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Sunday, February 08, 2015

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Top 10 LGBT spiritual arts stories of 2013 named

Detail from Passion
by Doug Blanchard

"Saints Felicity and Perpetua"
by Maria Cristina

An artist’s gay vision of Christ’s Passion was the top LGBT spiritual arts story for 2013 at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Perpetua and Felicity came in second place as patron saints of same-sex couples, followed by the Intimacy with Christ paintings of Richard Stott.

The year’s top 10 LGBT spiritual arts stories were named today by Cherry, founder of the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT Spirituality and the Arts. The ratings are based on pageviews reported by Google Analytics.

The blog’s most popular post of the year was an introduction to “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a series of 24 paintings by Douglas Blanchard with reflections by Cherry. The paintings present Jesus as a contemporary gay man in a modern city. The Passion paintings and commentary are set to be published as a book later in 2014. Click here to sign up for e-mail announcements about the book.

“Jesus in Love has become the go-to place for new and innovative material on queer saints -- in both English and Spanish,” Cherry said. “Readers love the pioneering LGBT Christian art presented here. It is hard to find anywhere else except at Jesus in Love.”

Non-traditional takes on traditional saints attracted more readers than ever before, filling four of the Top 10 spots. Three of the top stories were about contemporary artists creating bold new paintings of Jesus in a queer context.

Another trend was the surging popularity of Jesus in Love articles in Spanish. The Santos Queer Blog was launched in late 2012 to provide translations of the LGBT Saints series throughout the year. In fact, some saints were a bigger hit in Spanish than in the original English. Over at Santos Queer, San Sebastián actually got more hits in 2013 than anything in English with 2,608 pageviews!

Two books tied for the top spot as the bestseller of the year at Jesus in Love: “Forbidden Rumi: The Suppressed Poems of Rumi on Love, Heresy, and Intoxication” and “Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations.”

Here is a list of the year’s top 10 stories. Click the headlines to go to the original posts at the Jesus in Love Blog.

1. The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision

Gay Passion paintings on display
(Photo by Dorie Hagler)

Jesus challenges viewers by arriving as a young gay man of today in the “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” by Douglas Blanchard. The artist takes the most important narrative in Western culture and rescues it from fundamentalists and also from over-familiarity. All 24 paintings in the series were posted with expanded commentary and prayers by Kittredge Cherry for Holy Week and Easter last year. The series covers Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. Blanchard’s images show Jesus being jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine look-alikes and rising again to enjoy homoerotic moments with God and his diverse group of friends. More info

Blanchard, a gay painter based in New York, and Cherry, a lesbian minister and art historian based in Los Angeles, plan to run an updated version of the series again on the Jesus in Love Blog for Holy Week this year. Join the Passion book e-mail list to be notified when the book version is published.

2. Perpetua and Felicity: Patron saints of same-sex couples

Saints Perpetua and Felicity were brave North African woman friends who were executed for their Christian faith in the third century. Some consider them lesbian saints or patrons of same-sex couples. They were arrested for their Christian beliefs, imprisoned together, and held onto each other in the last moments before they died together on March 7, 203. A banner saying “patrons of same sex couples” hangs above Felicity and Perpetua in the colorful icon at the top of this post. It was painted by Maria Cristina, an artist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. More info

3. Gay artist paints "Intimacy with Christ": Richard Stott reflects on sensual spirituality

Detail from “Intimacy with Christ 3”
by Richard Stott

A gay man’s intimacy with Christ is expressed in new art and writing by Richard Stott, a Methodist minister and art therapist in Sheffield, England. Three large paintings that unite sexuality and spirituality emerged from Stott’s prayer life and meditations on the medieval Christian mystics, especially the poem “The Dark Night of the Soul” by Saint John of the Cross. More info

4. Ash Wednesday: A day to recall queers executed for sodomy

Ash Wednesday is an appropriate time to reflect on the sins of the church and state against queer people, including the burning of “sodomites” and execution of thousands for homosexuality over the past thousand years. This article uses historical images and research to remember and honor all those killed for homosexuality in church- or state-sanctioned executions. Ash Wednesday also made the 2012 Top 10 list. In 2013 the Slacktivist blog sent a lot of extra visitors to the Ash Wednesday post by highlighting a quote from a woman executed for sodomy in 1721: “But even were I to be done away with, those who are like me would remain.” In 2014 Ash Wednesday will be March 5. More info

