her fiction on the emotional growth of troubled young people.

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Related links:

New LGBTQ Christian books: March 2015 (Jesus in Love)

New LGBTQ Christian books: Feb 2015 (Jesus in Love)

Top 25 LGBTQ Christian books of 2014 named (Jesus in Love)

Top 20 Gay Jesus books (from Jesus in Love)

Queer Theology book list (from Patrick Cheng)

Queering the Church book list

Jesus in Love Bookstore (includes LGBT Christian classics)


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Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts