“I have a theory as to why the official bodies of the churches seem just to circle the issue of homosexuality endlessly, not getting anywhere. I believe that the debate is not really about homosexuality at all, it is about heterosexuality and how far heterosexuality can be stretched. When in the nineteenth century the church was presented with a new understanding of humanity by the medical and social sciences, which placed sexuality at the heart and root of human personhood and which classified people according to their attraction to the same or opposite sex, it had precious few theological resources to draw upon to respond…
Whilst bishops and elders and delegates exhaust themselves in this futile debate most have failed to notice that many of the bodies they have been endlessly circling have got up and walked away. One of the most extraordinary features of late twentieth-century Christianity has been the way in which innumerable groups of Christians who have been the object of theological discourse and discussion have found their own theological voice as part of wider social movements in which they have claimed the ability and right to define and reflect upon their own experience. What is now often labeled as ‘queer theology’ is part of this process.”
From the introduction, by author and editor Elizabeth Stuart.
Great for:
An introduction to queer theology – one that directly involves gay, lesbian, transgender, and the entire LGBTQ+ community.