5. LGBT Stations of the Cross show struggle for equality

Station 3 from LGBT Stations of the Cross
by Mary Button
courtesy of Believe Out Loud

“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the suffering of Jesus with the history of LGBT people. Using bold colors and collage, artist Mary Button juxtaposes Christ's journey to Golgotha with milestones from the last 100 years of LGBT history, including Nazi persecution, the Lavender Scare, the Stonewall Rebellion, the assassination of Harvey Milk, the AIDS pandemic, the murder of transgender woman Rita Hester, and LGBT teen suicides. “In the sacrifices of martyrs of the LGBT movement, we can come to a new understanding of the cross, and of what it means to be part of the body of Christ,” Button said. More info

6. Saints Sergius and Bacchus: Male couple martyred in ancient Rome

Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and men who loved each other. The close bond between Sergius and Bacchus has been emphasized since the earliest accounts, and recent scholarship has revealed their homosexuality. The oldest record of their martyrdom describes them as erastai (Greek for “lovers”). Their story is told here in words and art, including historical works and contemporary art. Sergius and Bacchus are perennial favorites at Jesus in Love, where they also made the Top 10 list in 2011 and 2012. More info

7. New info on Francis of Assisi’s queer side revealed

Historical records revealed a queer side to Saint Francis of Assisi as Pope Francis visited the birthplace of his namesake in October 2013. “It will be interesting to hear Pope Francis’ message while he pilgrimages to Assisi. However, the gender-bending St. Francis has already clearly spoken through the ages to the LGBT community,” Franciscan scholar Kevin Elphick said. Saint Francis is one of the most beloved religious figures of all time, known for embracing poverty, loving animals, hugging lepers, and praying for peace. Elphick continued his research into the queer side of Saint Francis in 2013 with his own trip to Assisi, where he photographed artwork depicting the man he believes may have been the saint’s beloved soulmate: Brother Elias of Cortona. More info

8. Queer religious art resource list: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Paganism

Queer religious art resources from Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Paganism are listed on the Jesus in Love Blog. The list provides dozens of links to art created throughout human history, from ancient cave paintings to the most contemporary images of today. It includes Asian, African / African-American, Australian, Celtic, Latina/o, Native American and others. More info

9. Saint Sebastian: History’s first gay icon

“Saint Sebastian”
by Rick Herold

Saint Sebastian has been called history’s first gay icon and the patron saint of homosexuals. Sebastian was an early Christian martyr killed in 288 on orders from the Roman emperor Diocletian. He is the subject of countless artworks that show him being shot with arrows. Little is known about his love life, so his long-standing popularity with gay men is mostly based on the way he looks. Starting in the Renaissance, Sebastian has been painted many times as a near-naked youth writing in a mixture of pleasure and pain. The homoeroticism is obvious. More info

The Spanish translation of this article, San Sebastián: El primer ícono gay de la historia, was the most popular story of the year at the Santos Queer blog

10. Blasphemy debate on queer Nativity

A big blasphemy debate erupted when Believe Out Loud cross-posted a queer Nativity photo and essay by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry in December 2013. "Everyone should be able to see themselves in the Christmas story, including the growing number of LGBT parents and their children," she wrote. Many said it was offensive, blasphemous, ridiculous, stupid, and "makes equality look bad," even though they are a LGBT-affirming Christian group. Others found it inspiring, empowering, and wonderful, providing "instant identity that this story includes me too." The Facebook debate grew to more than 140 comments. The original queer Nativity piece was posted at Jesus in Love in 2009. It is on the Top 10 list now because it was the most controversial content of the year, even though it didn't generate a lot of traffic on the Jesus in Love in 2013. More info

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Related links:

2012’s top 10 LGBT spiritual arts stories

2011’s top 10 LGBT spiritual arts stories

2010’s top 7 LGBT spiritual arts stories

2009’s top 7 GLBT spiritual arts stories

2008’s top 5 queer-spirit arts stories

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Bestselling books of 2013:

Saturday, February 09, 2013

Friday, February 03, 2012

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

2010’s top 7 LGBT spiritual arts stories named

“Krishna and Christ,” artist unknown

Homoerotic love between Christ and Krishna became the top LGBT spiritual arts story for 2010, the Jesus in Love Blog announced today.

