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ADVANCE PRAISE for Radical Love
“Patrick Cheng’s Radical Love is an excellent introduction to queer theology. It is readable and nuanced, a marvelous teaching resource.”
- Carter Heyward, author of Keep Your Courage: A Radical Christian Feminist Speaks and Professor Emertia of Theology, Episcopal Divinity School
“Thoroughly Christian and thoroughly Queer, Cheng helps readers welcome a theology that leaves no one behind.”
- Chris Glaser, author of As My Own Soul: The Blessing of Same-Gender Marriage and Coming Out as Sacrament
“Patrick Cheng’s Radical Love is not only an excellent introduction to LGBT theology but an important contribution to the discipline of theology and the life of the church. It is a must read for anyone who cares about the health of the church and theology today.”
- James H. Cone, Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
“This book is a clear, accessible and exciting analysis of Queer Theology. Cheng perfectly captures both the challenge and the rootedness of Queer Theology.”
- Professor Elizabeth Stuart, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Winchester, UK
“I would characterize Cheng’s notion of ‘radical love’ as ‘wild grace’ with which mainstream theology has yet to wrestle. This is a good text for introducing queer theology to undergraduate and graduate students.”
- Rev. Dr. Bob Shore-Goss, Senior Pastor/Theologian, Metropolitan Community Church in the Valley, North Hollywood, CA
“Radical Love - a love so extreme that it dissolves our existing boundaries! What concept could be more liberating for a culture like ours, where lives are crucified on rigid binaries like male, vs. female, us vs. them, straight vs. queer? Radical Love is an excellent introduction for beginners and an excellent synthesis for more advanced readers.”
- Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author of Sensuous Spirituality and Omnigender, among many other books.
For Michael
And if I have prophetic powers,and understand all mysteriesand all knowledge,and if I have all faith,so as to remove mountains,but do not have love,I am nothing.
1 Cor. 13:2
Copyright © 2011 by Patrick S. Cheng
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Laurie Klein Westhafer
Typeset by Denise Hoff
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cheng, Patrick S.
Radical love : an introduction to queer theology / by Patrick S. Cheng.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59627-132-6 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-59627-136-4 (ebook) 1. Queer theology. I. Title.
BT83.65.C44 2011
230.086’64--dc22
2010046872
Seabury Books
445 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10016
An imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated
Contents
Four Sources of Queer Theology
Example: Same-Sex Marriage as Sacrament?
2 A Genealogy of Queer Theology
Four Strands of Queer Theology
Future Trends: Intersectionality and Hybridity
3 God: The Sending Forth of Radical Love
Revelation: God’s Coming Out as Radical Love
Trinity: Internal Community of Radical Love
Creation: God’s Outpouring of Radical Love
4 Jesus Christ: The Recovery of Radical Love
Sin: Rejection of Radical Love
