Friday, April 30, 2010

The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

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The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood



The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

Ebook PDF The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

God is Queer. In a world of normative paradigms, God will never fit in and nor should we. That twitching and itching for something more will consistently be present until we step out of our closets and into the Queer. The Courage to Be Queer is about the wildness and beauty of an indescribable and uncontainable God. What is the Queer calling us to be? We are to be the ones shouting for justice. We are to be the ones dancing for freedom. We are to be the ones dreaming for hope. We are to be the ones . . . In the midst of the spectacle of it all, there will be those observers who hear the knocking and lean in. Will you open the door?

The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1244513 in Books
  • Published on: 2015-09-18
  • Released on: 2015-09-18
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 8.50" h x .35" w x 5.50" l, .0 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 152 pages
The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

Review ''Jeff Hood is a dear prophet of Holy Truth, and this book has solidified that for me.''--Sister Liz Colver, Rostered Deaconess (Lutheran - ELCA)''This is a bold intervention into status-quo versions of Christianity. Hood enacts a radical queer politics of hope that affirms the power of relational difference and challenges readers to create new forms of inclusive communities grounded in transformational love.''--AnaLouise Keating, Professor of Women's Studies, Texas Woman's University''What a rich story there is in this book! Surely the queering of Jeff Hood can introduce us to a queer theology that can queer us all.''--Jane Spahr, Presbyterian Pastor, Activist and Theologian (PCUSA)''Hood masterfully challenges us to examine the sea of sameness we immerse ourselves in and leave our closets of conformity. We will need to read this book again and again in our journey to embrace the abundance of God's queerness within.''--Michelle Stafford, Transgender Education Network of Texas''This book has the power to speak life to dry bones. It is a salvific word. Hood courageously sounds a clarion call for all persons to declare their difference as holy. For to be holy, is to be queer.''--Kyndra D. Frazier, Alliance of Baptists''Prepare to have the dust shaken off of your religion. The Courage to Be Queer opens the tent of God's love to everybody by defying stereotypes and challenging biblical interpreters to be vital and alive. This book is an act of courage that calls upon people of faith to embrace their own personal difference and then act in freedom for the wellbeing of others. Jeff Hood says everyone is truly queer: unique, individual, and precious beyond all accounting to the Queer God who makes all people new in the Spirit. As Hood engages the world, Jesus Christ, and the most familiar stories from the Bible, he shows us how to discover anew the face of God in new forms of humanity and divinity. He is in the vanguard of a new spirituality for a new age. This is a must-read book!''--Stephen V. Sprinkle, Professor of Practical Theology, Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University''Reading Jeff Hood's work deepened my commitment to liberation theology and has firmly shifted my ambivalence about the word queer to a place of tremendous pride in being queer. The real power in these words flows from the fact that Hood lives out the queer life that he writes about.''--Jim Mitulski, Queer Liberation Activist and pastor in the Metropolitan Community Church, United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ denominations''In imagining that great creative power we typically call God as 'the Queer,' Jeff Hood offers us a radical vision where binaries of identity and reality no longer confine us. Hood's construction of this new liberation theology stands boldly in the tradition of other theologies that have expanded our understandings of who we are as individuals, as a community and as spiritual beings, and grants us a freedom to then construct our lives and relationships in profoundly new ways. The Courage to Be Queer is a gift to all of us in our struggle to be fully human and fully free--fully queer!''