The Sexual Theologian is the first collection of essays on radical sexual theology written by a group of internationally renowned scholars in this area. For the first time Queer theory and theology is articulated around themes from systematic theology such as Incarnation, death, the concept of God, Mariology, together with discussions on sexuality and mysticism. The essays show a "how to do" a radical sexual theology together with original, bold and transgressive thinking which have taken feminist theologies to a new dimension of action and reflection.

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock." -Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24) Theology is the study of God. There is a great need in this day to get back to the foundational teachings of historic Christianity. It is the purpose of this book to educate Christian students in Biblical doctrines and how these vital truths point to the hope, love and salvation of Jesus Christ. In this day of cultism and false teaching many students sometimes struggle with faith issues. The way we think directly affects the way we live, and thus for young people to truly live for Christ they must have a correct Biblical worldview. This theological primer will help students more fully understand and embrace their faith in Jesus Christ and strengthen their witness in this generation. The Young Theologian's Handbook consists of 40 theological subjects along with other helpful information that will challenge all students to be young theologians! Darryl Riden is president of Christ Powered Ministries in Johnson City, Tennessee. CPM is a student evangelism association. Darryl is a student ministry veteran, ordained minister, Christian songwriter-artist, and student counselor. He has had the privilege of leading thousands of young people to Christ throughout his 26 years of student ministry. Through evangelistic outreach, music, conferences, and discipleship materials, CPM is bringing the truth and hope of Jesus Christ to this generation. The Young Theologian's Handbook is Darryl's first book. He and his family live in Johnson City, Tennessee. You can contact him at: www.christpoweredministries.com "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of this world and not according to Christ." -Colossians 2: 8

Originally published in 2004. Feminist discourses have focused sustained and sometimes devastating critical attention on Christianity over the last fifty years. Today feminisms remain significant but often ambiguous forces in contemporary Christian theology. At a time in which questions about the success and viability of feminisms are increasingly posed, Feminist Christian Encounters makes a unique contribution to the ongoing investigation into the creative relationship between feminisms and Christianity. Angela Pears identifies some of the key theological and methodological mechanisms by which Christian feminist theologies are informed, sustained, and made possible by feminist values and critiques. Pears argues that certain strategies characterize the facilitation of this dialogue in contemporary Christian feminist theologies, enabling theologians to accept the values and critiques of feminisms whilst at the same time proclaim some level of commitment to Christianity. Engaging in a process of deconstruction of the methodologies of key Christian theological thinkers who have made use of feminisms in their theologies, this book reveals the mechanisms of feminist Christian encounter at work.

This book explores the intersection in contemporary Western culture of Catholic sexual theology and adolescent female developmental and sexual experiences. The voices of adolescent females, so long silent in sexual theologies, are given privilege here in the articulation of a normative theology. Applying a feminist natural law framework, the book engages both theoretical scholarship and practical evidence from psychological and other social sciences to inform sexual theology in the Catholic tradition. Attending to gendered, developmental, and social contexts, Doris Kieser explores adolescent females’ experiences of puberty, menarche, various sexual activities, communities of support, sexual desire, and the pleasure and danger these realities reap. She critically explores historical and traditional sexual theologies and prevailing social patriarchal and androcentric sexual attitudes through a feminist lens. The author’s attention to the voices of girls and women, and her aim to see their sexual flourishing in particular and diverse social contexts, yields a theology mindful of the rich complexities of female sexual desire, pleasure, and well-being. The result is an integrated sexual theology that grapples with the Catholic theological tradition, feminist theory and theology, and the embodied experiences of females. For anyone who is invested in the lives and well-being of adolescent females, this work uncovers both barriers and boons to their sexual flourishing.

Originating at the 2011 conference of the International Academy of Practical Theology in Amsterdam, this volume explores the practical theological significance of desire. Although desire is central to many issues in practical theology and related disciplines, it is only rarely discussed under its own name. Three introductory chapters locate desire in concrete practices in the city and discuss the phenomenology, theology, and ethics of desire. Subsequent sections are organized around embodying desire, culturing desire, and transforming desire. The chapters include various kinds of desire, such as sexuality, consumerism, and spirituality. Perspectives from different contexts and religious traditions are offered in this rich and thought-provoking book. (Series: International Practical Theology - Vol. 16)

The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender presents an unrivalled overview of the theological study of sexuality and gender. These topics are not merely contentious and pervasive: they have escalated in importance within theology. Theologians increasingly agree that even the very doctrine of God cannot be contemplated without a prior grappling with each. Featuring 41 newly-commissioned essays, written by some of the foremost scholars in the discipline, this authoritative collection presents and develops the latest thinking in these areas. Divided into eight thematic sections, the Handbook explores: methodological approaches; contributions from neighbouring disciplines; sexuality and gender in the Bible, and in the Christian tradition; controversies within the churches, and within four of the non-Christian faiths; and key concepts and issues. The final, extended section considers theology in relation to married people and families; gay and lesbian people; bisexual people; intersex and transgender people; disabled people; and to friends. This volume is an essential reference for students and scholars, which will also stimulate further research.

