Overview

Psalms have long been a core part of spiritual practice, liturgy, and pastoral care, but traditional translations often reflect the theological limits of their interpreters. Queering the Psalms is a full reimagining of all 150 psalms through a queer lens-poetic reinterpretations that hold the emotional depth and theological yearning of the originals, while boldly expanding the frame to include queer bodies, voices, and sacred experiences long exiled from spiritual texts. With both reverence and reclamation, these rewritten psalms speak directly to the wounds, resilience, rage, tenderness, and holy longing of queer life-offering ancient songs in a new, honest key. This collection does not merely ""adapt"" the psalms; it queers them from the inside out-centering voices traditionally marginalized by heteropatriarchal religion, imagining a God who delights in genderfluidity, transition, desire, embodiment, and the radical act of surviving. These are psalms for the abandoned, the adored, the liminal, the brokenhearted, the ecstatic. Psalms for coming out, breaking down, rising up, falling in love, and holding on.

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9781966655435

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Reviews

The Book of Psalms is ""the book of all saints,"" as Martin Luther famously proclaimed. Sadly and tragically, communities of faith have, in essence, restricted access to and use of the Psalms. Corrective action is needed, and Sam Houser is leading the way! Queering the Psalms is an eloquent, heart-felt, urgent invitation to LGBTQUIA2S+ folk -- and to all others who have been discriminated against, dehumanized, demeaned, excluded, threatened, and persecuted (as the psalmists regularly were!) -- to claim the Book of Psalms as their own. As Sam makes eminently clear in the lovely and moving poetic renderings of all 150 psalms, the psalms of praise and thanksgiving invite everyone to claim their identity as beloved children of God; the laments provide words to express and protest the pain, agony, and trauma of exclusion; and the Psalter as a whole invites the entrusting of life and future to a God whose boundless and unconditional love is infinitely stronger than the forces of hate and violence. ""In a time like ours, when the civic (and biblical!) virtues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack, Queering the Psalms is a beautiful and essential gift to victims of hate and exclusion, to communities of faith, and to the world."" -Clinton McCann, Ph. D., Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden Theological Seminary In a time when the Bible is (once again) being weaponized to revoke the rights of the most marginalized among us, 2SLGBTQ+ people of faith urgently need restorative resources. Queering the Psalms offers just that-a redemptive reimagining of the text long (mis)used against us. ""More than a collection of queer prayers and poetry, it is a love letter to the very children exiled by the Bible's misappropriation, reminding us that love wins, justice will prevail, and that our queer selves are seen, sacred, and strong enough to stand together against systems of oppression!"" -Dr. Paige Rawson, Author of The Self-Compassion Companion ""Do not pick up this book unless or until you want this poetry to wreck you with joy, liberation, and belonging. In this punk rock psalter, meet the God of Refuge and Riot you've always known."" -Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Author of Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life.

Author Information

Author of No Longer Keeping the Peace and Between the Lines, Reverend Sam Houser (they/them) is a queer, post-liberal Christian committed to questioning tradition, fostering inclusivity, and advocating for social justice. Their ministry spans across UCC Conferences, where they provide practical and pastoral care for diverse communities. Sam is deeply passionate about creating tangible, holy responses to the challenges facing our world today. Their work centers on justice, compassion, and a desire to honor all of creation.

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