--Kristin Stoneking, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation''I live in a dark place. Jeff Hood shared the Queer God with me. I can say without hesitation that the queer revelation of the God within has changed my life and I encourage you to read everything this man writes.''--Will Speer, Texas Death Row #999398''In his book, Hood brilliantly strings together smooth pearls of wisdom, fascinating baubles of theology, inherited jewels of scripture, and the peculiar trinkets of his own experience in a full circle, creating a dazzling and complete queer theology for our time.''--Anna Humble, Association Minister, North Texas Association of the United Church of Christ --Wipf and Stock Publishers''There comes a point when our experiences of life outgrows the God we thought we knew. This is a work attempting to describe the God who is, and if we are brave enough to sit with the words beyond whatever initial emotions they evoke, we will find that Dr. Hood is bringing us closer to knowing the God to whom we are fully known.''--Lucas Johnson, International Coordinator, International Fellowship of Reconciliation''I embrace Hood's eloquent and learned queering of the religious text: It is so needed, especially for someone like me who is antagonistic toward religion because of its misuses historically and today.''--Terry Barrett, Professor Emeritus of Art Education, The Ohio State University ''The Queer is that which is not normative, the utterly unique. You would think that a law professor would have little use for the non-normative, especially when considered in the (for me) foreign context of 'theology.' I rummage through structures and norms for a living. It is precisely the point, however, that a theology that routinely and instinctively kills the 'Queer within' is no theology at all. Hood's exposition of theology is for everyone. Even someone as lost as me. For God is the ultimate Queer; the 'that than which no greater can be conceived.' Every page that Hood has written is a step into the anti-conception, and a step towards the non-normative power that is the reality most perfect for us to know of God. When I walk away from the normative, as Queer-protagonist, I am paradoxically walking towards the Queer-me that God has created. I am embracing the rubric of love by loving the Queer that is God, who is simultaneously embracing the Queer-me and helping me to see and embrace the Queer in others. The genius and pure light of this book are undeniable, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.''--Michael C. Duff, Centennial Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Wyoming College of Law ''Buddhist and Christian literalisms often prevent us from perceiving the fundamental non-duality of the core teachings of both faith traditions: wisdom and compassion. Rev. Jeff Hood's The Courage to Be Queer is a timely and necessary exploration of the ultimate wisdom of interdependence and the radical compassion of acceptance of all differences as complementary aspects of ultimate reality. Christians will benefit from this incisive and faithful exploration of their scriptures, and persons of other faiths will be reminded of the need to appreciate and embrace difference in ourselves, our traditions, and communities.'' --Tashi Nyima, Nying Je Ling, Abode of Great Compassion, New Jonang Buddhist Community''How quickly we forget that we are 'a curious and peculiar people!' But Dr. Jeff Hood reminds us that in our unique individual stories of encounters with holiness & discoveries of self, we find our splendid divine queerness and the wonder and liberation of the Queer Within. Bravo!''--Glenna Shepherd, Pleasant Hill Community Church, United Church of Christ ''Queer theologies emerge from a variety of unexpected personal and social contexts. The Courage to Be Queer is the bold work of Baptist activist Jeff Hood.''