BERKELEY, CA -- Feb. 1, 2008 -- A queer Christ lives out the Easter story of death and resurrection in the new novel “Jesus in Love: At the Cross” by Kittredge Cherry.
The book is being released in time for Ash Wednesday (Feb. 6), which begins the season of Lent when Christians remember the sufferings of Jesus to prepare for Easter.
Jesus commits the ultimate act of love in “At the Cross,” a fictional autobiography of a bisexual Christ. The dramatic events of Christ’s Passion happen in the context of a gay love story between Jesus and his disciple John. The novel covers Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, ending on Pentecost. Jesus has today’s queer sensibilities and psychological sophistication as he reveals the erotic, mystical experiences that may have led to the first Easter.
“At the Cross” is a sequel to the popular “Jesus in Love: A Novel,” but there’s no need to read the other book first. “At the Cross” stands alone in its own right.
“Christ’s story is for everyone, but queer people often feel left out because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination,” says Cherry, a lesbian Christian author and minister who promotes queer spirituality and the arts at JesusInLove.org.
“I wrote ‘At the Cross’ so more people could connect with the powerful story of Jesus’ human struggles and how he rose above them,” Cherry says. “Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people can relate to a queer Christ -- and so can many others.”
The prequel, “Jesus in Love,” became a surprise hit with mainstream readers after achieving success in the GLBT community. Cherry receives fan mail from a diverse range of readers -- male and female, queer and straight, ranging from Roman Catholic priests to atheists and Jews. And she gets hate mail from conservative Christians, too.
Some conservatives labeled Cherry “a hyper-homosexual revisionist” because of the gay love story between Jesus and John. However, her books follow the Biblical text and standard Christian doctrine while speculating on Christ’s erotic inner life.
Meanwhile, secular literary critics and progressive Christians affirm the Jesus in Love series as “profound,” “spiritually mature” and “beautifully written.” Gay spirituality author Toby Johnson praises it as “a real tour de force in transforming traditional myth to modern consciousness.”
The Bay Area Reporter called it “revolutionary religious fiction” and Mel White, founder of Soulforce, says, “Kitt Cherry has broken through the stained-glass barrier… a classic re-telling of the greatest story ever told.”
“At the Cross” grows out of Cherry’s own spiritual journey and her experiences as a minister in the LGBT community. One of her duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (U.S.A.) and the World Council of Churches as National Ecumenical Officer for Metropolitan Community Churches. She wrote “At the Cross” after Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forced her into a more contemplative life
Her previous books include “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More,” “Equal Rites” and “Hide and Speak.” The New York Times Book Review praised her “very graceful, erudite” writing style.
Cherry’s website, JesusInLove.org, features the growing number of books and art based on the queer Christ, as well as other LGBT spiritual resources. She blogs at the Jesus in Love Blog and edits the Jesus in Love Newsletter on queer spirituality and the arts.
“At the Cross” (ISBN 1933993421) is published by AndroGyne Press, a new queer studies press in Berkeley, CA. Ingram Book Group distributes it.
For review copies or more info, contact info@JesusInLove.org or publisher@androgynepress.com, or visit:
http://jesusinlove.org
or
http://www.androgynepress.com
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Jesus in Love: At the Cross
By Kittredge Cherry
ISBN: 1933993421
Publisher: AndroGyne Press
Price: $18.95
Paperback: 312 pages
Publication date: Feb. 2008
Distributed by: Ingram Book Group
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