Friday, March 18, 2016

Gay Passion of Christ series starts Sunday

“The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” by Douglas Blanchard on display (Photo by Dorie Hagler)

A gay vision of Christ’s Passion starts this Sunday here at the Jesus in Love Blog. New posts will run daily from Palm Sunday through Easter.

All 24 paintings in Douglas Blanchard’s “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” will be posted here with commentary by Kittredge Cherry and short Bible passages.

The paintings present Jesus as a contemporary gay man in a modern city as he lives out the dramatic events of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. The paintings and reflections are also available as a book.


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Gay Passion of Christ series starts Sunday on Jesus in Love blog at Q Spirit

Click the titles below to view individual paintings and text in the series. Links will be added as the series is posted.


1. Son of Man (Human One) with Job and Isaiah
2. Jesus Enters the City
3. Jesus Drives Out the Money Changers
4. Jesus Preaches in the Temple
5. The Last Supper
6. Jesus Prays Alone
7. Jesus Is Arrested
8. Jesus Before the Priests
9. Jesus Before the Magistrate
10. Jesus Before the People
11. Jesus Before the Soldiers
12. Jesus Is Beaten
13. Jesus Goes to His Execution
14. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
15. Jesus Dies
16. Jesus Is Buried
17. Jesus Among the Dead
18. Jesus Rises
19. Jesus Appears to Mary
20. Jesus Appears at Emmaus
21. Jesus Appears to His Friends
22. Jesus Returns to God
23. The Holy Spirit Arrives
24. The Trinity

Click here to donate to support the gay Passion series at Jesus in Love

See all 24 paintings

The Holy Week posts are timed so that Christ dies on Good Friday and rises again on Easter itself.

"The Passion of Christ:
A Gay Vision
Blanchard’s images show Jesus being jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine look-alikes and rising again to enjoy homoerotic moments with God and friends. He stands up to priests, businessmen, lawyers, and soldiers—all of whom look eerily similar to the people holding those jobs today. His surprisingly diverse friends join him on a journey from suffering to freedom.

Blanchard, a gay painter based in New York, and Cherry, a lesbian author and art historian in Los Angeles, have turned this series into a book. “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” with Blanchard's paintings and Cherry's text was be published in fall 2014 by Apocryphile Press.

“We are sharing the gay Passion series to make Christ more accessible to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and our allies,” said Cherry, founder of JesusInLove.org. The website promotes artistic and religious freedom by supporting LGBT spirituality and the arts. “Christ’s story is for everyone, but queer people often feel left out because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination,” she said.

Cherry was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its National Ecumenical Officer, advocating for LGBT rights at the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches. In 2005 she created Jesus in Love to support LGBT spirituality and the arts and show God’s love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It has grown to include a popular blog, e-newsletter and website. She earned degrees in journalism and art history from the University of Iowa, and a master of divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion.

“These powerful paintings break the deadly illusion that Jesus belongs exclusively to a particular time or group,” says author Kittredge Cherry, a minister and art historian. “The paintings and the book that I wrote about them have been attacked as blasphemy by conservative Christians. But we refuse to concede Jesus to those who act like they own the copyright on Christ, then use him as a weapon to dominate others. The gay Passion of Christ is intended to broaden, not limit how Jesus is perceived. ”

Blanchard teaches art and art history at the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York. He was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1982 and remains an active Episcopalian and self-described “very agnostic believer.” He earned a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute, an MA in art history from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MFA cum laude from the New York Academy of Art.

He spent four years painting the gay Passion. He started in summer 2001, but it took on new meaning on Sept. 11 when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center near his studio on New York’s Lower East Side. He used the series to grapple with his own faith struggles as a New Yorker who witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The gay Jesus himself appears surprisingly accessible in Blanchard’s art. “Christ is one of us in my pictures,” Blanchard in the book's introduction. “In His sufferings, I want to show Him as someone who experiences and understands fully what it is like to be an unwelcome outsider.”

Each of the Passion pictures is oil on wood panel, 18 inches by 14 inches.  Some originals are available for purchase.

Reproductions of the Passion paintings are available as greeting cards and prints in a variety of sizes and formats online at Fine Art America.

Selections from Blanchard’s Passion also appear in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. A Lambda Literary Award finalist, the book is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists from the U.S. and Europe.

The New York Times Book Review praised Cherry’s “very graceful, erudite” writing style. She has written seven books, including “Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations” and “Jesus in Love: A Novel.”