--Robert Shore-Goss, Pastor/Theologian of Metropolitan Community Church United Church of Christ in the Valley, North Hollywood''To be queer is to be authentically one's self--the self that God, the Ultimate Queer, longs for us to be. Hood has brought his own queries and queering to Scripture in order to free us all from the bonds of normativity. Mixing exegetical reflection and an earthy practical theology, Hood offers the church a broader vision of the Divine, inviting us to reclaim what is queerest and best about our story and to see how our lives, in all their uniqueness, comprise God's story in this world.''--Ashlee Wiest-Laird, Pastor, The First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts --Wipf and Stock Publishers''Through bold interpretation of scripture and gentle vulnerability, Jeff Hood masterfully reminds us that normativity is the great sin of our time.''--Justin Hancock, Author and Disability Theologian, Missional Wisdom Foundation''Jeff Hood's new book The Courage to Be Queer is both queer and courageous. Hood expands on our understanding of queer identity to see it as a category of liberation open to anyone who is willing to let go of their fears and connect with what is most sacred and most true in their being. When we do that, he suggests, we are in a position to change the world. Hood intriguingly turns the table on our typical reactions to what is marginalized in our culture as that which should be discounted, pitied, or shunned. For Hood it is in these places of difference where we can find an authentic spirituality that speaks to our core being. From such places a revitalized Christian theology is possible that can embrace what is best, what is most wild, and most queer in us.''--Sharon Groves, Faith Organizer and Social Justice Worker''The Courage to Be Queer, is a challenging read not for the weak of mind or spirit. For Hood this is a theological, heartfelt exercise of courage genuinely rooted in his love of all humanity. This love envelops his more normative conservative friends on one end, all the way to his associates uninvited to sit in traditional pews. I invite you to get lost in Hood's use of the word queer and explore this path of salvation.'' --Duncan E. Teague, Unitarian Universalist Minister & Faith Outreach Consultant, Georgia Equality''Dr. Hood's explorations of the Queer are relevant, raw and liberating. His writing led me to question my own limited constructs in ways that stretched and then freed me. His book is an experience of self-discovery and a courageous revelation of love.'' --Celeste Holbrook, Sexual Health Educator and Consultant''One of the great challenges of youth ministry is helping young people embrace the unique person God is calling them to be, Dr. Hood's The Courage to Be Queer offers a clear path for radical dialogue that will lead to radical spaces of openness, inclusion and empowerment. If you want to learn how to change the world, read this book!''--Jason Redick, Youth Minister, Holy Covenant United Methodist Church''Jeff Hood's book is a thoughtful and personal theological manifesto, in the best Baptist traditions of soul freedom and liberation. I'm excited to be a part of some of the conversations this book starts!''--David Weasley, Chairman of the Board, Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists''Radical, readable, and intellectually rigorous, The Courage to be Queer reveals a theology of God the Queer that speaks to everyone through their individual context or queerness. The author does an extraordinary job of making advanced theological concepts accessible and inviting, and all with sound Biblical references. Hood shakes the demons out of the Bible and leaves only love.''--Kittredge Cherry, Author & Founder of Jesusinlove.org''Jeff Hood reminds us that 'theology is based in story.' The Courage to Be Queer is filled with stories of life-giving liberation. Hood brings the resurrection close and knocks the cobwebs out of obsolete theologies traditionally used to demean and diminish to remind us of our own uniqueness or queerness. This book has rebooted my allegiance to the inclusive, compassionate, radically creative and loving God who truly is 'the queerest of the queer.'''--Mike Wright-Chapman, Associate Pastor, Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ --Wipf and Stock Publishers

