Christian Mysticism’s Queer Flame: Spirituality in the Lives of Contemporary Gay Men

258 Pages·2019·2.02 MB·English

by  Michael Bernard Kelly

Christian Mysticism’s Queer Flame
Is the Christian mystical tradition a relic of another time, shaped by
celibates for celibates, unable to engage meaningfully with people of our
time who embrace their corporeality and sexuality as crucial aspects of their
journey towards union with God? This book refects in serious theological
depth and detail on the spiritual and sexual journeys of gay men of mature
and committed Christian faith, employing the Christian mystical tradition
as the lens and the interlocutor in this process.
This study examines the major themes and stages of the mystical tradition
as outlined by Evelyn Underhill but also includes more recent work by
Ruth Burrows, Thomas Merton, and Constance Fitzgerald. Using methods
of qualitative research, it then considers the texts of in-depth interviews
conducted with men, most of whom are theologians or spiritual leaders
with a deep Catholic faith, and all of whom are openly, self-affrmingly gay.
Finally, it employs Ricoeur’s hermeneutical theory to engage in a creative
theological conversation between the traditional mystical stages and themes
and these men’s lives, as described in their interviews.
This is a unique study that brings together ancient spirituality with
contemporary lived religion. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of
religious studies, theology, Christian mysticism and spirituality, and queer
studies. It will be of particular interest to those who teach spiritual direction
and to all who seek new ways to engage with the spiritual lives of LGBTIQ+
people.
Michael Bernard Kelly is an Adjunct Research Associate at Monash
University’s Centre for Religious Studies, Australia. Over the past twenty
years he has led retreats; spoken at conferences; lectured at universities; and
published essays and papers in Australia, the UK, and the USA. He is the
author/presenter of The Erotic Contemplative: The Spiritual Journey of the
Gay Christian (1995) video-lecture series and his book, Seduced by Grace:
Contemporary Spirituality, Gay Experience and Christian Faith (2007), is
held and used in a number of universities.
Routledge Studies in Religion
Radical Orthodoxy in a Pluralistic World
Desire, Beauty, and the Divine
Angus M. Slater
Spiritual and Social Transformation in African
American Spiritual Churches
More than Conjurers
Margarita Simon Guillory
Liberal Religion
Progressive Versions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Emanuel de Kadt
Piety and Patienthood in Medieval Islam
Ahmed Ragab
Being Spiritual but Not Religious
Past, Present, Future(s)
Edited by William B. Parsons
Religious Studies Scholars as Public Intellectuals
Edited by Sabrina D. MisirHiralall, Christopher L. Fici
and Gerald S. Vigna
Religious Boundaries for Sex, Gender, and Corporeality
Edited by Alexandra Cuffel, Ana Echevarria and Georgios T. Halkias
Christian Mysticism’s Queer Flame
Spirituality in the Lives of Contemporary Gay Men
Michael Bernard Kelly
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
religion/series/SE0669
Christian Mysticism’s
Queer Flame
Spirituality in the Lives of
Contemporary Gay Men
Michael Bernard Kelly
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Michael Bernard Kelly
The right of Michael Bernard Kelly to be identifed as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kelly, Michael Bernard, author.
Title: Christian mysticism’s queer fame : spirituality in the lives of
contemporary gay men / Michael Bernard Kelly.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Routledge studies
in religion | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2018019872 | ISBN 9781138562127
(hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780203710050 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Homosexuality—Religious aspects—Christianity. |
Gays—Religious life. | Mysticism.
Classifcation: LCC BR115.H6 K45 2018 | DDC 248.2/2086642—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018019872
ISBN: 978-1-138-56212-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-71005-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To the Queer Saints of the Future:
May their Names be Known;
May their Songs be Sung!
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 General Introduction 1
SECTION I
Seting the Interpretative Context 21
2 The Two Lungs of the Christian Mystical Life: The
Cataphatic Way and the Apophatic Way 23
3 Theories of Mystical Development: The Classical
Model according to Evelyn Underhil’s “Mysticism” 38
4 Contemporary Approaches to Faith Development and
Spiritual Growth 68
5 Hermeneutical and Methodological Considerations 85
SECTION II
Stories of Faith and Patterns of Growth: The Eight Interviews 99
6 Family, Faith, and the Path towards Coming Out 101
7 Early Adulthood and the Path towards Integration 128
viii Contents
SECTION III
Towards a Gay Mystical Theology: Creating the
Conversation 165
8 From Awakening to Coming Out 167
9 From Coming Out to Union with God 197
Conclusion 234
Index 239
Preface
Can the Christian mystical tradition inform the spiritual lives of contempo-
rary people and can it be enriched by their experience? Is it possible for a
self-affrming, sexually expressive gay man to live the full Christian mystical
life into union with God? How would such an inner journey transform our
understanding of Christian mysticism on the one hand and our apprecia-
tion of human, especially queer, sexuality on the other? Alternatively, is the
mystical tradition a relic of another time, shaped by celibates for celibates,
unable to evolve or to engage meaningfully with people of our age who
embrace corporeality and sexuality as crucial aspects of their spiritual path?
In this study I address these questions through a sustained, creative con-
versation between two unlikely partners: the classical mystical tradition and
the lives of contemporary gay Christian men. A conversation such as this
must be tentative and experimental, since there are few models or precur-
sors to explore – whether one considers current discourses in mysticism,
recent developments in queer theology, or the burgeoning feld of spiritual
direction. To my knowledge, no one has yet studied the classic themes, pat-
terns, and stages of the Christian mystical path in relation to the living,
spiritual, sexual, and relational experience of gay men. Indeed, it is an open
question as to whether such a study is even possible and, if so, what it might
look like. The approaches, processes, and conclusions in this current project
are, therefore, provisional, experimental, and creative; if they provoke dis-
cussion, debate, and further development, then that will be all to the good.
My own hope is that this study may help contemporary people, especially
LGBTIQ people, to recover and reframe the mystical path as emerging from
and speaking to lives that are whole, erotic, and queer. I therefore seek to
re-imagine each stage of the mystical journey, grounding it in life and in the
body. I attempt to elucidate the depth, wisdom, and holiness that can and do
emerge from the hopes, joys, and struggles of gay men of faith, and I explore
how the language of mysticism can inform, and be transformed by, their
incarnate spiritual journeys.
I believe, and I trust that this study demonstrates, that the Christian mysti-
cal tradition has the capacity for profound renewal and that its wisdom can
inspire and guide, while also being critiqued and enriched by, contemporary