Ebook Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology, by Patrick S. Cheng

Ebook Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology, by Patrick S. Cheng

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Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology, by Patrick S. Cheng

Ebook Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology, by Patrick S. Cheng

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From Publishers Weekly

Queer theology is more than LGBT people talking about God, according to Cheng, professor at Episcopal Divinity School and ordained minister in the Metropolitan Community Church. The real enterprise for queer theology is challenging binary distinctions and erasing boundaries. This erasure is made possible (indeed demanded) by the radical love espoused by Christianity. Through this love, all boundaries (gay/straight, male/female, life/death, divine/human) are dissolved. The first third of the book gallops through the history and method of queer theology. The barrage of snippets from theologians feels somewhat disjointed and overwhelming, but does provide a taste of the breadth of queer theology. Cheng then uses the framework of the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds to show how radical love can dissolve distinctions. Even liberal Christians might be alarmed at some of the explicit images Cheng connects with God and spiritual matters. Such shocks, however, play into the argument that queer theology should trouble assumptions. Cheng's work provides an accessible if somewhat rushed glimpse into how queer theology works; its main benefit is the extensive bibliography for those wanting more. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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From the Back Cover

Contextual theologies have developed from a number of perspectives - including feminist theology, black theology, womanist theology, Latin American liberation theology, and Asian American theology - and a wide variety of academic and general introductions exist to examine each one. However, Radical Love is the first introductory textbook on the subject of queer theology. Â In this lucid and compelling introduction, Cheng provides a historical survey of how queer theology has developed from the 1950s to today and then explicates the themes of queer theology using the ecumenical creeds as a general framework. Topics include revelation, God, Trinity, creation, Jesus Christ, atonement, sin, grace, Holy Spirit, church, sacraments, and last things, as seen through the lenses of LGBT theologians.

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Product details

Paperback: 176 pages

Publisher: SEABURY BOOKS; 1 edition (March 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1596271329

ISBN-13: 978-1596271326

Product Dimensions:

6 x 0.4 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.2 out of 5 stars

19 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#87,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Patrick S. Cheng is an Episcopal priest, and associate rector at The Church of the Transfiguration, an Anglo-Catholic parish in Manhattan; he has also taught Historical and Systematic Theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge. He has also written Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit and From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ.He wrote in the Introduction to this 2011 book, “Radical love, I contend, is a love so extreme that it dissolves our existing boundaries, whether they are boundaries that separate us from other people, that separate us from preconceived notions of sexuality and gender identity, or that separate us from God. It is the thesis of this book that the connections between Christian theology and queer theory are actually much closer than one would think. That is, radical love lies at the heart of BOTH Christian theology and queer theory. Radical love is at the heart of Christian theology because we Christians believe in a God who… has dissolved the boundaries between death and life, time and eternity, and the human and the divine… Similarly, radical love is also at the heart of queer theory because it challenges our existing boundaries with respect to sexuality and gender identity… as social constructions and NOT essentialist, or fixed, concepts. It should be noted that radical love is not about abolishing all rules or justifying an antinomian existence, sexual or otherwise. Radical love is ultimately about LOVE… As such, radical love is premised upon safe, sane, and consensual behavior. Thus, nonconsensual behavior… is by definition excluded from radical love.” (Pg. x)He continues, “However, to date there have not been many easily accessible introductions or surveys of the field for individuals who are not familiar with queer theory on the one hand, or the traditional doctrines of Christian theology, on the other. This book seeks to fill that gap in the discourse. It also provides study questions and suggested resources for further study at the end of each main section, which makes it ideal for self-study, for religious studies, and queer studies classes, or for adult education in parishes and congregations.” (Pg. xi)In the first chapter, he explains, “So what exactly is queer theology?... there are at least three possible definitions… First, queer theology is LGBT people ‘talking about God.’ Second, queer theology is ‘talking about God’ in a self-consciously transgressive manner, especially in terms of challenging societal norms about sexuality and gender. Third, queer theology is ‘talk about God’ that challenges and deconstructs the natural binary categories of sexual and gender identity.” (Pg. 9)He continues, “Indeed, it is the thesis of this book that Christian theology itself is a fundamentally queer enterprise because it also challenges and deconstructs---through radical love---all kinds of binary categories that on the surface seem fixed and unchangeable (such as life vs. death, or divine vs. human), but that ultimately are fluid and malleable… Christian theology is fundamentally a queer enterprise because it focuses on the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of Jesus Christ, all of which are events which turn upside down our traditional understanding of life and death, divine and human, center and margins, beginnings and endings, infinite and finite, and punishment and forgiveness… it is in Jesus Christ that all of these seemingly fixed binary categories are ultimately challenge and collapsed.” (Pg. 10-11)He states, “God is the sending forth of radical love… Not only is God love, but God is a love what is described in terms of extreme wealth and superabundance. In other words, not only is God defined as radical love itself, but God’s very being consists of the continuous sending forth of this radical love to others.” (Pg. 44) He goes on, “the doctrine of revelation can be understood as God coming out to us. This self-revelation is grounded in God’s love for us, and it is a radical kind of love because it dissolves existing boundaries that separate the divine from the human, the powerful from the weak, and knowing from unknowing. In fact, the doctrine of revelation can be understood in terms of … [negative] theology, in which our knowledge of God---like our understanding of the category of ‘transgender’---is always in a state of transformation and unknowing.” (Pg. 48)He elaborates, “As such, God functions in the same way as LGBT people with respect to radical love. To the extent that LGBT people break down boundaries of sexuality and gender in our relationships, both God and LGBT people send forth a radical love that breaks down fixed categories and boundaries. For God, these categories include the divine and human, and life and death. For LGBT people, these boundaries include the categories of female and male, homosexual and heterosexual.” (Pg. 51)He points out, “All too often, we are forced to separate our sexual, racial, and spiritual identities into separate compartments. For example, with respect to sexuality, it is difficult to be openly gay in many Asian American communities and/or faith communities, both of which can be highly homophobic. With respect to race, it is difficult to open embrace one’s Asian American heritage in many LGBT communities and/or faith communities, both of which can be highly racist. Finally, with respect to spirituality, it is difficult to be an ‘out’ person of faith in many LGBT communities and/or Asian American communities, both of which can be very secular and have a deep bias against religion and spirituality.” (Pg. 60)He argues, “sin can be understood by queer theology to be ‘sexual and gender essentialism.’ That is, whenever we understand sexuality and gender identity to be fixed and unchangeable (that is, by limiting sexuality to only homosexual and heterosexual, or by limiting gender identity to only female and male), we commit the sin of essentialism by failing to recognize the constructed nature of these categories. In creating and perpetuating these false dichotomies, we reinforce---rather than erase---sexual and gender categories. By contrast, whenever we challenge the essentialist nature of these categories, we experience the grace of constructivism.” (Pg. 74)He suggests, “Jesus Christ… can be understood by LGBT people as the ‘embodiment of radical love,’ or radical love made flesh… Jesus Christ is the living embodiment of the dissolution of boundaries. As such, Jesus Christ is the boundary-crosser extraordinaire, whether this relates to divine, social, sexual, or gender boundaries.” (Pg. 78-79) He continues, “Jesus also crosses sexual boundaries… [his] life and ministry can be viewed as dissolving the rigid line between ‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual.’” (Pg 80)He asks, “Who is the Holy Spirit for LGBT people today?... the Holy Spirit continues along the trajectory that first started with God sending forth radical love and second with Jesus Christ recovering the radical love that had been rejected by humanity. We can understand this third and final movement as the Holy Spirit HELPING us to return to the radical love from which we all came.” (Pg. 100)He acknowledges, “Finally, queer theology must wrestle with the question of the Last Judgment, and issues of eternal punishment and reward, particularly since so many LGBT people are told that we will be condemned to eternal suffering for engaging in same-sex acts. I believe that if radical love is to triumph in the end, than ALL barriers that separate us from God will be dissolved, including those of punishment and reward… This does not mean that people will not need to be purified before reaching heaven… but, in the end, all will reach heaven.” (Pg. 135)He concludes, “If this book has resulted in dissolving some of the boundaries that historically have separated Christianity and queerness, spirituality and sexuality, and soul and body, then it will have succeeded in pointing the way to the eschatological erasure that is our ultimate destiny. In sum, Christian theology … promises us that NOTHING… can ever separate us from the love of God. There is no love that is more radical than that, and that is why Christian theology is, at its core, a queer enterprise.” (Pg. 139-140)This unique perspective on theology will be of keen interest to a wide variety of readers: LGBTQ, Asian-American, and plain students of contemporary theology.