This volume investigates how mothers can understand parenting as spiritual practice, and what this practice means for theological scholarship. An intergenerational and intercultural group of mother-scholars explores these questions that arise at the intersection of motherhood studies, religious practice, pastoral care, and theology through engaging and accessible essays. Essays include both narrative and theological elements, as authors draw on personal reflection, interviews, and/or sociological studies to write about the theological implications of parenting practice, rethink key concepts in theology, and contribute to a more robust account of parenting as spiritual practice from various theological perspectives. The volume both challenges oppressive, religious images of self-sacrificing motherhood and considers the spiritual dimensions of mothering that contribute to women’s empowerment and well-being. It also deepens practical and systematic theologies to include concern for the embodied and everyday challenges and joys of motherhood as it is experienced and practiced in diverse contexts of privilege and marginalization.

Marriage for Life begins by listening to the lived experiences of Catholic, married, HIV-positive women, in order to better understand their struggles. The eight women interviewed in Chicago, Illinois, USA, shared their stories of marriage, of family life, of church involvement, and of living with HIV. Their candid reflections offer a fresh and grounded perspective on the challenges of living with HIV in a US context. After listening to and learning from these women’s experiences, Reimer-Barry constructs a theology of Christian marriage that is life-giving in a world with AIDS. While Catholic teachings have developed and now affirm the equal dignity of women and men, troubling legacies of women’s subordination remain embedded in liturgical practices and theological texts. Arguing that self-care is an indispensable component of a healthy marriage, Reimer-Barry constructs a life-affirming theology of marriage that is sensitive to the struggles of her collaborators. She argues that marriage for life must promote the full flourishing of both partners, respect wives as equal partners with their husbands, and offer a coherent and empowering sexual ethic. Building on the wisdom of her collaborators’ lived experiences, Reimer-Barry examines the need for a more adequate Catholic response to HIV and AIDS, arguing that church communities should promote comprehensive sexual education, affirm both abstinence and condom use for HIV prevention, and actively work to reduce stigmatizing behaviors within church communities. She also unpacks the implications of marriage for life for Catholic liturgical practice, marriage preparation programs, sexual education programs, and family ministries. Modeling her method on what Pope Francis calls the “art of accompaniment,” Reimer-Barry argues that Catholic theology of marriage must be renewed and updated so that all can plainly understand that marriage is for life.

This volume demonstrates how Friedrich Schleiermacher's thought can be used to address contemporary doctrinal refinement and development. Taking a constructive approach, Shelli M. Poe weaves Schleiermacher's theology together with current scholarship in feminism, womanism, ecotheology, and queer theology. While Schleiermacher is widely acclaimed as the progenitor of modern theology, Poe is one of the first to use his work as a springboard to refine contemporary doctrine. This book demonstrates the promise of Schleiermacher's mature work for contemporary constructive forms of theology.

Hannah Bacon draws on qualitative research conducted inside one UK secular commercial weight loss group to show how Christian religious forms and theological discourses inform contemporary weight-loss narratives. Bacon argues that notions of sin and salvation resurface in secular guise in ways that repeat well-established theological meanings. The slimming organization recycles the Christian terminology of sin – spelt 'Syn' – and encourages members to frame weight loss in salvific terms. These theological tropes lurk in the background helping to align food once more with guilt and moral weakness, but they also mirror to an extent the way body policing techniques in Christianity have historically helped to cultivate self-care. The self-breaking and self-making aspects of women's Syn-watching practices in the group continue certain features of historical Christianity, serving in similar ways to conform women's bodies to patriarchal norms while providing opportunities for women's self-development. Taking into account these tensions, Bacon asks what a specifically feminist theological response to weight loss might look like. If ideas about sin and salvation service hegemonic discourses about fat while also empowering women to shape their own lives, how might they be rethought to challenge fat phobia and the frenetic pursuit of thinness? As well as naming as 'sin' principles and practices which diminish women's appetites and bodies, this book forwards a number of proposals about how salvation might be performed in our everyday eating habits and through the cultivation of fat pride. It takes seriously the conviction of many women in the group that food and the body can be important sites of power, wisdom and transformation, but channels this insight into the construction of theologies that resist rather than reproduce thin privilege and size-ist norms.