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34 pages, 360 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Literal Idolatry: Imagining Faith through Creatively Changing Identities

by Daniel Boscaljon

Religions 2022, 13(9), 810; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13090810 - 31 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1490

This is Part I of a triptych. It addresses the latent potential of the imagination in constructing a sense of identity. Included is the role of faith in overcoming the obstacles presented by a social imaginary dominated by literal idolatry that leads to [...] Read more.

This is Part I of a triptych. It addresses the latent potential of the imagination in constructing a sense of identity. Included is the role of faith in overcoming the obstacles presented by a social imaginary dominated by literal idolatry that leads to unnecessary suffering. The initial foundation examines the process of growth and the role that the imagination plays in the construction of narrative identity—an important part of human development. Literal idolatry interrupts this original process through the creation of a social imaginary that corrupts natural measures for self-correction. At the same time, a creative faith contains the capacity to dislodge the rigid boundaries of literal idolatry. A creative faith narrative identities in ways that open beyond simple coherence and completeness. It can also revitalize social institutions and public spaces. The argument concludes by arguing fictional narratives augment the work of theology in grounding and inspiring creative faith. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

25 pages, 323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Literal Idolatry: Translating Theo-Logos from Judgment to Love

by Daniel Boscaljon

Religions 2022, 13(5), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050471 - 23 May 2022

Viewed by 1713

Abstract

This article explores the capacity for narrating the name of God as a way to liberate the suffering of the world. The first section of this article offers a brief overview of Walter Benjamin’s linguistic theory as it relates to the issue of [...] Read more.

This article explores the capacity for narrating the name of God as a way to liberate the suffering of the world. The first section of this article offers a brief overview of Walter Benjamin’s linguistic theory as it relates to the issue of literal idolatry. In the second section, the content of exploring Ricoeur’s movement toward a poetic faith creates a formal anomaly in which his “byway” is something that may be crucial for readers or may be unnecessary: it speaks to the discontinuity and rupture enabled by incorporating silence into speech. The third section flows from the first and third, discussing the difficulty and importance of naming God as an embodied speech act. This looks at the particular situation of parables, including perspectives from Thomas Altizer and J. Hillis Miller. The fourth section focuses on the psychodynamic work of Jessica Benjamin as it models a way of bringing an embodied witness to the world in a performance of divine love. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

9 pages, 837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Khadi: A Narrative of Lived Theology

by Swasti Bhattacharyya

Religions 2022, 13(5), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050454 - 17 May 2022

Viewed by 2608

Abstract

While other authors in this special issue analyze the nature of narrative theology, I highlight the narratives of the sisters of the Brahma Vidya Mandir ashram, a group of women followers of M. K. Gandhi (1869–1948) and his disciple, friend, and spiritual successor [...] Read more.

While other authors in this special issue analyze the nature of narrative theology, I highlight the narratives of the sisters of the Brahma Vidya Mandir ashram, a group of women followers of M. K. Gandhi (1869–1948) and his disciple, friend, and spiritual successor Vinoba Bhave (1895–1982), who came together in 1959 to form an intentional community with a spiritual purpose. One of the central practices of this community is spinning cotton that is then woven into khadi (hand-spun, handwoven cloth). From this khadi, they make their own clothing. Through a brief discussion of their use of khadi, I demonstrate how the theology of the sisters of this ashram is not a separate entity for them, rather it is the warp of the narratives of their lives; their choice of khadi is an example of the seamlessness between their theology and their narratives. As we examine their choice to use khadi, we can isolate and name some of their theological commitments. We can also identify important elements from their narratives that are applicable in multiple contexts. To this end, I conclude this article by imagining how the lives of the sisters of the Brahma Vidya Mandir might serve as a catalyst for change and engagement for us all. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

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22 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Literal Idolatry: Expectations and Hope in the Field of Narrative Theology

by Daniel Boscaljon

Religions 2022, 13(5), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050430 - 11 May 2022

Viewed by 1839

Abstract

This article examines the role of hope relative to the unexplored potential of narrative theology as a particular mode of thinking. The first section provides a brief introduction. The second section begins by discussing the world of experience as postulated by Alfred North [...] Read more.

