Eritque Arcus

post #1

The queer community has been historically underrepresented and at times ostracized in and by the theological community, but we believe that the queer community has much to offer the church in terms of how they understand God, the self, and the other. Despite the trauma that many have faced through theological and spiritual abuse, many queer Christians still strive to follow God and to find a place in the Christian community. Why do so many stay in the church community when they have to fight even to be recognized? What do those who have gender differences have to teach us about the image of God? In what ways do queer women of color bring depth and richness to our theology? As a group of deeply questioning seekers of truth, some of us queer ourselves and others simply curious about what the queer community has to offer, these are some of the questions we seek to engage on our journey in Spirit and Trauma.

First, we are all reading the book Sex, God, and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy by Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers to give us a foundation to ground our discussions. This is the book that holds our group together by discussing the traumas that have been inflicted by well-meaning people with shaming theology around sexuality. We have already begun to learn how the purity culture movement caused not only undue shame upon women, but also sent the message to young people that men cannot control their sexual drives that they then have no responsibility for their sexual actions. This has fueled a culture where women who have experienced sexual assault are held in high suspicion and often questioned as though they must have somehow asked for it. The conservative church has also heaped shame onto those who have had sex outside of marriage, those who have chosen abortion, and those who are part of the queer community.

Then we have each taken a different queer voice to guide us in our discussions. We each decided to read a different queer theology book in order to broaden our conversations knowing that these authors often have to fight to have their voices heard. These three books are Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit; Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God; and Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology. We have not yet begun to read these books, but we are excited to see where they will take us. We are eager to move past the question of whether or not queer people should be full participating members of the church and on to what do queer people have to offer that will revitalize the church and bring new depth and meaning to the Christian community.