About the book
Jesus challenges viewers by arriving as a young gay man of today in a modern city with The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision by Kittredge Cherry (author) and Douglas Blanchard (artist).
In 24 stunning new paintings, the contemporary Christ figure is jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine look-alikes, and rises again to enjoy homoerotic moments with God. His surprisingly diverse friends join him on a journey from suffering to freedom. He lives out a 21st-century version of Jesus’ last days, including the crucifixion and resurrection. Readers call it “accessible but profound.”
The art and reflections are available as a book, prints, and blog series.
“These dramatic paintings break the deadly illusion that Jesus belongs exclusively to a particular time or group,” says author Kittredge Cherry, a minister and art historian. “A queer Passion is crucial now even for non-believers because Christianity is being used to justify discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The book speaks not only to the LGBTQ community, but to everyone who is passionate about building a more just world.”
The illustrated book brings together a gifted gay artist and an established lesbian author who specializes in LGBTQ Christian art. They take the most important narrative in Western culture and rescue it from fundamentalists and also from over-familiarity. Both are at the forefront of a trend towards envisioning Christ as queer.
Each image is accompanied by an insightful essay on its meaning, artistic and historical context, Biblical basis and LGBTQ significance, plus a short meditation with a scripture and one-line prayer. The Passion is placed in a larger context in an introduction by the artist and an afterword by Toby Johnson, comparative religion scholar and author of Gay Spirituality. The book itself is a work of art with lavish full-color reproductions and an elegant design.
The book functions both as a meditation aid for believers and as an informative analysis for secular readers interested in religion, art, history, and LGBTQ studies. “The purpose of reflecting on the Passion is not necessarily to worship Christ, but to remember the ongoing cycle of human violence, and to seek a way to move from suffering to freedom,” Cherry says “To Christians, the Passion is the ultimate affirmation that God stands in solidarity with humankind.”
The Passion of Christ (ISBN 194067140X) is published by the Apocryphile Press, a publisher and purveyor of fine books on religion, spirituality, philosophy and poetry since 2004. Based in Berkeley, Apocryphile has more than 100 titles in print by historical and contemporary authors.
For more info, check out the gay Passion of Christ blog series at Qspirit.net.
In 24 stunning new paintings, the contemporary Christ figure is jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine look-alikes, and rises again to enjoy homoerotic moments with God. His surprisingly diverse friends join him on a journey from suffering to freedom. He lives out a 21st-century version of Jesus’ last days, including the crucifixion and resurrection. Readers call it “accessible but profound.”
The art and reflections are available as a book, prints, and blog series.
“These dramatic paintings break the deadly illusion that Jesus belongs exclusively to a particular time or group,” says author Kittredge Cherry, a minister and art historian. “A queer Passion is crucial now even for non-believers because Christianity is being used to justify discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The book speaks not only to the LGBTQ community, but to everyone who is passionate about building a more just world.”
The illustrated book brings together a gifted gay artist and an established lesbian author who specializes in LGBTQ Christian art. They take the most important narrative in Western culture and rescue it from fundamentalists and also from over-familiarity. Both are at the forefront of a trend towards envisioning Christ as queer.
Each image is accompanied by an insightful essay on its meaning, artistic and historical context, Biblical basis and LGBTQ significance, plus a short meditation with a scripture and one-line prayer. The Passion is placed in a larger context in an introduction by the artist and an afterword by Toby Johnson, comparative religion scholar and author of Gay Spirituality. The book itself is a work of art with lavish full-color reproductions and an elegant design.
The book functions both as a meditation aid for believers and as an informative analysis for secular readers interested in religion, art, history, and LGBTQ studies. “The purpose of reflecting on the Passion is not necessarily to worship Christ, but to remember the ongoing cycle of human violence, and to seek a way to move from suffering to freedom,” Cherry says “To Christians, the Passion is the ultimate affirmation that God stands in solidarity with humankind.”
The Passion of Christ (ISBN 194067140X) is published by the Apocryphile Press, a publisher and purveyor of fine books on religion, spirituality, philosophy and poetry since 2004. Based in Berkeley, Apocryphile has more than 100 titles in print by historical and contemporary authors.
For more info, check out the gay Passion of Christ blog series at Qspirit.net.
The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision
By Kittredge Cherry (author) and Douglas Blanchard (artist)
Publisher: Apocryphile Press
Paperback with color images: 150 pages
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches
Price: $38.95
ISBN: 194067140X
Publication date: Fall 2014
By Kittredge Cherry (author) and Douglas Blanchard (artist)
Publisher: Apocryphile Press
Paperback with color images: 150 pages
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches
Price: $38.95
ISBN: 194067140X
Publication date: Fall 2014