This article examines the role of hope relative to the unexplored potential of narrative theology as a particular mode of thinking. The first section provides a brief introduction. The second section begins by discussing the world of experience as postulated by Alfred North Whitehead: I argue that literal idolatry forms as a specific technology based around the use of symbols. The third section explores the resources of narrative as a centrifugal model of metaphor that serves as a robust alternative literal idolatry: I argue that narratives develop the intellect through pattern recognition and the imagination through empathetic recognition, and then describe how narrative theory’s emphasis on focalized perspectives opens hopeful expectations of the future. The fourth section explores Ricoeur’s work in narrative theology, defining it as a “field” whose dynamic emphasis on tension provides an alternative to the static, “closed circuit” of religious symbols. The final section looks at Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist as a contemporary novel that seems to fit with Ricoeur’s stipulations for what generates a field of narrative theology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

13 pages, 521 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hybridized Surviving: The Diaspora Narratives of Joseph, Esther, and Daniel

by Brian Fiu Kolia

Religions 2022, 13(4), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040371 - 16 Apr 2022

Viewed by 2634

Abstract

There are a number of challenges faced by diasporic people, yet they all seem to be connected to one major issue: “identity”. Their narratives are built on questions surrounding who they are, when they are no longer living in/on their home/land. As they [...] Read more.

There are a number of challenges faced by diasporic people, yet they all seem to be connected to one major issue: “identity”. Their narratives are built on questions surrounding who they are, when they are no longer living in/on their home/land. As they migrate to foreign lands, their notions of identity become clouded, and quite often they struggle to “belong”. Second-generation people could be heard asking: “Where do we belong?” “The lands our parents came from?” “Or the lands we now live?” “Is it both? Or is it neither?” “Do we even know who we are? How do we fit in? How do we survive?” The aim of this essay is to highlight the issue of diasporic identity in the narratives of three biblical migrants: Joseph, Esther, and Daniel. The purposes of these biblical accounts seem to reflect the ambivalence of diasporic existence, where they can achieve success but also experience adversity. Yet these narratives also deal with how identity is problematized in diasporic contexts. I will be engaging these narratives in conversation with my own story, in a bid to view alternative understandings and constructs of diasporic existence, particularly for second-generation migrants within religious communities. Furthermore, the hope is that a re-reading of these narratives may generate alternative theological considerations in light of the struggles of second-generation migrants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

13 pages, 283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Russian World and Ukrainian Autocephaly: Religious Narratives in Anti-Colonial Nationalism of Ukraine

by Lena Surzhko Harned

Religions 2022, 13(4), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040349 - 12 Apr 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5140

Abstract

The paper examines the role of religious narratives in the on-going Russo-Ukrainian conflict. The literature on religious nationalism offers several ways in which religion plays a role in national identity narratives. The strong connection between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian [...] Read more.

The paper examines the role of religious narratives in the on-going Russo-Ukrainian conflict. The literature on religious nationalism offers several ways in which religion plays a role in national identity narratives. The strong connection between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian state have been well-known. The narrative of the “chosen” nation and “third Rome” have fueled Russian neo-imperial national discourse of Russkii Mir (Russian World) which shapes Russian Foreign Policy in the “near abroad”. The Church is used as tool to shape and disseminate these narratives, as a means for justification of Russian aggression in Ukraine. This paper seeks to analyze the role of the religious narratives of Russia neo-colonial and post-colonial nationalism in Ukraine. It argues that Ukrainian religious nationalism, should it develop, will do so in response to the Russian actions driven by the ideological religious narrative. President Poroshenko’s decision to support the recognition of an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in 2018 was a valiant effort to aid in the construction of Ukraine’s anti-colonial religious national narrative. Prior to the Russian invasion, there seemed to be relatively weak public support for the religious nationalist narrative in Ukraine. The evidence shows that commitment to religious pluralism continues to be prevalent in Ukrainian society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

12 pages, 245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Humanism Reformed: Narrative and the Divine-Human Encounter in Paul Ricoeur

by Glenn Whitehouse

Religions 2022, 13(4), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040292 - 29 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2229

Abstract

“Narrative Theology” has often been construed in contrast to broader humanistic discourse. Protestant and particularly Reformed Christianity has often set the “Old, Old Story” apart from humanism and the humanities. This chapter explores the juxtaposition of humanism and reformed thinking in Paul Ricoeur. [...] Read more.

“Narrative Theology” has often been construed in contrast to broader humanistic discourse. Protestant and particularly Reformed Christianity has often set the “Old, Old Story” apart from humanism and the humanities. This chapter explores the juxtaposition of humanism and reformed thinking in Paul Ricoeur. Ricoeur’s hermeneutics is compared with the Reformed “covenant theology” of 17th Century Puritanism. Covenant theology balanced the belief that God exceeds our powers of knowing and language and the conviction that God consents to be known within the limits of human understanding, as developed through the liberal arts. Similarly, Ricoeur sees God as limiting and disrupting human language, but while, for Ricoeur, encounter with God may begin as impossible dialogue, it develops by dispersing the names and signs of the divine throughout the tropes and genres of human discourse, narrative chief among them. Ricoeur’s thought is interpreted as a Christian humanism in which religious inquiry and secular humanistic thought coexist and mutually enhance one another. Ricoeur’s humanism will be preferred over approaches to narrative that set the Christian story and its hearers apart from the broader conversation of culture; a solipsism of faith is inadequate to the challenges of a modern pluralist culture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

19 pages, 329 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Myth for the Sixth Mass Extinction: Telling Noah’s Story during a Climate Crisis

by Nancy Menning

Religions 2022, 13(3), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13030243 - 11 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4485

Abstract

Myths are open storylines that invite elaboration and modification. The flood narrative of Genesis 6–9, for example, has been readily employed to motivate endangered species protection and to reflect on the rising seas and mass extinctions associated with climate change. The distinctive features [...] Read more.

Myths are open storylines that invite elaboration and modification. The flood narrative of Genesis 6–9, for example, has been readily employed to motivate endangered species protection and to reflect on the rising seas and mass extinctions associated with climate change. The distinctive features of any retelling of the Noah’s ark story reflect the needs of historically situated and culturally embedded audiences. This paper focuses on four versions of Noah’s story: in Genesis, in the Qur’an, at Ark Encounter theme park, and in Darren Aronofsky’s film Noah. Analysis identifies the narrative choices that align each telling with its cultural context and draws out insights for adapting the story for the contemporary climate crisis. A conclusion addresses issues of race and racial injustice in traditional interpretations of Noah’s story, and highlights approaches to redress those inequities in new imaginings of the flood narrative. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

23 pages, 302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Beautiful Failure: The Tragic—And Luminous—Life of Jim Harvey (An Experiment in Narrative Theology)

by J. Sage Elwell

Religions 2022, 13(3), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13030235 - 9 Mar 2022

Viewed by 2341

Abstract

Jim Harvey was the artist who created the Brillo box that Andy Warhol copied and made famous. Warhol’s Brillo Boxes changed the course of art history and the entire field of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Meanwhile, Jim Harvey died a failed [...] Read more.

Jim Harvey was the artist who created the Brillo box that Andy Warhol copied and made famous. Warhol’s Brillo Boxes changed the course of art history and the entire field of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Meanwhile, Jim Harvey died a failed second-generation Abstract Expressionist. To his death, Harvey refused to accept that his Brillo box was a work of art. However, the theory—the story—that was woven about Warhol’s Brillo Boxes transformed them from commonplace objects into multimillion-dollar masterpieces. As a counterbalance, this article appeals to narrative theology as a way to tell Jim Harvey’s story. Appealing to narrative theologian James McClendon’s notion that a biography can reveal an image—a metaphor—that serves as a prism through which that individual’s life can be seen and understood, this article suggests that the defining metaphor of Jim’s life was “artists are prophets”. Importantly, this essay is not an attempt to redeem Harvey’s artistry, although it may provoke a reconsideration of his work. Rather, it is an exploration of the tragic and luminous life of a beautiful failure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

13 pages, 288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dialogue or Narrative? Exploring Tensions between Interpretations of Genesis 38

by Nathan Eric Dickman and Joy Spann

Religions 2021, 12(11), 947; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12110947 - 1 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2655

Abstract

We examine dialectical tensions between “dialogue” and “narrative” as these discourses supplant one another as the fundamental discourse of intelligibility, through juxtaposing two interpretations of Genesis 38 rooted in changing interpretative paradigms. Is dialogue properly understood as a narrative genre, or is narrative [...] Read more.

We examine dialectical tensions between “dialogue” and “narrative” as these discourses supplant one another as the fundamental discourse of intelligibility, through juxtaposing two interpretations of Genesis 38 rooted in changing interpretative paradigms. Is dialogue properly understood as a narrative genre, or is narrative the content about which people are in dialogue? Is the divine–human relationship a narrative drama or is it a dialogue between a god and human beings? We work within parameters laid out by the philosophical hermeneutics of Gadamer (primarily representing dialogue) and Ricoeur (primarily representing narrative). On the one hand, a feminist approach can develop Tamar as a courageous hero in impossible circumstances, strategizing to overturn Judah’s patriarchal naïveté. On the other hand, Judah seems to be able to be read as a tragic hero, seeking to save Tamar. These readings challenge one another, where either Tamar’s or Judah’s autonomy is undermined. By putting these interpretations into dialogue, our aim is to show that neither dialogue nor narrative succeeds the other with finality, and that we can achieve a fragile integration of the two (dialogue and narrative) despite their propensity toward polarization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Modern Religious Changes from the Perspective of Narrative Theology)

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