LeRon Shults: Deconstructive Theology and the Emergent Church
The planners of the 2007 Emergent Theological Conversation asked me to write a response to the following question in order to help participants starting thinking ahead about the encounter:
"Why is the Emerging Church drawn to Deconstructive Theology?"
I'm not sure how soon or exactly where they are going to post my response, but here it is so we can go ahead and get started on our own conversation!
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"Why is the Emerging Church drawn to Deconstructive Theology?"
I see at least three emphases within “deconstruction” – understood broadly in the sense proposed by Caputo – that would naturally be attractive to Emergent Types (hereafter ET).
First, deconstruction not only accepts but embraces the category of difference. …
Second, deconstructive epistemology (or hermeneutics) calls for humility within the search for knowledge. …
Finally, deconstruction is surprising. We do not know ahead of time exactly what will emerge when we begin the process of interrogating our beliefs and the practices that shape our interpretations. …
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