The story that got the most page views for the year at the blog was "What if Christ and Krishna made love?" It celebrates new art and poetry about possible gay connections between two of the world’s greatest teachers of love. The post was viewed more than 2,140 times during the year.

The top seven LGBT spiritual arts stories of the year were named today by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry. She founded JesusInLove.org to promote LGBT spirituality and the arts with a blog, e-newsletter and related websites.

“2010 was an exciting year for queer spirituality and the arts,” Cherry says. “Gay-affirming visions of an erotic Christ balanced alarming reports of religion being used as a weapon against LGBT people during the year. Queer people and our allies found strength and inspiration in the erotic Christ, the queer Virgin of Guadalupe and LGBT saints and martyrs."

Here’s a round-up of the year’s top stories with links to the original posts at the Jesus in Love Blog:

1. What if Christ and Krishna made love?
"What if Christ and Krishna made love?" was the most popular story of 2010 with 2,140 page views. A possible gay relationship between two of the world's great religious teachers of love is explored in art and poetry, including the work of Brian Day and Alex Donis.

Most interesting photo of 2010
"Crucifix" by Elisabeth Olson Wallen

2. Erotic Christ/ Rethinking Sin and Grace for LGBT People Today
An essay on the Erotic Christ launched this blog’s major five-part series "Rethinking Sin and Grace for LGBT People Today" by gay Asian-American theologian Patrick Cheng. It was the year's second most popular story here with 1,241 page views. In the introductory post, Cheng wrote, “If the Erotic Christ is understood as God’s deepest desire to be in relationship with us, then sin – defined as what opposes the Erotic Christ – can be understood as exploitation, or the complete lack of mutuality or concern for the needs and desires, sexual or otherwise, of another person.” The photo for this post, "Crucifix" by Elisabeth Olson Wallen, was rated the most interesting photo of the year at Jesus in Love’s Flickr image archive.

3. Religious threats to LGBT people exposed in Jerusalem photos
Religion-based oppression of LGBT people is revealed in “Jerusalem,” a controversial new photo exhibit by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin in Sweden. The year's third most popular story draws attention to the Christian, Jewish and Muslim scriptures that threaten queer people. Photos show local LGBT people in Jerusalem with homophobic texts projected on or near their bodies. "Tranny," a photo of a Jerusalem drag queen, was also the most popular image of the year at Jesus in Love’s Flickr image archive with 385 views.

4. Queer Lady of Guadalupe: artists reimagine an icon
Queer art based on Our Lady of Guadalupe brings a message of holy empowerment that speaks to LGBT people today. Artists Alma Lopez, Alex Donis and Jim Ru re-envisioned the Aztec version of the Virgin Mary in amazing ways, making Guadalupe the most popular saint of the year at the Jesus in Love Blog.

5. Ex-gay movement as genocide
Most people think of genocide as mass murder of a group, but scholars say the “social death” inflicted on LGBT people by the ex-gay movement is an early stage of genocide that can lead to mass murder. Visitors to the Jesus in Love Blog shared this startling post frequently with their friends on Facebook and other social media, making it the most shared story of the year. Ex-gay art by Christine Bakke and James Ingram is featured.

6. New paintings honor gay martyrs
Men killed in gay-bashing murders are honored in powerful new paintings by gay artist-philosopher Matthew Wettlaufer. This post generated the most comments of the year at the Jesus in Love Blog with 33 comments from 10 people. The post includes an interview with Wettlaufer along with his art. Wettlaufer painted Matthew Shepard (1976-98), a university student who was killed in Wyoming, and Allen Schindler (1969-92), a naval officer who was killed by two of his shipmates in Japan. Both were brutally beaten to death for being gay.

