Residing at the intersection of constructive theology and critical social theory, this book provides a resource for both students and clergy to reinterpret Christian theology and re-imagine Christian faith in the twenty-first century.
The author seeks “to encourage and equip Christian faith communities to move beyond the decades-long stalemate over human sexuality and gender identity” because “Queer gifts emerge in Christian communities when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people no longer feel compelled to justify their presence in those communities.”
Useful in both seminary classrooms and in congregational settings, the book is a contribution to the still-emerging field of queer theology, translating the rigors of scholarly research into transforming proposals for faith communities.
Jay Emerson Johnson teaches at the Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union, while serving as associate clergy at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley, CA. He is the author of Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope and served as the chair of the theology task group for I Will Bless You and You Will Be A Blessing. He lives in Richmond, CA.
“Through personal story, academic acumen, provocative and even erotic metaphors and images, theologian Jay Emerson Johnson takes us “over the rainbow” into the realm of queer theology where the reader encounters a technicolor world of insight, inspiration, disruption and hope. If you plan to read several theology books this year, make sure Peculiar Faith is one of them. If you only plan to read one theology book this year, make sure it is this one. Here you will meet the ‘socially erotic God [who] yearns above all else to dance with us.’” —The Right Reverend Thomas C. Ely, Bishop of Vermont
“In Peculiar Faith, Jay Johnson shows us how the queerly peculiar character of the Christian faith can set the world on fire. This book is a wonderful resource for anyone who seeks to transform the Household of God with the unruly flames of a new Pentecost.” —Patrick S. Cheng, associate professor, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and author of Radical Love, Rainbow Theology, and From Sin to Amazing Grace
“Johnson helps his readers open half-closed eyes and jaded ears to see and hear the queer sparks flashing and the peculiar voices ringing in the very texts, traditions, and communities that so many think familiar. Although he shares some of his journey, this is not the map of a single pilgrimage, but an atlas charting the many strange lands in which we wander — even while at home. The goal is not to domesticate that strangeness, but to infuse the ordinary with the unique gift of each peculiar incarnation.” —Tobias Stanislas Haller, BSG, author of Reasonable and Holy: Engaging Same-Sexuality
“Jay Johnson’s Peculiar Faith finds in the history of Christian faith the keys to revitalizing the future of Christian faith. Exploring the very traditions that have so often been deployed to alienate and disenfranchise ‘the other’—particularly LGBT people—Johnson inspires the reader to reclaim the transformative power of Christian witness to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.” —The Rev. Susan Russell, Senior Associate, Communications, All Saints Church, Pasadena, California
