God has assumed a significant role in the sex lives of believers. It is God who decrees which types of sexual expression are permitted, and which forbidden. Through the Church, a patriarchal sexual landscape has been enacted to control sexual bodies which exerts its influence even in our secular culture.

The Good News of the Body is a wide-ranging anthology on feminist sexual theology. Noting that Jesus, while being declared divine, took human form, the volume questions what happens when the flesh, rather than the Word, is placed at the center of theological reflection. What happens when women's bodies form the incarnational starting point for sexual politics and theology? Contributors, including Rosemary Ruether, Mary Hunt, and Melissa Raphael, examine such topics as the possibility of a Roman Catholic approach to sexuality bringing together the three aspects of Christian love of eros, philia, and agape; Jewish sexual and mystical teaching; the de-sexing of the disabled; erotic celibacy; human sexuality and the concept of the goddess; and the sometimes surprisingly similar conclusions about contraception reached by feminists and popes.

This book brings together the narratives of diverse ministers from the Global South in order to show that queer theologies are impacting in many parts of the world and queer lives are moulding and enriching Christian ministry. Across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, we are witnessing the emergence of queer faith-based communities in very different contexts and with very different histories. The perspectives included in the book form a tapestry that honors diversity among the Global South's queer communities and ministries. They demonstrate the various ways in which queer ministry challenges and changes theological understanding as well as religious practice. Each chapter highlights issues pertaining to liturgy, sacraments, pastoral rites, and the personal faith journey that each minister underwent to foster pastoral queer theologies. Contributors focus on their understanding of the relationship between faith and sexuality, how rituals relate to the daily lives of queer believers, and the struggles they face within the political structures of religious institutions. The narratives highlight some of the challenges and mechanisms deployed to cope with ingrained LGBTIQ+phobia. They also evidence how communities enact interreligious and multi-religious dialogue and rituals while honoring faith and activism, and how prophetic ministries counter oppressive discourses and colonial performativities. This is a valuable resource for academics and religious leaders interested in the study of queer theologies, Asian, African, and Latin American Christianity, as well as ecclesiastical and liturgical issues.

Women in Christianity in the Modern Age examines the role of women in Christianity in the 20th and early 21st Centuries. This edited volume includes eight important contributions from academics in the field. The modern era has been an age of social and religious upheaval, and the ravages of global warfare and changes to women’s role in society have made the examination of the place of women in religion a key question in theology. From theological concerns - engagements with the biblical texts by feminist and anti-feminist theologians, the modern role of Mary and women saints – to political and social debates on women’s ministry and place in society, and cultural shifts as expressed through theologically inspired artwork by women, Women in Christianity in the Modern Age provides an overview and in-depth studies of a tumultuous and changing era. This insightful text will be of key interest to students and scholars in Religion and Cultural Studies.

This book celebrates the legacy of theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid (1952-2009), and her particular influence in Asia and South America. Her work has served as a significant source of inspiration to many scholars, ministers, and activists challenging heteronormative theologies, but her sudden death in 2009 cut short the nascent and elegant theological thought for which she so valued. Contributors to this book succinctly investigate aspects of the vast work of Althaus-Reid by discussing issues of gender, race, and sexuality in Asia and South America, utilising the liberation, queer and indecent theologies she espoused. Each chapter demonstrates how her legacy is alive and thriving today, but also points towards to the potential future impact of her prolific theological output. By highlighting the ground-breaking work of Althaus-Reid, this book will serve as a key reference for scholars of Liberation, Queer and Indecent Theology, as well as Asian and Latinx religions.

Women in Christianity in the Modern Age examines the role of women in Christianity in the 20th and early 21st Centuries. This edited volume includes eight important contributions from academics in the field. The modern era has been an age of social and religious upheaval, and the ravages of global warfare and changes to women's role in society have made the examination of the place of women in religion a key question in theology. From theological concerns - engagements with the biblical texts by feminist and anti-feminist theologians, the modern role of Mary and women saints - to political and social debates on women's ministry and place in society, and cultural shifts as expressed through theologically inspired artwork by women, Women in Christianity in the Modern Age provides an overview and in-depth studies of a tumultuous and changing era. This insightful text will be of key interest to students and scholars in Religion and Cultural Studies.

This book celebrates the legacy of theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid (1952-2009), and her particular influence in Asia and South America. Her work has served as a significant source of inspiration to many scholars, ministers, and activists challenging heteronormative theologies, but her sudden death in 2009 cut short the nascent and elegant theological thought for which she so valued. Contributors to this book succinctly investigate aspects of the vast work of Althaus-Reid by discussing issues of gender, race, and sexuality in Asia and South America, utilising the liberation, queer and indecent theologies she espoused. Each chapter demonstrates how her legacy is alive and thriving today, but also points towards to the potential future impact of her prolific theological output. By highlighting the ground-breaking work of Althaus-Reid, this book will serve as a key reference for scholars of Liberation, Queer and Indecent Theology, as well as Asian and Latinx religions.

Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality provides a much-needed overview of the state of scholarship on Christian theological reflection on sexuality and sexual theology. Critically, it also intervenes in the cultural debate over sexuality by privileging feminist, queer, and other counter-normative perspectives. Comprising twenty-three chapters by a team of international contributors this volume is divided into four parts: * Normativity and transgression * Bodies * Economies and violence * Divinity. Within these sections central issues, debates and problems are examined, including consideration of the complexities of Christian theology in regard to contemporary sexuality debates. Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality is essential reading for students and researchers in the field of religion, sexuality, and Christianity.

This book explores the impact and contribution of post-theories in the field of Christian feminist theology. Post-theory is an important and cutting-edge discursive field which has revolutionized the production of knowledge in both feminism and theology. This book fills a gap by providing a text that can make authoritative statements on the use and status of post-theory in feminist theology, and secondly it makes an on-going contribution to the discourse of Christian feminist theology and its liberation agenda. Distinguished and established scholars contribute conclusive essays on the most recent and exciting developments in post-theory, feminism and theology.

The problem of otherness is central to debates in both the social sciences and theology. To define the other - by colour, gender, politics, nationality, or religion - is to define the self. Othering has been used through history as a justification for boundary-setting, for conflict and for oppression. Radical Otherness presents a broad overview of otherness in both sociology and theology. The book reveals how social theory can illuminate many contemporary issues in theology, whilst the examination of theological methods can shed light on problematic issues in sociology. The discussion of issues in Radical Otherness moves from the personal to the political, to the hermeneutic, to the ultimate otherness of metaphysics. At each stage, discussion of theory is grounded in concrete examples. The book offers students of ethics, theology, and sociology of religion a clear and engaged assessment of otherness, and opens up new ways for investigating a concept central to the study of both religion and society.

The problem of otherness is central to debates in both the social sciences and theology. To define the other - by colour, gender, politics, nationality, or religion - is to define the self. Othering has been used through history as a justification for boundary-setting, for conflict and for oppression. Radical Otherness presents a broad overview of otherness in both sociology and theology. The book reveals how social theory can illuminate many contemporary issues in theology, whilst the examination of theological methods can shed light on problematic issues in sociology. The discussion of issues in Radical Otherness moves from the personal to the political, to the hermeneutic, to the ultimate otherness of metaphysics. At each stage, discussion of theory is grounded in concrete examples. The book offers students of ethics, theology, and sociology of religion a clear and engaged assessment of otherness, and opens up new ways for investigating a concept central to the study of both religion and society.

This book explores the impact and contribution of post-theories in the field of Christian feminist theology. Post-theory is an important and cutting-edge discursive field which has revolutionized the production of knowledge in both feminism and theology. This book fills a gap by providing a text that can make authoritative statements on the use and status of post-theory in feminist theology, and secondly it makes an on-going contribution to the discourse of Christian feminist theology and its liberation agenda. Distinguished and established scholars contribute conclusive essays on the most recent and exciting developments in post-theory, feminism and theology.

Violence remains endemic in today's society. Religious morality and social prejudice can lead to many acts of violence going unnoticed. 'Weep Not for Your Children' presents a selection of essays that examine the ways in which religion and violence interconnect. The presence of violence in the origins of cultural and religious norms is examined. The essays cover a wide range of examples of violence: from the Holocaust to domestic violence and from the violence created by economic systems to that created by the construction of gender itself. 'Weep Not for Your Children' challenges and provokes the reader to think beyond traditional associations of good and evil.

Theologies of Liberation in Palestine-Israel is a challenging collection of essays concerned with the development of contextualized theologies of liberation in Palestine and the indigenous Palestinian people's struggle for justice and liberation. The innovation of the work stems from the inclusion of indigenous perspectives within its remit and the introduction of new concepts such as civil liberation theology. The collection offers other ways to look at biblical discourses and their impact on the ongoing conflict, ways to live peacefully, ways to be ethical when visiting these conflicted lands, understandings of resource ethics, and even a new way to understand how we approach our understanding of liberation theology. Contributors include well-known scholars from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Palestinian- Israeli, Indian, American and British backgrounds. This work goes beyond typical academic collections; vast in scope, it will be informative not only to scholars and students but also to peace activists and policymakers. It should be of use not only in academic courses but also for practitioners of conflict resolution, peace, and reconciliation.

Violence remains endemic in today's society. Religious morality and social prejudice can lead to many acts of violence going unnoticed. 'Weep Not for Your Children' presents a selection of essays that examine the ways in which religion and violence interconnect. The presence of violence in the origins of cultural and religious norms is examined. The essays cover a wide range of examples of violence: from the Holocaust to domestic violence and from the violence created by economic systems to that created by the construction of gender itself. 'Weep Not for Your Children' challenges and provokes the reader to think beyond traditional associations of good and evil.

Patriarchs, Prophets and Other Villains takes as a starting point the hermeneutics of suspicion, throws in queer theory and blazes like a meteor; it throws light into corners and exposes the edges of discourses long perceived to be closed and tightly bounded. The book illustrates the way in which texts and interpretations have been manipulated for the purpose of power and control and through radical and playful counter readings it boldly challenges both the power and the control. The articles consider ways in which the female divine has been pushed back due to relentless male interpretation and misrepresentation yet how a thread that can be woven into a tapestry of rebellion remains. Carol Christ reminds us how even liberation theology has not been blameless in the eradication of the female divine. When the authors turn their attention to 'great figures of the bible' the results are explosive. Ken Stone taking a queer glance at the sadomasochistic relationship between God and Jeremiah and Marcella Althaus-Reid inviting us to look at the postcolonial Rahab using cruising as a hermeneutical technique. important part of hospitality within the Hebrew Scriptures and the Song of Songs as a challenge to heteropatriarchy. This book was conceived as a useful resource for students who need to read different perspectives and as a challenge to those who wish to use narrow readings as a power base for hierarchies of exclusion. It does both these rather diverse things since it is written by scholars in an accessible way which makes it very difficult to dodge the issues they are questioning - there is no place to hide from these persuasive articles.

Patriarchs, Prophets and Other Villains takes as a starting point the hermeneutics of suspicion. The book illustrates the way in which texts and interpretations have been manipulated for the purpose of power and control. Through careful-counter readings it challenges the ways in which the female divine has been pushed back by relentless male interpretation and misrepresentation. The essays range across liberation theology and queer theory to sexual hospitality and the 'Song of Songs' as a challenge to hetero-patriarchy. The book provides an accessible resource for any student interested in the ways in which narrow readings of Scripture can become a power base for hierarchies of exclusion.

Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality provides a much-needed overview of the state of scholarship on Christian theological reflection on sexuality and sexual theology. Critically, it also intervenes in the cultural debate over sexuality by privileging feminist, queer, and other counter-normative perspectives. Comprising twenty-three chapters by a team of international contributors this volume is divided into four parts: * Normativity and transgression * Bodies * Economies and violence * Divinity. Within these sections central issues, debates and problems are examined, including consideration of the complexities of Christian theology in regard to contemporary sexuality debates. Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality is essential reading for students and researchers in the field of religion, sexuality, and Christianity.

God has assumed a significant role in the sex lives of believers. It is God who decrees which types of sexual expression are permitted, and which forbidden. Through the Church, a patriarchal sexual landscape has been enacted to control sexual bodies which exerts its influence even in our secular culture.

The Good News of the Body is a wide-ranging anthology on feminist sexual theology. Noting that Jesus, while being declared divine, took human form, the volume questions what happens when the flesh, rather than the Word, is placed at the center of theological reflection. What happens when women's bodies form the incarnational starting point for sexual politics and theology? Contributors, including Rosemary Ruether, Mary Hunt, and Melissa Raphael, examine such topics as the possibility of a Roman Catholic approach to sexuality bringing together the three aspects of Christian love of eros, philia, and agape; Jewish sexual and mystical teaching; the de-sexing of the disabled; erotic celibacy; human sexuality and the concept of the goddess; and the sometimes surprisingly similar conclusions about contraception reached by feminists and popes.

Transsexual, transgendered and intersex people have become increasingly more visible since the 1990s, but the churches have been slow to recognize their lives and their contribution to theology and the churches. As theologians we are mystified by this, since a redemptive history based on the multiple possibilities of incarnational theology is best read as lived in trans/luminal spaces. Trans/formations is a passionate book borne out of the outrage felt at the ever narrowing boundaries of theology. It is passionate too because it comes from a deeply held incarnational belief that dares to take the lived experience of people seriously as part of the redemptive ground we share. It is a book that wishes to shake not shock, it seeks to shake us out of the contented narrowness of a cosy Christianity and into one that seeks always to expand the incarnational tent that is our home. The contributors ask questions not only of the churches and theology but at times also of gender and sexuality theorists. It is time we all thought anew, and this book hopes to aid that debate. Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies at the University of Winchester. Marcella Althaus-Reid was Professor of Contextual Theology at New College, Edinburgh. She died in February 2009. Contributors: Marcella Althaus-Reid, Hannah Buchanan, Krys Bujnowski, Marie Cartier, John Clifford, Susannah Cornwall, Malcolm Himschoot, BK Hipsher, Lisa Isherwood, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Lewis Reay, Elizabeth Stuart and Sian Taylder.

This is a collection which brings together authors from around the world. The book dares to examine some of the most extreme approaches to the body that our society engages with. What makes this book unique is that it does not dismiss what may be the more difficult and challenging areas of the body and society, rather it embraces them as an embodied resource for the ever-expanding task of considering the nature of incarnation through the lens of body theology. Topics range from cosmetic surgery and the bible to the sacramental nature of self harm in young girls. Along the way the book looks at the Puritan heritage of 'Extreme Makeover' programmes and the pernicious theology inherent in 'Slim for Him' programmes.

This collection of essays concerns the development of contextualized theologies of liberation in Palestine and the indigenous Palestinian people's struggle for justice and liberation. The work is innovative because of its inclusion of indigenous perspectives within its remit and the introduction of new concepts such as civil liberation theology. The collection offers other ways to look at biblical discourses and their impact on the ongoing conflict, ways to live peace, ways to be ethical when visiting these conflicted lands, understandings of resource ethics, and even a new way to understand how we approach our understanding of liberation theology. Contributors include well-known scholars from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Palestinian-Israeli, Indian, American, and British contexts. This work goes beyond standard academic collections. It is aimed not only at scholars and students but also at peace activists and policymakers. It should be of use not only in academic courses but also for practitioners of conflict resolution, peace and reconciliation. "This is an exceptional collection of cutting-edge essays that challenge the traditional theologies and ideologies of Christian Zionism and contemporary political Zionism. Drawing upon feminist and other liberation theologies, as well as secular political analysis, readers will be rewarded by the profound analysis of these exceptional authors." --Donald E. Wagner, National Program Director, Friends of Sabeel: North America Nur Masalha is Director of the Centre for Religion and History and the Holy Land Research Project at St Mary's University College, England. He is the editor ofHoly Land Studies: A Multidisciplinary Journal. His recent books include: The Zionist Bible: Biblical Precedent, Colonialism and the Erasure of Memory (2013); The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory (2012); The Bible and Zionism: Invented Traditions, Archaeology and Post-Colonialism in Palestine-Israel (2007). Prof Lisa Isherwood is Director of the Institute of Theological Partnerships, University of Winchester, UK. She has authored or edited 20 books including Radical Otherness (2013), The Power of Erotic Celibacy (2007), The Fat Jesus: Feminist Explorations in Boundaries and Transgressions (2007). She is an executive editor of the international journal Feminist Theology.

Synopsis: Radical Orthodoxy, whose founding father is John Milbank, claims that God has been pushed to the margins in modernity and that a false and misleading neo-theology has taken hold that needs to be revisited and contested. It is this return to the premodern that often leads theologians to have reservations about Radical Orthodoxy when they might otherwise have some sympathy for many of its positions. Radical Orthodoxy, like most traditional theology, claims that the power of God is in all creation and that God sits everywhere for all to partake of. But there appears to be a failure to see that the church and theology do not set in place systems that live out this basic assumption. Liberation theology, while sharing much of the same assumption that God is everywhere and to be shared, at the same time engages in a critique of the structures that claim to facilitate this vision, and finds them wanting. From here, then, liberation theologians attempt to refigure our understanding of shared power in order to broaden the vision, while it may be argued that Radical Orthodoxy simply restates the assumption with little political critique of the issues. Perhaps this point explains why this book is titled The Poverty of Radical Orthodoxy rather than Radical Error Endorsements: "These essays are a philosophico-theological treasure trove, in telling against Radical Orthodoxy's trenchant critique of modernity and its Tertullianist exclusivism model of theological understanding. Their incisive arguments expose shortcomings in RO's interpretation of a range of reference points that include, for example, Hamman, Kierkegaard, nominalism, liberation theology, feminist theology, Hindu bhakti tradition, and pacifism. Well worth reading for studies in philosophy of religion and theology." --Abrahim H. Khan Professor and Advanced Degree Director Trinity College, University of Toronto "For anyone interested in contemporary theology and philosophy of religion this book will be exceedingly helpful. The debate here with Radical Orthodoxy involves several kinds of feminists, postmodernists, secularists, a variety of Christian theologians, and even defenders of Scotus and Ockham." --David Goicoechea Professor Emeritus Brock University Author Biography: Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies and Director of the Institute for Theological Partnerships at the University of Winchester, UK. She has authored or edited eighteen books, including The Power of Erotic Celibacy: Queering Heteropatriarchy (2006) and The Fat Jesus: Feminist Explorations in Boundaries and Transgressions (2008). Marko Zlomisli is professor of philosophy at Conestoga College, Institute of Advanced Learning in Kitchener, Canada. He has authored and edited a number of books, including Jacques Derrida's Aporetic Ethics (2007), The Sorrowful Mysteries: A Postmodern Poetics (1998), Zarathustra's Joyful Annunciations (1995). He is currently writing a manuscirpt entitled, Crossing out the Crucifix.

Dancing Theology in Fetish Boots is both a tribute and an engaged response to the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid. A wide range of internationally renowned theologians show the breadth and depth of the impact she made in her all too short academic life. The scholars gathered in these pages wish to honour her contribution and to continue her legacy. The authors come to the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid from a wide range of interests, disciplines and locations. Their essays show how many applications and extensions her work elicits in academic, political and pastoral contexts. Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies and Director of the Institute for Theological Partnerships at the University of Winchester. Mark D. Jordan is R. R. Niebuhr Professor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School. Contributors: Robert Shore-Goss, Mary E. Hunt, Kwok Pui-lan, Kathleen M. Sands, Emily M. Townes, Mayra Rivera Rivera, Susannah Cornwall, Elizabeth Stuart, Alistair Kee, Lea D. Brown, Jay Emerson Johnson, Graham Ward, Natalie K. Watson, Ivan Petrella, Hugo Cordova Quero, Mario I. Aguilar, Andre S. Musskopf, Nancy Cardoso Perreira and Claudio Carvalhaes, Rosemary Radford Ruether. 'Following the full-bodied creativity and unsparing critique that mark the genius of Marcella Althaus Reid, this collection constitutes no vanilla homage. It reads like a true Argentinian tango: equal parts love-making, lament, rage, humour and challenge. An impressive array of scholars take up and talk back to her sacramental, liberationist, fleshy theology. The result is a testament to Althaus-Reid's own passions for justice, for outcasts and for celebration even in the face of death.' Laurel C. Schneider, Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture, Chicago Theological Seminary 'Lisa Isherwood and Mark Jordan have gathered a moving and inspiring collection of essays in honour of the courageous theologian, Marcella Althaus-Reid. The essays refract many ways in which Marcella has broken open theological spaces in a way that is utterly unique. Like Marcella's work, they invite us to enlarge our minds and our hearts to the outrageous openness of embodied, incarnate love. It is to be hoped that this collection introduces a larger readership to the consolations of queer theology and its significance for all theological thinkers.' Wendy Farley, Professor of Religion and Ethics, Emory University