Gay Spirituality
by Toby Johnson
Our Price: $20.00
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $13.44 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Toby JohnsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-02-22
ISBN: 1590210220
Number of pages: 296
Publisher: White Crane Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781590210222
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Gay Spirituality
Book Review: A Godsend in the Search for Meaningful Spirituality
Summary: 5 Stars
On a daily basis, gay people are inundated with negative messages in every realm: social, political, cultural, and religious-especially religious. Many, if not most, mainstream churches have deliberate proscriptions against homosexuality, and with all that we've seen lately in the news, there seems to be no end in sight to the strife. Despite the fact that each year scientists offer more proof that sexual orientation is genetic (i.e. that's the way God made us), many churchgoers and clergy discriminate against gay people.
Lost in the midst of the polemics and condemnations are millions of non-heterosexual people trying to make their way in a world where matters of the Spirit are land mines and the path of that same Spirit does not always appear accessible. In his marvelous new book on this topic, Toby Johnson writes: "There is a Sufi saying: 'If the rose knew what the gardener's care would result in come spring, it would joyfully bend to the pruning knife.' Gay people experience pruning in late childhood and early adulthood. We realize the truth of our orientation and have to give up familial and cultural expectations of what our lives will be. Often we experience ridicule and ostracism by schoolmates and peers, along with rejection and disapproval by parents. Even if we grow up feeling it is okay to be gay, we experience confusion and trauma because we will not follow in the path that our parents, teachers, and role models have laid before us" (p. 239) It's this very phenomenon that tends to alienate gay people from churches and from the life-force of the Spirit.
For gay men, in particular, Toby Johnson' book GAY SPIRITUALITY is a lifesaver. Johnson's thesis is that gays are very much "Outsiders" in American society, and because of that, gay people possess valuable knowledge and inspiration about the true nature of the Spirit. Gay people experience the world differently than others do, including being more aware of the polarities. Rather than exclusion from the world of God, religion, and spirituality, Johnson calls for all people to listen to and heed the wisdom gay people have to offer. Because human knowledge and understanding continues to grow, Johnson wants any person struggling with gay issues to know that we are in the middle of a huge transformation of human consciousness-a major paradigm shift. Because of this, there is much to learn and room for growth, all of which is likely to give anyone struggling with issues of the Spirit a fair amount of hope.
Drawing from world religions, the Hero Cycle, Jungian thought, and dozens of other sources, Johnson discusses religion, spirituality, and sexuality from a variety of angles. With his background as a teacher, theologian, ex-Roman Catholic monk, and writer, this book has much to offer any person exploring spiritual paths. Ultimately, I found myself resonating strongly while reading part of the conclusion: "Being gay is a blessing... This discovery is an important part of spiritual maturation. As we understand how blessed we are, we begin to put out good vibes. When we realize that being gay is drawing a long straw in this life, we can forgive the world. We can accept things as they are with all the pain and loss that goes with being human. And when we do that we change the world" (p. 259).
It is clear from this book's premise (and that of the companion volume, GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us About the Nature of God and the Universe), that Johnson is offer viable and life-changing alternatives for people, both gay and straight, to understand the search for a meaningful spirituality. This is a wonderful book to assist in that search. ~Lori L. Lake, reviewer for The Independent Gay Writer and Midwest Book Review
Summary of Gay Spirituality
In this Lambda Literary award-winning title, author Toby Johnson explores how the rise of gay identity has become an important part of contemporary religious development.This dramatic transformation has resulted due to the perspective of gay men; their ability to step outside the assumptions and conventions of culture and see things from a different point of view.
This book will reward readers seeking new insight into faith as well as culture, myth and traditions.
In this challenging and unusual book, Toby Johnson argues that while popular religion is supposed to be "the conveyor of wisdom," it relies on old myths that fail to address the most pressing issues of modern life (among them, the destruction of our environment, biotechnology, and racial equality). Gay men, he claims, by virtue of their position outside the mainstream, have developed ways of seeing that can help us develop a more evolved spirituality. Johnson's chief inspiration is Joseph Campbell, whose illuminations on myth and comparative religion have become wildly popular in the last two decades. But Johnson lacks much of Campbell's subtlety, and has a tendency to rely too much on Jungian thought. He argues against a dualistic world-view, for example, while reproducing some amazingly simplified views about women. And where are lesbians in Johnson's vision? All the enlightened knowledge bearers he anticipates are gay men (and childless ones, by the way). Despite these lapses, Gay Spirituality offers a lively romp through much New Age thought and, in Johnson's descriptions of biblical misreadings and cultural ignorance, a priceless survey of stupidity. Whether gay men can bring about a change in human consciousness is unclear--it is even less clear that, as Johnson breezily announces, "there is a goodness and virtue that runs through gay men's lives"--but his book should inspire serious thinking among spiritually minded gay men, and can serve as a useful antidote to Larry Kramer's Faggots. --Regina Marler
Nonfiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Nonfiction Books
Damned Whores & God's Policeby Anne Summers
Penguin Books Australia; Published: 2002-03-31; Paperback; Book
Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development (Penguin Psychology)by Richard Isay
Penguin Books Ltd; Published: 1993-04-29; Paperback; Book
It's a Queer Worldby Mark Simpson
Vintage; Published: 1996-04-04; Paperback; Book
Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 : An Oral Historyby Eric Marcus
Harpercollins; Published: 1992-06; Unknown Binding; Book
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops:
The Lesbian Family Life Cycleby Suzanne Slater
The Free Press; Published: 1995-01-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.57
Price in other shops:
Running as a Woman: Gender and Power in American Politicsby Glenna Matthews, Linda Witt, Karen M. Paget
Free Press; Published: 1993-10-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.50
Price in other shops:
So Your Child is Gayby Jerald Dr. Bain, Phyllis Bruce Jerald Bain
HarperCollins Publishers; Published: 2000; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.10
Eminent Maricones: Arenas, Lorca, Puig, and Me (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiog)by Jaime Manrique
University of Wisconsin Press; Published: 1999-04-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.01
My Lives: An Autobiographyby Edmund White
Ecco; Published: 2006-04-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
For Girls Only: Wise Words, Good Adviceby Carol Weston
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-06-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Gay Tantraby William Schindler
Xlibris; Published: 2001-04-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Gay Spirituality: Experiences in Self-Realization for Gay Men Lesbians and Enlightened Heterosexualsby Roger G. Lanphear
Unified Pubns; Published: 1990-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.30
Coming Out Within: Stages of Spiritual Awakening for Lesbians and Gay Menby Craig O'Neill, Kathleen Ritter
Harper San Francisco; Published: 1992-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.69
Price in other shops:
Gay Witchcraft: Empowering the Tribeby Christopher Penczak
Red Wheel Weiser; Published: 2003-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.01
Price in other shops:
Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us About the Nature of God and the Universeby Toby Johnson
Alyson Books; Published: 2003-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.92
Price in other shops:
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculineby Matthew Fox
New World Library; Published: 2009-05-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Two Flutes Playing: A Spiritual Journeybook for Gay Men (White Crane Spirituality)by Andrew Ramer
White Crane Books; Published: 2005-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Gay is a Giftby Salvatore Sapienza
Tregatti Press; Published: 2009-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.53
Price in other shops:
Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe (White Crane Spirituality)by Toby Johnson
White Crane Books; Published: 2008-11-01; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.59
Price in other shops:
Coming Out Spiritually: The Next Stepby Christian de la Huerta
Tarcher; Published: 1999-05-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: