Theopoetics
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Theopoetics is an emerging field of interdisciplinary study, combining elements of poetic analysis, process theology, narrative theology, and postmodern philosophy.
Theopoetics suggests that instead of trying to develop a “scientific” theory of God such as would a Systematic Theology, theologians should instead try to find God through poetry and fiction; or to interpret reality itself as if it were symbolic of some greater truth. Thus, the “theopoet” can be doing theology in a poetically interpretive way, or a poet defining or demarcating the idea of God.
Theopoetics makes significant use of “radical” and “ontological” metaphor2 for the purpose of creating a more fluid and less stringent referent for the Divine. One of the functions of theopoetics is to recalibrate theological perspectives, suggesting that theology can be more akin to poetry than physics. It belies the logical assertion of the Principle of Bivalence and stands in contrast to some rigid Biblical hermeneutics which suggest that each passage of scripture has only one, usually teleological, interpretation.
While these more strict Literalist approaches believe Scripture and theology possess inerrant factual meaning, and pay little attention to historicity, a theopoetic approach takes a positive position on faith statements that can be continuously reinterpreted. Just as a poem can take on new meaning depending on the context in which the reader interprets it, so too does theopoetics suggest that texts and experiences of the Divine can, and should, take on new meaning depending on the changing situation of the individual.
Originally developed by Stanley Hopper and David Leroy Miller in 1960s and furthered significantly by Amos Niven Wilder with his 1976 text, Theopoetic: Theology and the Religious Imagination. Recently, there has been a revitalized interest with new work being done by Rubem Alves, Scott Holland, Melanie May, Matt Guynn, Roland Faber, Jason Derr, Catherine Keller, John Caputo et al.
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[edit] Notable publications
- Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning. by Paul Ricoeur
Fort Worth: Texas Christian Press, (1976, ISBN 0912646594) - Theopoetic: Theology and the Religious Imagination. by Amos Niven Wilder
Philadelphia: Fortress. (1976, ISBN 0788099086) - The Poet The Warrior The Prophet. by Rubem Alves
SCM Press (2002, ISBN 9780334028963) - The Way of Transfiguration: Religious Imagination As Theopoiesis. by Stanley Romaine Hopper and R. Melvin Keiser, (ed)Tony Stoneburner
Westminster John Knox Press (1992, ISBN 0664219365) - Gott als Poet der Welt: Anliegen und Perspektiven der Prozesstheologie. God as Poet of the World: Concerns and Perspectives in Process Theology by Roland Faber
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (2003, ISBN 3534158644) - Hells and Holy Ghosts: A Theopoetics of Christian Belief. by David L. Miller
Spring Journal Books USA (2006, ISBN 1882670973) - Three Faces of God: Traces of the Trinity in Literature & Life. by David L. Miller
Spring Journal Books USA (2005, ISBN 1882670949) - A Body Knows: A Theopoetics of Death and Resurrection. by Melanie A. May
Continuum International Publishing Group (1995, ISBN 0826408494) - The Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming. by Catherine Keller
Routledge (2003, ISBN 0415256496)
[edit] Articles
- Microtheology: Toward a theopoetic of the local", by Jason Derr
'The Online Journal of Public Theology, [1] - Theopoetics: that the dead may become gardeners again" by Matt Guynn
'Cross Currents; Spring 2006; V. 56, Iss. 1' [2] - "Theopoetic/theopolitic" Jack Caputo and Catherine Keller
'Cross Currents; Winter 2007; V. 57, Iss. 1' [3]
