Derrida and the task of academic theology
Philosophy, as logocentrism, is present in every scientific discipline and the only justification for transforming philosophy into a specialized discipline is the necessity to render explicit and thematic the philosophical subtext in every discourse. The principal function which the teaching of philosophy serves is to enable people to become ‘conscious’, to become aware of what exactly they are saying, what kind of discourse they are engaged in when they do mathematics, physics, political economy, and so on. There is no system of teaching or transmitting knowledge which can retain its coherence or integrity without, at one moment or another, interrogating itself philosophically that is, without acknowledging its subtextual premises; and this may even include an interrogation of unspoken political interests or traditional values. From such an interrogation each society draws its own conclusions about the worth of philosophy.
–Jacques Derrida, States of Mind, 165.
Substitute (or supplement) “philosophy” and “society” with “theology” and “church” and this is precisely why I believe that academic theology is so important. Because without it all of the tacit, implicit, and sub-level practical theologies — whether they be good, bad, healthy or destructive — remain unnamed, unchallenged, and are never critically examined. The church must take seriously the work of academic theological discourse. Likewise, the academics must — must! — see to it that they are in serious and intentional dialogue with the communities and collectives that take them seriously. We need more church folk reading serious theology and more theologians talking to people in the pew. Better yet, we need more of those rare persons who occupy the liminal and transient space between the church and the academy.
This is precisely the aim of Philip Clayton (and Tripp Fuller’s) new book, Transforming Christian Theology. Consider this post a prolegomena to my engagement with that book. I have had it for a while and been busy with other things and I have only just begun to really get into it but I will say this: it is refreshing and deeply encouraging to see a prominent academic theologian taking this seriously.
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You may already be aware of this as a Caputo fan, but he has made a very similar argument in a very concise way in a jam-packed short article with Catherine Keller. I've got it linked over on my essays page here: http://ow.ly/E2NX. Worth the read methinks.
I too am looking forward to getting at Transforming Christian Theology. Care to do a simultaneous read through?
Callid Keefe-Perry
20 Nov 09 at 8:47 am
I love that article! It is one worth rereading again and again from time to time.
A simultaneous read sounds good to me!
Blake Huggins
20 Nov 09 at 9:22 am
“Likewise, the academics must — must! — see to it that they are in serious and intentional dialogue with the communities and collectives that take them seriously. We need more church folk reading serious theology and more theologians talking to people in the pew. Better yet, we need more of those rare persons who occupy the liminal and transient space between the church and the academy.'
We need the theologians, like Phillip Clayton has now determined to do, to write in accessible, non-intellectual ways that church folk can understand and comprehend. Maybe those who are in that liminal space can act as translators, but we know how awry translations and interpretations can go! . But for me, too often, academic drivel turns into intellectual masturbation and it becomes all about stroking the ego rather than serious engagement with anyone outside of academia.
Existential Punk
22 Nov 09 at 7:58 pm
“Likewise, the academics must — must! — see to it that they are in serious and intentional dialogue with the communities and collectives that take them seriously. We need more church folk reading serious theology and more theologians talking to people in the pew. Better yet, we need more of those rare persons who occupy the liminal and transient space between the church and the academy.'
We need the theologians, like Phillip Clayton has now determined to do, to write in accessible, non-intellectual ways that church folk can understand and comprehend. Maybe those who are in that liminal space can act as translators, but we know how awry translations and interpretations can go! . But for me, too often, academic drivel turns into intellectual masturbation and it becomes all about stroking the ego rather than serious engagement with anyone outside of academia.
Existential Punk
23 Nov 09 at 2:58 am
[...] As I mentioned before, that an academic theologian is taking up such a task is exciting and refreshing to me. This is precisely what we need: academics rolling up their sleeves and jumping into the trenches with the rest of us. Yet, I still find myself questioning (and I hope this will be answered as I move through the book) whether complete resignation from academic discourse will be all that helpful. Let me be clear: I am not arguing for the status quo. We clearly have a problem. And maybe I am taking Clayton’s statements too far here, but I tend to think that theoretical theology is important and indeed vital for the larger enterprise. To be sure, I do think there needs to be a more porous relationship between church and academy, between theory and practice. As one who is intending to be working in both the academy and the church and tends to be more theoretically minded I think we still need great thinkers like Clayton to produce high-octane academic works but with the intention of those works being translated into the vernacular of particular faith collectives and not for the sake of garnering some intellectual brownie points from academic peers. If that is what Clayton means when he says he will be changing the way he writes, then I am all for it. I just wonder if we actually need more pop-theology books out there. I’m not saying that is what Clayton’s future work would amount to, it just seems that he is in a particularly important place with gifts for a certain area that is vital — though in much need of revitalization — for the church. [...]
Transforming Christan Theology [1] at (Ir)religiosity
24 Nov 09 at 8:33 am
Totally agree with you Existential Punk. It's such a waste that academic drivel turns into intellectual masturbation that pampers the ego rather than being productive. Sigh*
stop jerking off
9 Feb 10 at 9:37 am
Nice post. I think the seminary will check on to your perception on how you rank the academic theology from philosophy and society to theology and church.
Seminary
12 Mar 10 at 4:09 pm