(Not Your) Grandpa’s Church Service: Pyrotheology’s Familial Resemblance to Liberal Theology and the Possibilities for Political Liturgy

Osinski, Keegan

Modern Believing (2016), 57, (4), 349–361.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/mb.2016.24
Language: English
Pages: 13

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the liberal theology of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and Peter Rollins’s Pyrotheology, which I present here as a theological methodology that encourages the questioning of beliefs and the embracing of doubt. I highlight the family resemblances between these two theologies, focusing on their emphasis on individual experience and their engagement with society and culture. I explore how liberal theology might be emboldened by the deconstructive spark of Pyrotheology, and how Pyrotheology might be enriched by the social justice torch of liberal theology. I argue that the pyrotheological liturgical practice of Transformance Art could be the site of a more constructive engagement between Pyrotheology and liberal theology, serving to move the former’s often inward focus toward more outward work for justice in the world.

FormatArticle

£25.00

READ THIS ARTICLE

If you have private access to this content, please log in with your username and password here

Bell, Catherine. (1989) ‘Ritual, Change, and Changing Rituals’, Worship 63 (1), pp. 31–41. Ritual, Change, and Changing Rituals Worship 63 31 41 Google Scholar

Brubaker, Sarah Morice and Burl, Diane. (2015) ‘Black Lives Matter’. Available from: http://ptstulsa.edu/BlackLivesMatter (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Day Williams, Daniel. (1949) God’s Grace and Man’s Hope. New York: Harper & Brothers. God’s Grace and Man’s Hope Google Scholar

Derrida, Jacques. (1976) Of Grammatology, trans. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Of Grammatology Google Scholar

Dorrien, Gary. (2001) The Making of American Liberal Theology, vol. 1. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. The Making of American Liberal Theology, vol. 1 Google Scholar

Gathje, Peter. (2015) ‘Dear White People Who Proclaim “#AllLivesMatter” or “#PoliceLivesMatter”’. Available from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rhetoricraceandreligion/2015/09/dear-white-people-who-proclaim-all-livesmatter-or-police-lives-matter.html (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Keller, Catherine. (2003) The Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming. London: Routledge. The Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming Google Scholar

Keller, Catherine. (2015) ‘Cloud of the Impossible’, Freestyle Christianity Podcast. Available from: http://www.freestylechristianity.se/podcast/catherine-kellercloud-of-the-impossible/ (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Kierkegaard, Søren. (1982) Fear and Trembling. London: Penguin Classics. Fear and Trembling Google Scholar

Rollins, Peter. (2011a) Insurrection: To Believe is Human; To Doubt, Divine. New York: Howard Books. Insurrection: To Believe is Human; To Doubt, Divine Google Scholar

Rollins, Peter. (2011b) ‘What Is Pyro-Theology?’ Available from: http://peterrollins.net/2011/03/what-is-pyro-theology/ (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Rollins, Peter. (2012) The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction. New York: Howard Books. The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction Google Scholar

Rollins, Peter. (2013a) ‘The Idolatry of God Four Day Event’. Available from: http://peterrollins.net/2013/01/the-idolatry-of-god-four-day-event/ (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Rollins, Peter. (2013b) ‘Pyrotheology and the Political’. Available from: http://peterrollins.net/2013/12/pyrotheology-and-the-political/ (accessed 8 April 2016). Google Scholar

Schleiermacher, Fredrich. (1988) On Religion, trans. Richard Crouter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. On Religion Google Scholar

Schleiermacher, Fredrich. (1928) The Christian Faith, eds. H. R. Mackintosh and J. S. Stewart, Edinburgh: T&T Clark. The Christian Faith Google Scholar

Seligman, Adam B., Weller, Robert P., Puett, Michael J. and Simon, Bennett. (2008) Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity. New York: Oxford University Press. Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity Google Scholar