Jesus in Love - Softcover

Cherry, Kittredge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933993189 ISBN 13: 9781933993188

Publisher: Apocryphile Press, 2006

Synopsis

What if Jesus knew how it feels to be queer? Surprising answers come in Jesus in Love, a novel that re-imagines Christ's legendary life as an erotic, mystical adventure in first-century Palestine. Jesus has today's queer sensibilities and psychological sophistication as he lives out his mythic story. Readers can relate to the struggles he faces: He feels like his real self is both male and female. He falls in love with people of both sexes. Society doesn't understand him. Jesus, the narrator, speaks in an engaging, up-to-date tone as he reveals his intimate relationships with John the beloved disciple (a gay man mourning his lover's death), Mary Magdalene (a highly intelligent survivor of sexual abuse) and the multi-gendered Holy Spirit. The novel shows how Jesus grows over a one-year period-from his decision to get baptized until the day he sends his friends away to teach others. Ultimately he leads disciples of both sexes to a place where sexuality and spirituality are one. Jesus in Love frees the reader to imagine and experience Christ in new ways.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"In imagining a Jesus who really lived, laughed and loved, Kitt Cherry has broken through the stained glass barrier. Don't be afraid. This is not a prurient look at the sex life of Jesus but a classic re-telling of the greatest story ever told, the story of a truly human Jesus and those truly human women and men who lived, laughed and loved with him. Read JESUS IN LOVE and you will feel His Spirit reaching out to you, inviting you to live, laugh and love with him as well."
--Rev. Mel White, founder of Soulforce and author of Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right

"A truly mind-blowing creation. The writing style is just perfect. JESUS IN LOVE is a wonderful, gay-sensitive, and delightfully `shocking' reassessment of the stories of the old-time religion. I promise you, you'll be surprised by the book."
--Toby Johnson, author of Gay Spirituality and former editor of White Crane: A Journal of Gay Spirit

"What a lovely, gentle, playful book! It sparkles with erotic christic power, which we might read as an image of Jesus' own sexual energies. Kitt Cherry continues to write with passion as she draws creatively and faithfully from deep wellsprings of imagination."
--Rev. Carter Heyward, Ph.D.,Howard Chandler Robbins Professor Emerita of Theology, Cambridge, MA

"A book whose time has come. Many people will misunderstand this book--especially those who refuse to read it. It is a contemporary and creative work of fiction rooted in a sensibility of the search for holiness. "
--Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of Are You Running with Me, Jesus?

"Breathtaking--well-characterized, well-written, emotionally and, dare I say it, theologically MATURE."
--JoSelle Vanderhooft, editor of Tiresias Revisited: Magical Tales for Transfolk

"I loved it. I understand why it rubs some conservative folk the wrong way, but I say rub 'em. For every person who's offended, there must be another that revels in it."
--John Fleck, gay performance artist of the "NEA Four"

"People who want to understand how erotic love can be sacred, and divine love can be erotic, will delight in this novel. So will anyone who wants to be stimulated theologically, sensuously, and spiritually, all at the same time. And for those interested in moving beyond our society's rigid gendersexual norms, this book is a feast."
--Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Ph.D., author of Omnigender, Transgender Journeys and Sensuous Spirituality.

"A daring, badly needed and well written book. This novel helps us accept the redemption of our erotic bodies as part of Jesus' salvation of us from all alienation. We have always known that the great mystics such as Teresa of Avila experience mystical prayer flowing over into an erotic experience. Cherry had the audacity to imagine the same thing happening in Jesus, resulting in both hetero and homosexual feelings."
--John J. McNeill, author of The Church and the Homosexual

"A page turner with much spiritual insight. I was sad I finished it because I was enjoying being with those characters every night! I especially liked Jesus. He was such a likeable character that you really did want to be connected to him. I so loved that he wasn't a top-down, egotistical guy `who thought he was God.'"
--Judith A. Finlay, Ph.D., biochemist

About the Author:

Kittredge Cherry is a lesbian Christian author whose ministry put her on the cutting edge of the international debate on sexuality and spirituality. She offers spiritual resources through JesusInLove.org., the first website devoted to the queer Christ.

Cherry was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as clergy in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community for seven years until health issues forced her into a more contemplative life. One of her primary duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (USA) and the World Council of Churches.

A native of Iowa, Cherry has degrees in journalism and art history from the University of Iowa, and a master of divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. Her books include HIDE AND SPEAK: A Coming Out Guide, EQUAL RITES: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations, and WOMANSWORD.

The New York Times Book Review praised her "very graceful, erudite" writing style and her poetry has won several awards. She has also written for Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal.

About this edition

• Publisher: Apocryphile Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1933993189
• ISBN 13: 9781933993188
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328