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Related links for “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision”:

*Book website

*Prints and greeting cards

*Advocate.com: "Artist Doug Blanchard's haunting contemporary paintings of the Passion of Christ are an emotional reminder of the courage it takes to resist the powers that be."

*Facebook u-turns to allow gay Jesus crucifixion ad (Gay Star News)
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Other links:

“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” by Mary Button with commentary by Kittredge Cherry

Excerpts from "Jesus in Love: At the Cross" by Kittredge Cherry

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

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

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

“Traces of His Presence” by Eric Martin

Jesus praised a gay soldier as a model of faith and healed his male lover in the gospels, according to many Bible experts. The soldier, a centurion in the Roman army, is highlighted here today (March 15) for the feast day of Longinus, a centurion at the crucifixion of Jesus.


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Gay centurion: Jesus heals a soldier’s boyfriend in the Bible

“Centurion”
by Luc Viatour
www.Lucnix.be
Both Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 tell how a centurion asked Jesus to heal the young man referred to in Greek as his “pais.” The word was commonly used for the younger partner in a same-sex relationship. It is usually translated as boy, servant or slave. In recent years progressive Bible scholars have concluded that the centurion was in a homosexual relationship with the “slave who was dear to him” in the gospel story.

Jesus was willing to go into the centurion’s house to heal his lover, but the centurion stopped him, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Jesus marveled and told the crowd around him, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith!” To the centurion he said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And his boyfriend was healed at that moment.

Scholars believe that “boy” was the centurion’s sex partner not only due to the word “pais,” but also because it is unlikely that a soldier would care so much about an ordinary slave. It was common in Greco-Roman culture for mature men to pair up with a young man as his lover in “erastes-eromenes” pederastic sexual relationship.

This interpretation is promoted by LGBT-friendly church groups such as WouldJesusDiscriminate.org on billboards stating “Jesus affirmed a gay couple.” For more info, see my previous post, Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.



The centurion’s story has gotten surprisingly little attention throughout history considering that Jesus himself was impressed by his faith. But the Roman soldier has always been an unlikely role model. Jesus’ contemporaries were probably shocked that the great healer would praise a military man who enforced Roman occupation of their land. Today people may find the centurion unappealing because he may have been queer, or a slave owner, or both. It was just like Jesus to take someone disreputable and praise them as holy.

Detail from “Healing the Centurion’s Servant” in Mother Stories From the New Testament by Anonymous, 1906

While the faithful centurion himself is rarely mentioned, his words do live on in a prayer used in many Catholic and Protestant eucharistic liturgies. For example, the prayer immediately before communion at Catholic mass paraphrases his words: “Lord I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

Saint Longinus, whose feast day is today (March 15) is the centurion who pierced Christ’s side at the crucifixion and declared, “Truly this man was the son of God.” It’s possible that he is the same faithful gay centurion whose beloved boyfriend was healed by Jesus.

“Crucifixion” by Christopher Olwage (oil on canvas)

Gay New Zealand artist Christopher Olwage pictures the centurion and his “pais” with Jesus at the cross in his 2015 crucifixion painting. The scene is framed by a male couple: the Centurion on the left and the man “who was dear to him” on the right. The nude painting includes two other men who may have had male-male sexual relationships with Christ: John, who is most often identified as the Beloved Disciple and Lazarus. For more info, see the previous post Gay Jesus painting shown in New Zealand.

Jesus’ healing interaction with the same-sex couple has fascinated artist Eric Martin so much that he created two works based on their story. Martin is a gay poet, artist, and church organist in Burlington, North Carolina. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

“Traces of His Presence” at the top of this post uses fluid lines and bold red to reveal the face of Christ in the holy space between the centurion and his beloved.

“The Visit” by Eric Martin

Martin takes a more realistic approach in “The Visit.” A rainbow arches behind Jesus as he gazes at the centurion and his pais. Their varied expressions draw the viewer deeper into the drama.

Books that explore the homosexuality of the centurion include:

Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times by Tom Horner

Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians, and Everybody Else by John McNeill

The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality by Daniel Helminiak

The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament by Theodore Jennings

“Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant” by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) (Wikimedia Commons)
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Related links:

A gay centurion comes out to Jesus (Gay Christian 101)

Jesus and the centurion (Wild Reed)

Gay centurion (My Queer Scripture)

The centurion of great faith (Homosexuality and Scripture by Pharsea)

Jesus, the centurion, and his lover (Jack Clark Robinson at Gay and Lesbian Review)

When Jesus Healed a Same-Sex Partner by Jay Michaelson (Huffington Post)

The Gay Gospel? (The L Stop)

El centurión gay: Jesús cura al novio de un soldado romano en la Biblia (Santos Queer)

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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.



