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The Courage to Be Queer Paperback – September 18, 2015
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- Print length152 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWipf and Stock
- Publication dateSeptember 18, 2015
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.35 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-101498221912
- ISBN-13978-1498221917
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About the Author
Brandan J. Robertson is a noted author, activist, and public theologian working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He is the author of seven books on spirituality, justice, and theology. Robertson received his Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and Theology from Moody Bible Institute, his Master of Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology, and his Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from Eastern Illinois University. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Religion from Drew University. He currently resides in New York City.
Product details
- Publisher : Wipf and Stock
- Publication date : September 18, 2015
- Language : English
- Print length : 152 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1498221912
- ISBN-13 : 978-1498221917
- Item Weight : 7.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.35 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,064,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36,630 in Christian Ministry & Church Leadership (Books)
- #41,355 in Christian Theology (Books)
- #49,892 in Other Christian Denominations & Sects
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted author, activist, and public theologian, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, serving as the Pastor of Sunnyside Reformed Church in New York City and is the founder and Executive Director of DevOUT, a non-profit challenging far-right religious narratives in both digital and traditional media. He’s widely known as the "TikTok Pastor", with a vast digital reach of nearly 300k followers and 10 million views engaging his inclusive theological content across social media.
A passionate writer, Robertson has authored, edited, or contributed to over twenty-five books on spirituality, justice, and theology. Notably, his book "True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace" was recognized as an INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist. His writings have appeared in the pages of esteemed publications like TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, NBC, and The Washington Post. He’s currently a columnist for Baptist News Global, the Los Angeles Blade, and for Bishop John Shelby Spong’s Progressing Spirit Newsletter. As a prominent voice in progressive faith discussions, his insights are regularly featured across global media outlets such as CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and The Washington Post. In acknowledgment of his significant influence, Rolling Stone Magazine listed him in its 2021 “Hot List” spotlighting top creatives shaping the future.
Annually, Robertson's sought-after perspective takes him to prestigious platforms like The White House, Westminster Abbey, Oxford University, and The Parliament of World Religions. He's taught seminars for institutions such as the San Francisco Theological Seminary, The Lakelands Institute, Disciples Seminary Foundation, and The Wisdom Centre (Canada). Robertson has also been an honored member of many vital advisory committees for entities like the Democratic National Convention, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, he was named a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar and in 2023 was named a Senior Digital Ministry Fellow of Convergence.
A stalwart champion for LGBTQ+ rights, the Human Rights Campaign lauded him as a top faith-leader fervently advancing LGBTQ+ equality. His tireless efforts encompass collaboration with global political figureheads and activists to eradicate conversion therapy and advocate for the rights of sexual and gender minorities. In 2024, the LGBTQ+ Religious Archives Network honored Robertson for his prophetic leadership for queer inclusion in the Christian Church. Robertson is also a part of the Red Letter Christians Leaders Network, is a founding member of The Union of Affirming Christians, a Patron of One Body, One Faith (UK), and an advisor for The Center for Progressive Christianity, LOVEBoldly, The Global Interfaith Commission on LGBTQ+ Lives, and The Ozanne Foundation US.
In his academic pursuits, Robertson acquired a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute, an Master of Theological Study from Iliff School of Theology, and an Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from Eastern Illinois University. He's presently pursuing a PhD in Biblical Studies at Drew University. He currently resides in New York City.
The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is a priest, public theologian & activist from Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Hood is one of the nation's leading anti-death penalty voices and a respected thinker on a variety of other cultural issues. The author of over 100 books, Dr. Hood’s diverse activistic/theological work has appeared extensively in the media, including in SLATE, Newsweek, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Times, GQ magazine and on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR amongst a whole host of other outlets.
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2015Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseJeff 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2020Format: PaperbackThis is a joke, right? That was my first thought when encountering this “author” and his works.
Doesn’t believe in hell. Doesn’t believe in Satan. Believes all scripture is “open to private interpretation”. Need I go on?
Oh, professes that porn isn’t harmful and yet numerous studies prove otherwise.
The falling away mentioned in the Bible that precedes the imminent return of Jesus? This is the face of it.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2016Format: PaperbackStrangeness 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2016Format: Paperback"This is not a review but a ? for Mr. Hood. "A man shall not lie down with a man as he would with a woman. It is abomination. " how do you render this passage in queer speak. Or do you ignore it? Dismis it? Do you say 'Jesus didn't say that so its not relevant?' If the latter, what else from scripture will you ignore ? Mr. Hood lost all credibility when with cameras rolling he said "God d--- white America". Thus violating a Biblical commandment to the approval applause and cheers of fellow demonstrators in Dallas.