the church and postmodern culture

Divine Reciprocity and Epistemic Openness in Clark Pinnock’s Theology

  Written By John Sanders (Professor of Religious Studies at Hendrix College) – sandersj@hendrix.edu   *** This paper was given at a session honoring the work of Clark Pinnock at the American Academy of Religion in San Francisco, November 18, 2011.   Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock was once a renowned defender of the doctrine of meticulous providence (where... Read More

Not at-home: rethinking hospitality and homelessness

This Christmas season I had the privilege of attending a memorial service, a vigil in memory of the homeless from our area who had died. Gathered in the early dark of the winter solstice, a group comprised of homeless persons, service providers, and local residents read from a necrology, including twenty names new to the list this year. As we were asked to remember these lives,... Read More

Theologians and the Church?

I have recently returned from the Theologians and the Church event that the Centre for Theology and Philosophy hosted at New College, Edinburgh (It was worth the trip just to hear Graham Ward’s plenary). The conference hoped ‘to bring together the next generation of theologians to explore the relationship between academic theology and the worshipping community. Postgraduates... Read More

We Are Still Them: Non-Denominationalism and the Hermeneutics of Silence

By: J. Aaron Simmons – Department of Philosophy – Furman University – aaron.simmons@furman.edu  I. I was raised in the American evangelical subculture and have recently been part of several different non-denominational, generally evangelical, (mega)churches in the American South.  As a result of these experiences, I have become increasing concerned about the... Read More

All Things Shining: Maps on Fire

Mythologies (macro-scale meaning-maps) are a byproduct of religion in the same way that stories are a byproduct of life. This is fine. But our stories are not alive and our maps are not the way. It’s a mistake, I think, to think that religions are in the business of making meaning. Religions make meaning the way donut shops make donut holes: as leftovers. The trouble with... Read More

Hunger and Love – The “Logic of Late Capitalism” Unwinds into the Postmodern Apocalypse

It’s another gray and misty morning here in the second district of Vienna.  The church bells toll to invite the sleepy-eyed revelers from the night before to churches that, except for Christmas tourists, will probably remain mostly empty. The second district is historically the Jewish district of Vienna, where Freud lived and hung out.  For some unfathomable reason Freud is... Read More

Occupy Wall St. – Žižek’s Act or Badiou’s Event?

I was downtown talking with people at Occupy Chicago last Monday, and I met a man named Les, who I mistook for the leader of the movement.  I’m sure you all know that OWS is leaderless, but I’ve always assumed this is reall just code for Leader-Les, who happened to be a 67 year old man, retired and concerned about the future (or lack of) we are leaving for the future generations. Anyway,... Read More

Philosophy Is What It Eats

It is tough to still think, a hundred years into the linguistic turn, that philosophy is much in charge of anything: growing the food, overseeing the menu, preparing the meal, or even serving it up. But philosophy can still help us chew on things. It can be a second stomach that helps digest the kinds of ideas we’re growing, the kinds of machines we’re building, the... Read More

Genealogy, Memory, and the Danger in Political Theology

This guest post by David Horstkoetter and the previous post come from the recent panel discussion hosted by the new Political Theologies Seminar at Marquette University.  The seminar is interested in theologies that intersect with contemporary political, social, economic, and cultural life. Participating faculty are  Dr. D. Stephen Long and Emeritus Fr. Thomas Hughson and the... Read More

Against ‘Political’ Theology

This and the following post come from the recent panel discussion hosted by the new Political Theologies Seminar at Marquette University.  The seminar is interested in theologies that intersect with contemporary political, social, economic, and cultural life. Participating faculty are  Dr. D. Stephen Long and Emeritus Fr. Thomas Hughson and the coordinator is David Horstkoetter. ... Read More