7. It Gets Better video: Message to LGBT youth
“It gets better” is the theme of a video message to LGBT youth from Jesus in Love founder Kittredge Cherry. Her heartfelt message became our most popular video of the year with more than 1,000 views. She made it for the It Gets Better Project, a new website where LGBT adults and allies can share stories of hope with LGBT youth.

Founded in 2005, Jesus In Love promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer spirituality and the arts. It supports artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or religious faith. “We specialize in new gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender art that is too queer for religious institutions and too religious for GLBT organizations,” Cherry says. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer.

Jesus In Love has reached thousands of people all over the world, won many honors -- and gotten a lot of hate mail from religious conservatives.

“The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus in Love is needed now as much as ever,” Cherry says. “Christian rhetoric is being misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people, but Jesus taught love for all.”

Thursday, January 14, 2010

2009’s top 7 GLBT spiritual arts stories named

“Noah’s Gay Wedding Cruise” by Paul Richmond, 2009
Oil on canvas, 24” x 30”
www.paulrichmondstudio.com

Noah’s Gay Wedding Cruise, a humorous painting that supports marriage equality, is the top LGBT spiritual arts story for 2009, JesusInLove.org announced today.

The painting above got the most visits and enthusiastic comments at the Jesus in Love Blog on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender spirituality and the arts.

The top seven GLBT spiritual arts stories of the year were named today by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry. She founded JesusInLove.org to promote artistic and religious freedom with a blog, e-newsletter and related websites.

“2009 was an exciting year for queer spirituality and the arts,” Cherry says. “LGBT people and our allies found inspiration, laughter, eroticism and God through a wide range of new artistic creations. In a sense, we were all sailing on Noah’s gay wedding cruise toward a future of love and equality.”

Here’s a round-up of the year’s best with links to the original posts at the Jesus in Love Blog:

1. “Noah’s Gay Wedding Cruise pictured” was the most popular story of 2009. Happy gay and lesbian animal couples mingle with today’s GLBT celebrities in the painting by Ohio artist Paul Richmond. His gay version of Noah’s ark even has drowning sinners -- opponents of gay rights such as Ann Coulter, Fred Phelps, and Larry Craig with his toilet!

2. “An Erotic Encounter with the Divine” was the most influential and top gay story of the year. “Soon after I began silently inviting the Divine Presence to be with us during lovemaking, I noticed that both Scott and I became more aware of each others bodies,” gay Iowan Eric Hays-Strom wrote in a powerful post. It was reprinted in the Dignity USA newsletter and other blogs, as well as generating lots of other positive feedback. It continues to get huge traffic at the Jesus in Love Blog.

3. “300 protest transsexual Jesus play” was the year’s biggest controversy and the top transgender story of the year. More than 300 conservative Christian protesters picketed the Scottish opening of “Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” a play by Jo Clifford about a transwoman Jesus. Clifford’s goal was to create greater understanding of transgendered people like herself

4. Ruth and Naomi were the favorite GLBT saints and the year’s top lesbian story. Ruth expressed love for Naomi in the Bible with famous vows that are often used in weddings: “Whither thou goest, I will go…” Visitors enjoyed the post about Ruth and Naomi so much that it ran twice in 2009, launching a major series on GLBT saints. “Whither Thou Goest” by Atlanta artist Trudie Barreras illustrated both posts.

5. “Gay artist says Jesus never married” got the most comments of the year at the Jesus in Love Blog. A new poster by California artist Dirk Vanden states, “FYI: Jesus never married, nor commanded nor advocated nor performed ‘marriage,’” The poster sparked a passionate blog debate about Jesus’ position on marriage.

6. “Transvestite Jesus appears in photo project” was the most thought-provoking story of the year. A transvestite Jesus and a female Jesus appear in a new series of alternative Christ photos by Colorado artist Bill Burch. The project inspired a South African blogger to write a major essay and stirred controversy at the artist’s school .