Monday, March 07, 2016

Perpetua and Felicity: Patron saints of same-sex couples


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Perpetua and Felicity: Patron saints of same-sex couples
“Perpetua and Felicity” by Angela Yarber

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. Their feast day is March 7.

Perpetua and Felicity were arrested for being Christian, imprisoned together, and held onto each other in the last moments before they died together on March 7, 203.

Perpetua and Felicity are still revered both inside and outside the church. For example, they are named together in the Roman Catholic Canon of the Mass. They are often included in lists of LGBTQ saints because they demonstrate the power of love between two women.

The details of their imprisonment are known because Perpetua kept a journal, the first known written document by a woman in Christian history. In fact, her "Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions” was so revered in North Africa that St. Augustine warned people not to treat it like the Bible. People loved the story of the two women comforting each other in jail and giving each other the kiss of peace as they met their end in the amphitheater at Carthage, where they were mauled by wild animals before being beheaded.

Perpetua was a 22-year-old noblewoman and a nursing mother. Felicity, her slave, gave birth to a daughter while they were in prison. Although she was married, Perpetua's husband is conspicuously absent from her diary.

Yale history professor John Boswell names Perpetua and Felicity as one of the three primary pairs of same-sex lovers in the early church. (The others are Polyeuct and Nearchus and Sergius and Bacchus.) The love story of Felicity and Perpetua is told with historical detail in two books, “Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe” by Boswell and “Passionate Holiness” by Dennis O’Neill. He is founder of the Living Circle, the interfaith LGBT spirituality center that commissioned the following icon of the loving same-sex pair. It was painted by Brother Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar and world-class iconographer known for his progressive icons.

Saints Perpetua and Felicity
By Brother Robert Lentz, OFM, www.trinitystores.com

The Lentz icon of Perpetua and Felicity 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. It is rare to see an icon about the love between women, especially two dark-skinned African women. The rich reds and heart-shaped double-halo make it look like a holy Valentine. “Perpetua and Felicity” is one of 40 icons featured in “Christ in the Margins,” an illustrated book by Robert Lentz and Edwina Gateley.

“I first learned of Perpetua and Felicity on Kittredge Cherry’s blog, Jesus in Love. Now they join my other Holy Women Icons with a folk feminist twist,” writes artist Angela Yarber at the Feminism and Religion blog. She is a painter, scholar, dancer, minister and LGBT-rights activist based in North Carolina. Nearly 50 color images of her folk feminist icons included in her book "Holy Women Icons." Yarber depicts the pair of women saints with golden warmth and an African vibe. Her icon at the top of this post shows Perpetua and Felicity hugging as their hearts unite into a single large heart. It is inscribed with the words:

Comfort, love, and a holy kiss
Bound their hearts in
The moment of death,
Embracing so that all
May embrace
“Felicity and Perpetua: Patrons of Same-Sex Couples” by Maria Cristina

A banner saying “patrons of same sex couples” hangs above Felicity and Perpetua in the colorful icon painted by Maria Cristina, an artist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She paints the two women holding hands in an elegant gesture. The skull of a long-horn cow, similar to paintings of famous New Mexico artist Georgia O’Keefe, adds a welcome bit of Southwestern flavor to the image.

Felicity and Perpetua by Jim Ru
Artist Jim Ru was inspired to paint Felicity and Perpetua as a kissing couple. His version was displayed in his show “Transcendent Faith: Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Saints” in Bisbee Arizona in the 1990s.

Irish artist St. George Hare, painted an erotic, romanticized vision of Perpetua and Felicity around 1890. His painting “The Victory of Faith” shows the women as an inter-racial couple sleeping together nude on a prison floor.


Their lives are the subject of several recent historical novels, including “Perpetua: A Bride, A Martyr, A Passion” by Amy Peterson and “The Bronze Ladder” by Malcolm Lyon.

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Related links:

"Eternal Bliss" - SS Felicity and Perpetua, March 7th (Queer Saints and Martyrs - and Others)

Suspect 3rd Century Women Put to Death in Arena: Ancient Hate Crime? (Unfinished Lives: Remembering LGBT hate crime victims)

Perpetua y Felicitas: santas patronas de parejas del mismo sexo (Santos Queer)

This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.

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Icons of Perpetua and Felicity and many others are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores



Friday, March 04, 2016

Gay love stops hiding from church oppression in new music video: “Hiding” by Ray Isaac


Gay love in the church, electroshock “conversion” therapy and Christianity’s role in suppressing homosexuality are exposed in a controversial new music video by Australian pop singer-songwriter Ray Isaac.

His single “Hiding” and its accompanying music video have offended some religious groups and delighted many listeners since its release in late January.

“I say, no more hiding,” explained Isaac, who is both a Christian and a supporter of LGBTI rights. “The message in my video is that everyone deserves to be loved for who they are without conditions.”

Based on Isaac’s own experiences, the video includes disturbing scenes of sparks flying as church leaders try to rid a man of same-sex attraction by zapping him with electric shocks.



“The electroshock scene in the beginning and end is a therapy which is still happening to gay people to convert them and UnGay them. This is supported and referred to by church organisations in secret. It happened to me!” Isaac said in his YouTube comments on the video.

Isaac plays the role of a priest who is in love with another man, but still helps administer the torturous church-sponsored ex-gay “reparative” therapy.

Ray Isaac plays a gay priest overseeing anti-gay electroshock therapy in his “Hiding” music video

“It’s time to hold mirrors up towards ignorant religious groups and force them to face the unrealistic terms and conditions placed on the LGBT community. We must expose what is going on behind ‘holy closet doors’ and change the rules to be more inclusive of all human beings,” Isaac explained.

The content is so tough that public-relations companies refused to help promote the music video. And yet Isaac’s video does offer hope that religious leaders have the potential to change and liberate LGBT people.

The emotional video also tells Isaac’s own story of loving another man who loves him back but is pressured to marry a woman, leading to unexpected plot twists and a surprise ending. “Ultimately, they must decide to either keep hiding or set themselves free and pay the consequences,” he said.

Isaac decided to portray a priest for the sake of LGBT clergy. He commented on YouTube that he wanted to express his hope for “a world where clergy and their partners will be accepted as gay, as well as every human being and their partners accepted by religions for being gay or bi or trans.”

Electric shock has been used in efforts to “cure” homosexuality since the early 20th century. The method was discredited decades ago by psychologists, and some states and countries outlawed it. But it still continues in some places. One prominent gay clergyman who experienced it was Mel White, an evangelical pastor who later came out, transferred his clergy credentials to LGBT-affirming Metropolitan Community Churches, and founded Soulforce to end religious oppression of LGBTQI people. In his autobiography “Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America” he described his early years of being exorcised, electric-shocked and nearly driven to suicide because his church said homosexuality was wrong.

Isaac affirms that LGBT love is compatible with Christian faith. “We are made perfect in GOD's image,” Isaac said. “I hope one day that all religions will erase such judgement and contradiction and finally accept that EVERYONE is of God and has the right to love without consequences, guilt and regulations!”

Fans responded with enthusiastic comments thanking him for “sharing your pain and showing it to reveal to the world we need to love everyone the same.”

Recently Isaac released a shorter and more upbeat “Funk3d Remix” video of “Hiding,” with some of the most frightening scenes omitted.



Isaac’s previous song “Who I Am” has been used in anti-bullying and equality campaigns around the world. He first made a splash on the music scene with such hits as “I Don’t Give a Damn” and “U Want or U Don’t,” both of which enjoyed chart-topping success. His edgy brand of pop music has been called “an emotionally-driven rollercoaster ride.”

Isaac grew up in a Catholic Lebanese family in Sydney, Australia. He experienced a vision of Mother Mary that inspired his music -- and also led him to get more involved in the church, eventually including electroshock therapy.  Finally his own personal connection with God, Jesus and Mary gave him the strength to leave the church group that was damaging his spirit.  Now he is courageously revealing his experiences through his music.

Ray Isaac runs as a priest in his “Hiding” music video

His deep, loving connection with Mary is expressed musically in his song and music video “Mother Mary Song (Ya Oum Allah).” It begins with an Arabic prayer that is similar to the “Hail Mary” prayer.



Isaac discusses his spiritual journey in depth in the following exclusive interview with Kittredge Cherry of the Jesus in Love Blog.


Kittredge Cherry: Why did you choose to release the “Hiding” music video even though PR companies refused to promote it?

