Susannah Cornwall

The Kenosis of Unambiguous Sex in the Body of Christ: Intersex, Theology and Existing `for the Other'

Abstract Intersex conditions might be more usefully explored in light of theologies from impairment rather than those from sexuality. The areas of concurrence between intersex conditions and disability feed into theologies which fully respect and take into account such bodily states. Hegemonies of ‘goodness’ and ‘normality’ which lead to the marginalization of intersexed and impaired bodies are grounded in theological beliefs which fail adequately to ‘queer’ oppressive socio-cultural discourses. The disability theology of John M. Hull is used to argue that the ‘ideologies of dominance’ which assume the ‘sighted world’ to be the only ‘real world’ are also evident in assumptions that the binary-sexed world is the only real world; and that it is appropriate for theologians to query and subvert such assumptions. Kenotic behaviour in the realm of gender identity might involve the ceding of sexed signification by those who are not intersexed, rather than the assimilation or unchosen ‘correction’ of those who are.

British Intersex Christians’ Accounts of Intersex Identity, Christian Identity and Church Experience

Abstract Intersex conditions cause a physical ambiguity of sex, and affect around 1 in 2,500 people. This analysis draws on qualitative, semi-structured interviews and/or questionnaires with ten intersex Christians. Overwhelmingly, participants’ church experiences across denominations were more positive than negative. Several participants referred to Bible passages important to them in formulating positive identities as intersex and Christian. A common theme was participants’ belief that God intended them to be inter-sex, and most understood their Christianity as a source of strength. However, they were not uncritical of the Christian tradition, especially regarding teachings on sex, gender and sexuality. British Christian denominations’ documents on personhood, sex, gender and sexuality barely mention inter-sex. This is unlikely to change if church policymakers do not become more aware of the existence of intersex and the experiences of intersex people. Further engagement with intersex will be crucial in formulating pastorally sensitive and theologically robust accounts of human sex, gender and sexuality in the future.

Narrative theology in Religious Education

This article advocates a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and narrative philosophy. Drawing on the work of narrative theologians including Stanley Hauerwas, the article outlines the nature of the framework, describes the four phases of learning that comprise the pedagogy, and explains how such an approach can overcome existing difficulties in how biblical texts are handled within RE. Working from the narrative assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading, sharing and living within stories, it suggests that the pedagogy might encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious, non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the article moves away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves.

Telling Stories About intersex and Christianity: Saying Too Much or Not Saying Enough?

Intersex conditions (those where an individual’s body cannot be classified as male or female) have received little attention in theological or church circles. This paper draws on empirical research with ten intersex Christians, suggesting that their stories are of relevance to broader theological discourse about sex, gender and sexuality. In a narrative theological framework, stories constitute and reinforce world-views. Christian communities which invest only clearly male or clearly female bodies with legitimacy and cosmic significance risk eliding other types of body-story.

Mind the Gap? Perceptions and Realities of Sexualities Education for Ordinands

This article reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative research project which sought to discover how sexualities education was delivered in Anglican Theological Education Institutions in the UK. With a background of cultural and ecclesial change, as well as the adoption of a single university to validate the majority of theological education courses, the authors build on work done previously to determine the presence of gaps or dissonances between policy and practice. Analysis of on-line questionnaires and semi-structured interviews suggests continuing contestations around sexualities, and diverse opinion even within the same institution. By exploring data within a postmodern methodological framework under the headings of formal education, informal education and the discernment process, we note more congruence than previously within Colleges and Courses, but a diversity of experiences in different dioceses. We recognize the challenges of theological education in a disputed environment, and recommend some changes to the selection process.

Readings from the Road: Contextual Bible Study with a Group of Homeless and Vulnerably-Housed People

Readings from the Road, a British Academy-funded small research project, investigated the use of Contextual Bible Study (CBS) with a group of homeless and vulnerably-housed people at a soup kitchen in South-West England. The transient nature of the homeless community presented particular challenges in using this method, but the non-directive and democratic nature of CBS proved valuable. The authors discuss three themes arising from the study sessions: home and place, judgment and stigmatization, and the figure of Jesus. Participants’ linking of biblical themes with their own experiences and broader social events are explored. The authors note that consciously privileging the experience and knowledge of those whose narratives or reading sites are silenced or devalued by mainstream religious traditions is not unequivocally positive, but that the homeless participants’ liminal, insider-outsider relationship to the rest of society is a significant factor in their ability to query and subvert established discourses, providing flashes of imagery which might be deemed prophetic.

“Something There is That Doesn't Love a Wall”: Queer Theologies and Reparative Readings

A set of recent conversations among scholars working in queer cultural and literary theory has focused on the trope of reparative reading. Reparative readings, usually contrasted with the “paranoid” criticism of those working in the Butlerian tradition, are often informed by the writings of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. This article explores the “reparative turn” in the context of Christian queer theologies, and suggests that it may include practices of “sociability with the dead”: both listening to and honouring the abjected past of queer ancestors, and continuing to be in conversation with the damaging and hurtful parts of the Christian tradition as a means of holding them accountable.

Home and Hiddenness: Queer Theology, Domestication and Institutions

ABSTRACT This essay examines tropes of hiddenness and domestication in queer theology, particularly in light of the increasing mainstreaming of queer theologies in institutional (e.g. university, seminary, church) settings, and the inclusion of queer theologies by straight academics and teachers on their syllabi. Drawing on James C. Scott’s work on revolution as a luxury of the elite (by way of the Arab Spring, the UK riots of 2011, and the US demonstrations in 2014), and Judith Halberstam’s construction of “failure” as a strategy of queer resistance, I ask whether there will continue to be a role for “shadow queernesses” which reject institutional acceptability. However, I also suggest that the increased visibility of queer theology within mainstream institutions does not inevitably imply compromise or “toothlessness,” but may in fact testify to the pre-existing presence of queer diversity in multiple contexts and the inhabitation by queer scholars of various “homes.”

‘Anglicanism in a Bottle?’ Theological Implications of Sexualities Education for Anglican Ordinands

This article develops the initial findings of the small-scale research project Mind the Gap to ask what theological insights might be drawn from this enquiry into contemporary theological education for ordinands concerning sexualities. Three areas are suggested: the relationship between theology and other disciplines in the interrogation of human behaviour (including the theological understanding of lived experience); a further investigation of identity, authority and power; a response to the concept of ‘theological capital’ in terms of sexualities. The authors conclude that embodied theologies of desire may connect more healthily the abstract and the (sexually) concrete, as well as renewing tired secular concepts with new Christian insights. Ordinands are encouraged to engage cognitively at a meta-level in analysing and appreciating differences, of which they are already aware from their pastoral practice.

Sarah Coakley, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for GodCoakleySarah, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for God (London: Bloomsbury, 2015); 150 pp.: 9781441103222 £14.99/

recorded, these are examined first, then those accounts that are recorded in two Gospels and finally those miracles that are only recorded once. However, this sequence deprives the study of any sense of progression or development. Given that the priority of Mark’s account is assumed, it is also curious that the analysis of each miracle story starts with Matthew’s version: to have started with Mark would have enabled the reader to see how Matthew has redacted the Markan version. Warrington assumes that it is possible to discern the intention of each author in how they have crafted their particular version of the miracle account. According to Warrington, ‘the miracle narratives have been carefully crafted by the authors to demonstrate that God has become man in the person of Jesus’ (p. 1). This is a big claim to make, and unfortunately it is not adequately demonstrated in the text. The chapter on the purpose of Jesus’ miracles refers to his authority and status and argues that miracles serve as signs that Jesus has initiated the kingdom and that they provide opportunities for belief in him: this falls short of demonstrating that the miracles reveal Jesus as God. Those who are beginning to compare the distinctive emphases of each of the Synoptic Gospels will find this study a helpful and gentle introduction to the field: in an age where people tend to conflate the different Synoptic accounts in their minds, this study helps disentangle the threads and help readers to see the distinctive emphases and approach of each Gospel to each miracle story that they record. It’s a shame the book lacks a conclusion: it would have been helpful to provide a summary of the distinctive approach of how miracles are recorded in each of the Gospel narratives.