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Mark D. Jordan’s work deconstructs how religious language is used to control bodies and identities. Rather than building a systematic “dogma,” his theology is a critique of power and a recovery of marginalized voices. Jordan argues that modern “traditional” views on sexuality are often recent inventions—”rhetorical traps”—disguised as ancient, unchanging truths. He moves theology away from abstract rules and back to the materiality of the body.
For Jordan, holiness is found in the lived experience of desire, touch, and community. He views the “queering” of theology as a way to return to the radical, destabilizing love found in the Gospels. Jordan emphasizes that theology is not just what we think, but what we do. He explores how rituals and “performances” of faith can either exclude or transform, seeking a church that celebrates the diversity of human eros as a reflection of divine love. His critique of Thomas Aquinas is one of his most influential contributions to modern theology.
Rather than dismissing Aquinas, Jordan “rescues” him from modern conservative interpretations by highlighting the fluid, often messy reality of medieval thought. In his landmark work The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology, Jordan argues that the word “sodomy” was a theological fabrication of the 11th and 12th centuries. He shows that before this period, there was no unified “sin” of sodomy.
By the time of Aquinas, it was used as a “trash-bin” category to police any sexual act that didn’t fit a very specific, procreative mold. Jordan’s point is that “Nature” in theology is often just a rhetorical tool used to justify the prejudices of the era. For Jordan…Authority comes from Experience and “The Body”. Sexuality is an expression of Divine Desire.
