Theodore Wesley Jennings Jr. (born 1942-2020), also known as Ted Jennings, was an American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister. He was Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology at the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

Chicago Theological Seminary Founded in 1855, the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is the oldest higher education institution in the City of Chicago and was established with two principal goals: first, to educate pastors who would minister to people living on the new weste ...

, where he had previously served as Acting Academic Dean. Jennings gained a notoriety for his work on ritual studies, the Messianic politics of Pauline discourse, and theological engagement with the work of

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

and

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

. Jennings' pro-LGBT theology was welcomed in progressive circles, but was cast as outright heretical by conservative theologians such as R. Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist theologian and minister. This opprobrium also appeared when he published across ecumenical aisles, such as when he was called a heretic by Charlotte Allen of the non-denominational Institute on Religion and Public Life on account of his collaborations with Tat-siong Benny Liew of the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

Biography

Jennings was born on October 24, 1942. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 1964 and his

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degrees from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1967 and 1971 respectively. He taught for three years at ''Seminario Metodista (Methodist Seminary)'' in Mexico City and is an ordained

minister. His scholarly work and publications have focused on a broad array of topics, such as Methodism, ritual studies,

biblical hermeneutics Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

and

queer theology Queer theology is a theological method that has developed out of the philosophical approach of queer theory, built upon scholars such as Marcella Althaus-Reid, Michel Foucault, Gayle Rubin, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Judith Butler. Queer theology ...

, the politics of Pauline Messianism, and the work of

. Following a serious stroke on March 5, 2020, at his second home near

Acapulco, Mexico Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

, Jennings was transported by ambulance to Hospital Angeles Roma in Mexico City where he passed away almost three weeks later on March 25, 2020.

Works by Jennings

* ''An Ethic of Queer Sex: Principles and Improvisations''. Exploration Press, Chicago, Illinois 2013, * ''Transforming Atonement: A Political Theology of the Cross''. Fortress Press, Minneapolis 2009. * ''Plato or Paul? The Origins of Western Homophobia''. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland 2009, * ''Jacob's Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel''. Continuum, New York 2005, * ''Reading Derrida, Thinking Paul: On Justice''. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 2005, * ''Mistaken Identities but Model Faith: Rereading the Centurion, the Chap, and the Christ in Matthew 8:5-13.'' Theodore W. Jennings, Jr. and Tat-Siong Benny Liew. Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 123, No. 3 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 467–494 * ''The Insurrection of the Crucified: The ‘Gospel of Mark’ as Theological Manifesto''. Exploration Press, Chicago, Illinois 2003, * ''The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament''. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland 2003, * ''Santidad bìblica'' (Seminario Metodista de Mexico), 2002 * ''Loyalty to God: The Apostles Creed in Life and Liturgy''. Abingdon Press, Nashville 1992, * ''Good News to the Poor: John Wesley’s Evangelical Economics''. Abingdon Press, Nashville 1990, * ''Beyond Theism: A Grammar of God-Language''. Oxford University Press, New York 1985, *

References

External links

Chicago Theological Seminary

"Reading Derrida/ Thinking Paul" from Stanford University Press, 2005.
https://web.archive.org/web/20121012200030/http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=8261 Archived.]
"International Seminars of the LGBTQ Religious Studies Centers" A compilation of several international seminars with Dr. Ted Jennings on behalf of the Queer Center at CTS.

"Outlaw Justice: The Messianic Politics of Paul" from Stanford University Press, 2013.

"What The Bible Really Says About Homosexuality" Lecture presented on March 24, 2009 at Hanshin Theological Seminary in Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Theodore 1942 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American theologians 20th-century Methodist ministers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century Methodist ministers American biblical scholars American Christian theologians American male non-fiction writers American United Methodist clergy Candler School of Theology alumni Chicago Theological Seminary faculty Duke University alumni Living people Methodist theologians