Ray Isaac: Because I felt it was very important to tell my story and my struggles. I also know that so many people have suffered far worse circumstances than mine and I needed them to know that I understand and I want to help let the world know! This torment still exists.


KC: You have said that the “Hiding” music video tells your story… of falling in love a man who is hiding that he is gay, of getting electroshock therapy to change your sexual orientation. What role did religion play in your own story?

RI: After Mother Mary appeared to me a few years back I felt the right thing to do was to start going to church and getting more involved in the Catholic religion. But boy was I wrong! The more I went to church and mixed with the devout Catholic groups, the more I started to feel guilt for being myself and living day to day. Such as guilt for swearing or for being gay, going to gay bars, not giving up things for Lent etc. The people in the church were dimming my light and they didn’t even realise.

So instead of growing spirituality so that I could have that closer connection with God, Jesus and Mary, I started to question if I was worthy and loved just the way I was. I then went through depression because of it. I wanted to be straight. I didn’t fit in anywhere. Not with the gays and not at church.

During the low times I heard a voice in my mind and it woke me up out of my sleep and it said “My Son, There’s nothing wrong with you! I made you perfect just the way you are. Get up out of that bed and know that you know the truth about me more than any of these people.”

From that day forward I went on my spiritual journey by myself and now I have found many inclusive churches which are fantastic.


KC: Why do you portray yourself as a priest in the video?

RI: I just wanted to tell two stories: One is of a gay person forced by his family and community to go back in the closet and marry a woman and the other is for the sake of gay clergy. I just chose to be the priest because I have known many priests in that situation and it just felt the right thing to do. My belief is that if religions just accepted all people for who they are then we wouldn’t have such a divide -- within clergy and within the community in general.


KC: Have you considered becoming a priest or minister in real life? With your message of all-inclusive love, you would make a good one.

RI: No, I think I can heal more people by being an artist and being freer without rules. I also don’t fully think the Bible is accurate, so it would just upset me too much. I would prefer to use my songs and lyrics to heal people that way. Thank you so much. I have many amazing priest friends. And they support me (in secret) lol.


KC: Many Jesus in Love readers have struggled to bring together Christian faith and LGBT spirituality. Please tell about your spiritual journey and your current relationship with the church and with God.

RI: I think I answered most of that above, but right now I feel God and my angels, especially Jesus and Mother Mary, are closer than ever. The day Jesus spoke to me and I left the church ironically was the day my relationship was healed and closer again.

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This post is part of the Artists series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series profiles artists who use lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer spiritual and religious imagery.

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

Thursday, March 03, 2016

New in March: LGBTQ Christian books "The Firebrand and the First Lady" and "Space at the Table"


Two new LGBTQ Christian books this month provide insight into relationships: between a theologian and his gay son, and between a First Lady and her friend who struggled with whether she was a lesbian.

The books are “The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice” by Claudia Rapp and “Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son” by Brad and Drew Harper.



BESTSELLER AT JESUS IN LOVE
The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice” by Patricia Bell-Scott.

Pauli Murray, an Episcopal priest who struggled as what she called “homosexual” or “pseudo-hermaphrodite,” is examined in a solid new biography. Murray is best known as an African American civil rights activist. The new biography draws on letters, diaries and interviews to present the first in-depth portrait of her friendship with Roosevelt, including Paul’s issues with sexual orientation and gender identity. Her role as a priest is also discussed. The author is women’s studies professor emerita at the University of Georgia. Published by Knopf.




Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son” by Brad and Drew Harper.

Love overcomes condemnation in this memoir of how an evangelical pastor and his gay son struggled successfully to build a positive adult relationship. Their journey takes them from painful conversion therapy and the churches of Middle America to the penthouses of New York’s queer party scene and beyond. Brad Harper has been a theology professor at Multnomah University in Portland, OR. He also worked as a pastor and church planter at two evangelical churches in St. Louis, MO. Drew Stafford Harper is a journalist and actor. Published by Zeal Books through crowdfunding with more than 600 backers.


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Related links:

New LGBTQ Christian books in Feb 2016: “Brother-Making in Late Antiquity" and “Two Pews from Crazy”

Top 25 LGBTQ Christian books of 2015 named (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)

Jesus in Love Bookstore (includes LGBT Christian classics)

15 LGBTQ Christian Valentine’s Day books, movies and gifts (Jesus in Love)


Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts