A Special IlluminationAuthority, Inspiration and Heresy in Gay Spirituality
Rollan McCleary
| Paperback Price £17.99/$35.00 |    |
Description
Rollan McCleary's work opens up new dimensions to the study of
spirituality and our understanding of sexuality. He offers an intriguing
and thought-provoking thesis that will challenge and engage its
audience.'
Revd. Canon Prof. Martyn Percy, Principal, Ripon College, Cuddesdon
Gay Spirituality represents a hidden stream in Western thought that in the wake of Gay Liberation has finally declared itself and enlarged its borders. Since 'coming out' in the 1970s against the background of a liberationist secularism that at first ignored it, expressions of gay spirituality are many and increasing. Beginning with especially gay theology within Christianity the phenomenon has reached everywhere from Buddhism to neo-paganism. But so far critical assessment of the movement is minimal to non existent. This lack is due to a refusal to regard the trend as more than a claim to rights and acceptance within religious circles as opposed to the more serious questioning of the self, of vision and of ethics.
Gay Spirituality should be seen not just as supplementary to religion but a question directed at the heart of religion itself in which, at least historically, gay people have often had an influential role. The controversy that is Gay Spirituality is thus a major one that anyone interested in religious issues can no longer afford to overlook. If Gay Spirituality does not disrupt religion as conservatives fear, it should be seen as a way forward, the gift to religion of 'a special illumination.'
Rollan McCleary's work opens up new dimensions to the study of
spirituality and our understanding of sexuality. He offers an intriguing
and thought-provoking thesis that will challenge and engage its
audience.'
Revd. Canon Prof. Martyn Percy, Principal, Ripon College, Cuddesdon
Gay Spirituality represents a hidden stream in Western thought that in the wake of Gay Liberation has finally declared itself and enlarged its borders. Since 'coming out' in the 1970s against the background of a liberationist secularism that at first ignored it, expressions of gay spirituality are many and increasing. Beginning with especially gay theology within Christianity the phenomenon has reached everywhere from Buddhism to neo-paganism. But so far critical assessment of the movement is minimal to non existent. This lack is due to a refusal to regard the trend as more than a claim to rights and acceptance within religious circles as opposed to the more serious questioning of the self, of vision and of ethics.
Gay Spirituality should be seen not just as supplementary to religion but a question directed at the heart of religion itself in which, at least historically, gay people have often had an influential role. The controversy that is Gay Spirituality is thus a major one that anyone interested in religious issues can no longer afford to overlook. If Gay Spirituality does not disrupt religion as conservatives fear, it should be seen as a way forward, the gift to religion of 'a special illumination.'
Contents
Foreword
Part One: Authority
1. General Introduction
2. Gay Theology
3. Queer Spirituality and Theology
4. Experience and Gay Pastoral Theology
Part Two: Inspiration
5. Towards a Faerie Vision
6. Inside the Faerie Vision, Spirit and Soul
7. Gay Mystics
8. The Way of Eros and Ganymede
Part Three: Heresy
9. Uses and Abuses of Heresy
10. Achieving Synthesis
Afterword: Incompletion and the Ethical Question
Reviews
'This is an important book.'
Toby Johnson, author of Gay Spirituality: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness, LAMBDA Book Report
'...the author's achievement has been to produce a project which touches base with practially every aspect of contemporary discussion of sexuality, particularly in the area of religion (and that far wider than Christianity). Rollan McCleary has therefore provided important (and sometimes special) illumination upon many avenues which deserve to be explored further.'
Paul Middleton, The University of Wales, Lampeter
'...this book is an invaluable resource for the areas of gay spirituality and LGBTQ theologies. For biblical scholars, especially, it introduces along tradition of LGBTQ interpretations of an insights into biblical narratives, images, and figures that for too long has been unheard of or ignored.' Review of Biblical Literature
Specifications
| ISBN-10 (Hardback) | 1 904768 53 9 (OP) |
| ISBN-13 (Hardback) | 9781904768531 (OP) |
| ISBN-10 (Paperback) | 1 904768 54 7 |
| ISBN-13 (Paperback) | 9781904768548 |
| Price (Paperback) | £17.99/$35.00 |
| Publication Date | December 2004 |
| Pages | 320 |
| Readership | undergraduates, graduates and academics |
| Availability | HB EDITION IS OUT OF PRINT |
| WWW Link | Click here for further details |
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