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October 2008
Jesus in Love Newsletter
GLBT spirituality and the arts
In This Issue
Beware of god politics
GLBT Buddhists
Lesbian folksinger
Jesus novels
New gay-spirit products

glbt spirituality & arts
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Our Vision
Jesus in Love serves gay, lesbian, bi and trans (glbt) people who have spiritual interests, and our allies. We promote queer spirituality and the arts, with an emphasis on books and images. We believe that God loves all people, including sexual minorities. We believe that the creative process is sacred. We hope that the new visions, especially the gay Jesus, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world.
Greetings!
As the U.S. presidential election nears, it's time to consider a queer artist's warning against mixing religion and politics.  This issue also looks at GLBT Buddhists, lesbian folk music, and novels about Jesus.
Queer artist warns of god politics
"Beware of the god" by Deborah Kelly 
Words appear in the sky as if written by God, but their creator is actually a queer activist/artist in a major international art show in Singapore now.

"Beware of the god" is projected into the clouds by Australian artist Deborah Kelly.  Her stated goal is to warn against the influence of religion on politics.

The words were projected over the Singapore Harbor recently as part of the Singapore Biennale 2008, a big exhibition of international contemporary art.  More info

Image credit: "Beware of the god" by Deborah Kelly of GBK Gallery
How do GLBT folks fit into Buddhism? 
Rainbow Buddha by Elaine 

GLBT Buddhists are not as visible as gay, lesbian, bi and trans folks who follow Christ. 

GLBT Christians have had to come together and speak out because conservative Christians are directly attacking them.  It appears, at least within American Buddhism, that Buddhists are more tolerant about homosexuality.  However, reality is more complex.  Read more 

Image credit: "Rainbow Buddha" by Elaine
A lesbian looks back at wimmin's music
 
Ferron and BitchJesus in Love founder Kittredge Cherry has been haunted by the lesbian folksongs of Ferron for almost a quarter-century.

The song "Shadows on a Dime" still inspires Kitt's reflections.  "I used to find the song depressing.  Now it feeds my spirituality and seems irresistibly true, probably because I am in the position that Ferron sings about:

I'm looking backward down the track
To see us dreamers in our prime.

Click here to read more and hear Ferron on video.

Image credit: Short Story Records
New novels show Jesus from the heartJesus in Love book cover 

Atlanta writer Trudie Barreras is impressed by the connections between the "Christ the Lord" novels of bestselling author Anne Rice and the "Jesus in Love" novels of  Kittredge Cherry.

She writes: "Cherry in essence begins where Rice's narrative ends... Cherry's primary objective is to depict Jesus as fully human in terms of sexuality, while maintaining, as Rice does, that Jesus was not genitally sexually active.  Her rational for this, which I find marvelously sensitive and cogent, is that Jesus realizes his divine nature would inevitably produce an 'imbalance of power' that would not permit the full and free interaction of 'consenting adults' which sanctifies all human sexual interaction." 
Read more
NEW in glbt spirituality

Camp Out
by Liberation Ent
Directors:Kirk Marcolina
Starring:Jay Wiesner
DVD ~ Release Date: 2008-08-05
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $14.57
Buy Now






The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
by Matthew Fox by New World Library
Hardcover
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $16.47
Buy Now








Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America
by Mitchell Gold by Greenleaf Book Group, LLC
Hardcover
List Price: $23.95
Our Price: $11.73
Buy Now







Boulder
by Ferron by Short Story Records
List Price: $16.99
Our Price: $11.60
Buy Now







Click here for more good stuff on
GLBT religion and spirituality
Did you miss me last month?  I have to cut this newsletter from monthly to bimonthly in order to spend more time doing paid work and searching for grants.  You won't hear from me as often for a while, but I'll keep bringing you the best news and views on queer spirituality and the arts here and at my blog.
 
Blessings,
Kittredge Cherry
JesusInLove.org