(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.

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