Purple Theology...

there is no freedom of God without the politics of justice and compassion, and there is no politics of justice and compassion without a religion of the freedom of God. (Brueggeman 1978)

Beyond Partisan Theology...

David Fitch - got me thinking and pointed to Scott McKnights thoughts (here) based on Brian McLaren's plea for purple politics — neither red nor blue but purple which is the result of a taking the good and shedding the not so good. He then asks what might Purple Theology look like?

He suggests that
"Purple Theology will transcend the “partisan” nature of current theology, which means it will transcend Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and Liberal — in all their varieties. It will take the good and shed the not so good. It will be at the same time both broad and orthodox."
Brueggeman in The Prophetic Imagination (1978) tackles a partisan approach when suggesting
"The point that prophetic imagination must ponder is that there is no freedom of God without the politics of justice and compassion, and there is no politics of justice and compassion without a religion of the freedom of God."

Comments

Anonymous said…
Gordon,

David Fitch is speaking at our cafe tomorrow night about his book, The Great Giveaway. He is a friend of mine (he even talks about us in his book). Wish you could come and hear him - he is brilliant.
7:38 PM
Gordon said…
that would've been great - is it to late to recard and post it as an MP3?
7:58 PM
Anonymous said…
Gordon,

I will post the audio of David Fitch at FRWY.ca from last night, sometime tomorrow... just for you.
8:49 PM
Gordon said…
thanks Pernell - something to listen to while trying to get fit!!
8:52 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play
Read more