7. “Gay Mohammad art censored” got the most hate mail -- for two years in a row! Gay Mohammad images by Iranian-born artist Sooreh Hera were censored from a Dutch art exhibit. The artist defended her work as an expose of Islamic hypocrisy on homosexuality. It was posted back in February 2008, but STILL gets more hateful, obscene comments than anything else by far. Most of the comments are left at the Gay Spirituality Blog, where it is cross-posted. There were 44 comments (22 made in 2009) as of Jan. 7, 2010.

Founded in 2005, JesusInLove.org presents a positive vision of GLBT spirituality and tracks censorship of queer religious art. “We specialize in new gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender art that is too queer for religious institutions and too religious for GLBT organizations,” Cherry says. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer.

JesusInLove.org has reached thousands of people all over the world, won many honors -- and gotten a lot of hate mail from religious conservatives

“The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus in Love is needed now as much as ever,” Cherry says. “Christian rhetoric is being misused to justify hate and discrimination against GLBT people, but Jesus taught love for all.”

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

2008’s top 5 queer-spirit arts stories named

“After the Rainbow Ceremony” by Peter Grahame illustrated the year's top story

Debate about the need for a unique gay spirituality is the top story for 2008, JesusInLove.org announced today. “Gay spirituality vs. everybody spirituality: A new closet?” generated the year’s largest number of comments at the Jesus in Love Blog on queer spirituality and the arts. JesusInLove.org, an online resource center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) spirituality and the arts, has announced its picks for 2008’s top five stories. Here’s a round-up of the year’s top five queer spiritual art news stories. 1. “Gay spirituality vs. everybody spirituality: A new closet?” was the most popular story of 2008 with 40 comments. A big spirituality weekend finds that many, especially young people, don’t recognize the “unique spiritual gifts” that go with being GLBT. 2. “No on Prop 8 protest for gay marriage” was the most popular video of 2008 with more than 2,000 views. The video shows more than 500 people protesting the ban on same-sex marriage at the “Stop the H8” rally against Proposition 8, in Pasadena, California, on Nov. 15. 3. “Gay Mohammad art censored” generated the longest debate, with passionate comments continuing on both sides for 10 months. Gay Mohammad images by Iranian-born artist Sooreh Hera were censored from a Dutch art exhibit. The artist says that her art is an expose of Islamic hypocrisy on homosexuality. 4. “Lammy Awards: GLBT authors laugh, cry and get awards” received the most links from other websites. The Lambda Literary Awards ceremony is “more than a dream come true” as it carries on the sacred literary tradition of gay and lesbian writers. 5. “New novel shows Passion of a Queer Christ” received the most heartfelt response through emails and comments. “WOW! I'm speechless!” was among the respsonses to a queer Christ’s journey in “Jesus in Love: At the Cross” by Kittredge Cherry. “2008 was an outstanding year for queer spirituality and the arts,” says Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and founder of JesusInLove.org. “People cared passionately about gay spirituality, same-sex marriage, GLBT literature and making gay-friendly images of the divine -- including gay Jesus and gay Mohammad.” Founded three years ago, JesusInLove.org presents a positive vision of GLBT spirituality and tracks censorship of queer religious art. It has grown from a single website into an online network that includes a blog, videos, e-newsletter and an image archive. It has reached thousands of people all over the world, won many honors -- and gotten a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians “The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus in Love is needed now as much as ever,” Cherry says. “Christian rhetoric is being misused to justify hate and discrimination against GLBT people, but Jesus taught love for all.”

Vision statement

Jesus in Love supports lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer (LGBTQ) spirituality, with an emphasis on art and literature. It promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on these beliefs: God loves all people, including sexual minorities. The creative process is sacred. The queer visions, especially the gay Jesus and LGBT saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world. Jesus in Love was founded by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as her personal project. It is her gift to the world. Many thanks to everyone who supports her vision.

Comment policy

The Jesus in Love Blog encourages open, respectful discussion through comments. We maintain a safe, polite environment by moderating comments based on the following principles:

1. No personal attacks.
2. No attacks on groups (including claims that homosexuality is a sin).
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6. I reserve the right not to approve any comments for any reason, including those that I find offensive or that create a hostile atmosphere.

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