About the Author Jeff Hood is a queer pastor, activist, and theologian. A graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary amongst other institutions, Hood recently concluded a Doctorate of Ministry in Queer Theology at Brite Divinity School. In 2013, PFLAG Fort Worth awarded Hood their Equality Award for Activism and Service. In addition to authoring six previous books and blogging regularly for The Huffington Post, Hood writes daily at revjeffhood.com.


The Courage to Be Queer, by Jeff Hood

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Brings the Wind of the Spirit to those who have been yearning for refreshing By Trudie Barreras Without doubt, this is a theological study that will be completely rejected by many of those who most need to hear what Jeff Hood is saying. On the other hand, it is definitely going to bring the Wind of the Spirit into other hearts that have been waiting and yearning for just such a refreshing. At the beginning of the book, the reader will find glowing endorsements from nearly three dozen extremely diverse individuals, including Kittredge Cherry, whose comments initially led me to purchase this book.Hood’s basic premise, the understanding that in the person and teaching of Jesus, God fully intends to confront and forever discredit the “normative” of human belief and practice, is not new. What IS new is his use of the term “queer” as a noun, a verb, and even – capitalized – as a Name of God and the Divine Principle in Jesus and those who follow. Although even those who, like me, agree with Hood’s thesis may find that endless repetition of a term so often used as a pejorative is disturbing, I urge them to “hang in there”. What Hood has to say is important enough to allow the concepts to come through regardless of the (intentionally employed) shock value of his vocabulary.I frankly acknowledge that I have never adhered to – perhaps a better descriptor might be “been enslaved by” – the normative concepts of law and conformity that bind so many people who believe they are following the Christ. My parents before me were “free thinkers”, and when my dad Ted eventually became an active participant in a church congregation, it was only after informing the pastor that this action in no way implied acceptance of all the doctrines and premises of that particular group. In his own mystical encounters with “Cephas” (St. Peter), Ted was told, “Don’t belong to church, belong to God.” Other aspects of my own life and belief have indeed led me to define myself as queer, which is a marvelously NON-DEFINING term indeed. As a result, I can wholeheartedly applaud Jeff Hood’s book as affirming my perception of what the Cosmic Consciousness – or in his term, the Queer – has in mind for the ultimate evolution of the human species.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. and our only weapon to fight back is the love and strength of the Queer within By Daniel F. Pigg Jeff Hood’s The Courage to Be Queer (Wipf & Stock, 2015) is a book whose time has come. Rooted in the traditions of biblical exegesis, liberation theology, personal, autobiographical story, and the continually growing conceptions of queer theory—a very broad term that attempts to chart the concept of difference from “normativity” that seeks to restrict and to force one back into the closet—The Courage to Be Queer provides a series of very interesting and potentially mind-opening readings of texts such as the creation stories of Genesis, the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of the prophet Johan, Jesus in the gospels, stories in Acts, various epistles of Paul, and finally Revelation. Much is pack in the roughly 118 pages of writing.Some readers may be shocked by the number of times the word “queer” appears in the book. That is no accident, for with each utterance, Hood intends to shake lose the normativity that threatens to keep one from understanding God, the self, and the other. Queerness is a part of all of creation, even located in the very nature of God. Biblical texts have been used as instruments to bludgeon GLBTQA individuals for decades, if not centuries. Hood provides a kind of food for the journey of rethinking the harms that binaries have caused and exactly how those binaries have been imposed in ways that actually destroy the real life—the real queer potential—of the text itself.The following words written in the Conclusion bring the book’s many ideas together well. Hood writes that"The Courage to Be Queer calls the individual past such constructed, normative identities to a space of individualized queerness. The only way to mature past the dichotomy of “us” and “them” is to willingly embrace the queerness in our own self and in the other. Oppositionality in identity and relationship creates violence. We must meet the Queer within so that the Queer in us will connect with the Queer in the rest of the cosmos. …The Queer is here to save us from the wars we perpetuate against each other. As long as we are fighting on the outside, we are distracted from the war that so desperately needs to be fought on the inside. The war between normativity and queerness is raging, and our only weapon to fight back is the love and strength of the Queer within.” (108-09)These are powerful words to challenge any reader—to help any reader to embrace the queer image within and to seek the importance that such a recognition can create for community. Brandan Robertson writes a framing Forward that helps to set up the challenge of reading. Kim Jackson provides the final words. She is one who thought of herself as already transformed, but becomes one for whom the book opens greater understanding to that experience.The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is an evangelical who is remaking the meaning of that word. The queer experience can be jarring, upsetting, liberating, and transforming. For those readers who give this book a careful reading, it will not only help them to see Hood’s vision, but also a vision for themselves as transformed.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Expanding the Definition of Queer -- and of God By Jason Galbraith Strangeness is next to Godliness. That is the ultimate message of this book, the third by Jeff Hood that I have read after personally meeting and worshipping with him. God embodies all possibilities of human development, but His message here on earth has been taken over by a narrow clique trying to enforce its normative vision upon humanity. Hood's ministry is explicitly aimed at the LGBT community. Whereas a conventional liberal might ask them not to give up on God because God hasn't given up on them, no matter what the church says, Hood's approach is more radical: he indicates that no queer person can give up on God because God embodies queerness. The word "queer" or some derivative therefore appears in every paragraph of this book, usually more than once. The second most often used word is "normative" which is less exclusive than "straight." We all have some dimension in which we are not normative and that's why this book is ultimately for everyone even if they are not attracted to members of the same sex. It's an easy read at just over 100 pages. Indeed the longest book by Hood that I have read is a collection of his sermons over the course of his ministry explaining how his spiritual approach to human sexuality has changed, which I recommend even more highly.

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