{"id":441,"date":"2017-10-25T18:37:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T18:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/divergence.blog\/?p=441"},"modified":"2017-10-25T18:37:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T18:37:16","slug":"radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Radical Orthodoxy: The Last Gateway Out of Funda-gelicalism (For me)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In two prior posts I noted the two \u201cgateway\u201d influences that helped take me out of the Funda-gelical (FG) world, which were Reformed theology and postmodernism.\u00a0 As noted before, this is what they did for me.\u00a0 What they might do for someone else, I can\u2019t say.\u00a0 I do believe however that anyone taking either seriously, and understanding them honestly, would have a very difficult time remaining in the FG world, if such is the current world they inhabit.<\/p>\n

There was a third and final influence for me however, something called \u201cRadical Orthodoxy.\u201d\u00a0 All three together, closed the door as to me ever inhabiting the FG narrative again.<\/p>\n

For a very cursory definition of Radical Orthodoxy (RO) see here<\/a>.\u00a0 As noted this is a movement from the late 90\u2019s coming out of England and the Anglican tradition.\u00a0 The three architects were\/are John Milbank, Catherine Pickstock, and Graham Ward.\u00a0 For a good introduction to RO, see Peter Leithart\u2019s (A student of Milbank\u2019s) very good take here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even remember how exactly I was made aware of the book, but I first read John Milbank\u2019s \u201cTheology and Social Theory\u201d (See here<\/a>), which caused my head to explode.\u00a0 I will never forget that first line: \u201cOnce, there was no secular\u2026\u201d\u00a0 And he goes on to note that it wasn\u2019t a reality, always present, waiting for the decline of religion so it could finally be realized.\u00a0 No, it had to be imagined.\u00a0 It was a counter story, a counter narrative or myth and also, at bottom, theological.\u00a0 It simply masquerades as something neutral, something scientific or \u201cfact\u201d based.<\/p>\n

The book is written for academics and challenging for sure; it presumes one already has some theological, philosophical, and sociological knowledge or familiarity.\u00a0 Still, it is worth taking the time, and struggling with its many corridors and facets\u2014so what if I had to pause innumerable times to check a term, historical person, or theory\/thought referenced.\u00a0 I learned quite a bit in the process.<\/p>\n

I then went on to read Catherine Pickstock\u2019s \u201cAfter Writing: On the Liturgical Consummation of Philosophy.\u201d (See here<\/a>) Another challenging read, but worth it.\u00a0 Even if one disagrees with Milbank, Pickstock, et al., they will be challenged and made to think about many things probably just assumed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure some readers are already familiar with RO, but if not, and interested, I have the perfect resource.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to save you a lot of time and a lot of extra work just not having to look up all the stuff referenced in the two books noted above.\u00a0 As noted in my post regarding Reformed theology, a very influential theologian in my journey was James K.A. Smith.\u00a0 I would strongly suggest that anyone from an evangelical background and interested in RO read \u201cIntroducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-Secular Theology\u201d by Smith (See here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

While still very rigorous and academic, he definitely writes with a view toward a wider audience.\u00a0 He lays our clearly the lines, emphasis, and main features of RO in such a way that any reader will come away with a very good grasp of the project.<\/p>\n

Those three gateways, influences, directions, led me out of the FG world.\u00a0 I would like to think the Holy Spirit was using them, along with many other influences and factors, to lead me out of a toxic world.<\/p>\n

I should also say this.\u00a0 God is at work even in that world.\u00a0 We should remember that even if the foundation, the edifice, of the FG world is damaged and broken, many of us did in fact encounter God, Jesus, the Trinity, and a basic understanding of the Christian narrative in that world.\u00a0 As noted in the liturgy and prayers of the ancient Church: \u201cO heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who is in all places and fills all things\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I sort of think about it in terms of being born to a mother who was an alcoholic.\u00a0 She was damaged, we were damaged, but she did give us life, fed us, and tried to take care of us, even if it wasn\u2019t always in the best or most healthy way.\u00a0 We loved her and hated her all at the same time.\u00a0 That probably sums up my view of the FG world.<\/p>\n

When we get to that place however where the damage and brokenness becomes evident, in us, and in others, is when we have a decision to make.\u00a0 Will we stay or will we go.\u00a0 I had to go.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In two prior posts I noted the two \u201cgateway\u201d influences that helped take me out of the Funda-gelical (FG) world, which were Reformed theology and postmodernism.\u00a0 As noted before, this is what they did for me.\u00a0 What they might do for someone else, I can\u2019t say.\u00a0 I do believe however that anyone taking either seriously, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3524,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[158,242,272,338,368],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-funda-gelicalism","tag-leithart","tag-milbank","tag-pickstock","tag-radical-orthodoxy"],"yoast_head":"\nRadical Orthodoxy: The Last Gateway Out of Funda-gelicalism (For me)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In two prior posts I noted the two \u201cgateway\u201d influences that helped take me out of the Funda-gelical (FG) world, which were Reformed theology and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Radical Orthodoxy: The Last Gateway Out of Funda-gelicalism (For me)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In two prior posts I noted the two \u201cgateway\u201d influences that helped take me out of the Funda-gelical (FG) world, which were Reformed theology and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divergence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-25T18:37:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@darrelllackey1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/\",\"name\":\"Radical Orthodoxy: The Last Gateway Out of Funda-gelicalism (For me)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-25T18:37:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-25T18:37:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/d88a32b8d4b5f40fbd6ccbfce4e0f813\"},\"description\":\"In two prior posts I noted the two \u201cgateway\u201d influences that helped take me out of the Funda-gelical (FG) world, which were Reformed theology and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2017\/10\/25\/radical-orthodoxy-the-last-gateway-out-of-funda-gelicalism-for-me\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Radical Orthodoxy: The Last Gateway Out of Funda-gelicalism (For me)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\",\"name\":\"Divergence\",\"description\":\"Commentary Regarding Fundamentalism - 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