Although I was intrigued by this book when I read an article by the author some time ago, it took me awhile to convince myself to purchase it; actually, as a reviewer for the Amazon Vine program, I hoped it might be offered there. However, even though I have tried to avoid further purchases of books as I continue to re-read those already in my library, Cheng's exceptional re-thinking of theology in the modern context is one I am glad to have encountered.Let me be honest. I am in fact a person who fits the definition of "queer" that he gives. Although I have been married to a person of the opposite sex for over fifty years, and we are the parents of five children, four of which are "naturally born" and one adopted, my husband is bisexual. At the time when he came out to me, in the early 1970's, there was almost nothing available in terms of positive discussion of alternative lifestyles. Fortunately, due to the writing of Troy Perry, John McNeill, and John Boswell, all of whom are sources cited in Patrick Cheng's amazing treatise, I began to move in the direction of understanding which this author has so wonderfully summarized.The fact is that Cheng has indeed articulated what everyone who has any interest in the reality of "God with Us", which is the fundamental premise of Christianity, needs to recognize. Although the book is a bit academic in parts, and the footnotes are completely illegible to my aging eyes, his research is impeccable. I know this because over the nearly 40 years of my own journey into understanding the truth that God not only loves, but intentionally created, a diversity that includes people of ALL sexual orientations and genders, I gladly read many of those authors.The basic premise of this book is that when we say "God is Love", we have to honestly accept the fullness of the meaning of that statement, not just mouth a platitude. Anyone who is serious about going beyond antiquated doctrines into a genuine understanding of what the meaning of Christianity must be for our modern age cannot afford to overlook Cheng's exceptionally creative reflections.

Great resource. I am using this book as the foundational reading for a Bible Study series on Queer theology. It's excellent; very accessible to non-seminarians, and does a great job summarizing the literature in this area. A great introduction to the topic.

This book is a very clear and informative introduction to queer theology. It can be easily understood by those who are new to the concept of theology as well as those who are new to the concept of queer or queer theology. The idea of radical love is apparent throughout Cheng's work. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring this subject.

needed

This book has really made me think about a lot of different things in different ways.

I would especially recommend this to any seminary student, priest, or religious leader, regardless of their own sexual orientation or gender identity, as a way of understanding how Christ is revealing himself to a people that have been historically marginalized and often excluded by the traditional Church. This really is the story of maturing human spirituality that is becoming incarnate in the emerging churches - and once again demonstrating God's love being revealed by the most unlikely of people.

This book provides an amazing account of much if not nearly all of the work being done in queer theology today. Cheng draws upon his own experience and thinking of God within the trinity to replicate how barriers and exclusive boundaries are broken down. I have given it four stars because at points, Cheng's extensive summaries become tiresome. It is unfortunate that the writer's own ideas are surrounded by so much summary; he certainly positions himself among them, but does so at his own (and his reader's) peril. An excellent place to start for getting an overview of Queer Theology.

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