Be Yourself
Uniting Church in Australia
Judge Michael Kirby
queer saints
beyond issues |
"Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe"by John BoswellThis book has been widely acclaimed. Boswell contends that during the Middle Ages Catholic and Orthodox churches developed liturgical rites for solemnizing unions between pairs of males. If the thesis of the book is correct, the clear implication is that homosexual relationships, even those with an erotic aspect, have not always been regarded by Christians as sinful. Indeed, they may have been viewed at times as exemplary of Christian virtue. A further implication is that the current position of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, that homosexual activity is gravely sinful, may be a cultural accretion that does not have its roots in authentic Christian belief. Most Christians, even those in sympathy with Boswell, will find his claims surprising. However, his reputation, as holder of the Griswold Chair in History at Yale, and the apparent weight of his evidence have impressed many readers. His research seems to be meticulously thorough, and his text is copiously supplemented with notes documenting often obscure sources in Greek, Latin, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Serbian, French, German and various other languages.
Boswell took care to footnote everything. It is true that this might have been an attempt to overwhelm any opponent, but a momentary consideration of the context removes such a possibility: if Boswell had written without footnotes we all know that he would have been dismissed out of hand.
"Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality"by John Boswell
This earlier book is also worth reading.
Take the time to explore the extraordinary home page of Paul Halsall and discover the extensive queer christian resources he has collected, including information about Queer Saints
Queer theology recognises the existence of oppression of queer people in the Church and society at large. It recognises that ignorance and hatred often lie at the heart of oppression. It also recognises that the Church (and organised religion in general) has done a lot to encourage such oppression in the past, and that elements of the Church still encourage such oppression. Queer theology contributes to ending the ignorance that allows one person to paint another as Other. It sees itself in the role of being the prophetic voice to the Church, so that the Church is called to continually re-examine its teaching, belief and practice in the light of the experience of men and women, and the light of the Gospel - which is a gift to all people regardless of their race, sex, sexuality or creed.
"We confess that the institutional church has often judged, alienated and excluded from the community of faith gay, lesbian and bisexual persons, or has been complicit by its silence." "We agree to celebrate, support and honor commitment ceremonies of homosexual people, recognizing the difficulty of maintaining such partnerships in the absence of the social validations, role models and legal frameworks that support heterosexual marriages." "We honor our encounters with the Spirit in nature and through our own and each other's bodies."
"We seek to move beyond individual survival strategies that merely react to oppression and towards collectively affirming life patterns that nurture and grow queer identities."
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