The Filling Full

Incarnation affirms humanity and redeems the material world and our bodies. And deems them sacred.
The cross sets the pendulum back in place between man and his God. No longer do we idolize man nor can we idolize God.
Resurrection defeats death by affirming life. And by affirmation negates any claim that has us floating off into the stratosphere.
Ascension drags the material world into the presence of the God who is spirit. This fills all the previous events full, affirming the immanence of God because the material is now before and embraced by him.

On Fundamentalism

There are fundamentalists [connotation] and then there are fundamentalists [denotation]. The fear of being labeled a fundamentalist [connotation] only perpetuates the illusion that some people are not bigoted or fundamentalist. When, in fact, all are fundamentalists because all have specific fundamentals to which they think we should return. Thus, to label someone a fundamentalist [connotation] is to accept that you implicitly have fundamentals to which you would like to return but cannot because that fundamentalist [connotation] is stopping you. It's all a vicious cycle. Thus, the only difference between the connotation and the denotation is that of method and approach.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead (God)

For those unfamiliar with the ideas brought up herein, read the following links (I understand these are not comprehensive but they are good introductions to one of the main proponents of the idea of "living the death of God"):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._J._Altizer

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/god-dead-controversy

http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=523&C=527


This post will be my attempt to deal with the options for radical theology/death of God theology as well as some of the main problems (as I see them).

First option:
Death of God theology is nonsense. The basic assertion, as I understand it, is that God is dead (though what that means is itself not super clear). It seems to be simply saying that God [as transcendent] is dead. This death comes because of the incarnation and finds it's embodiment upon the cross. This has led to me to ask: what about the Trinity? Because, as much as a Hegelian reading of the Trinity is beneficial, it really does not explain the complex nature of the Trinity. Nothing does, really, but there is two thousand years of Christian thought on the matter and death of God theology (seems) to disregard this fact. If God is dead via the cross then how is the Trinity to be understood? As a dialectic triad? What about God the Father still existing as transcendent? Is God the Son's death the death of the Father? What about the Ascension? Jesus rises and returns to heaven, thus, returning to transcendence (leaving the Spirit, yes). Thus, this idea of the death of God becomes entirely nonsensical. It's just nitpicking without really taking into account the entirety of Christian tradition.

Second option:
Unclear restatement of Christian tradition. This is a quite simple critique but also vital. Any attempt to deal with Christianity in the current age needs to learn how to contextualize, to speak to this time and age. Currently, this death of God movement is simply speaking to academia. It uses the terms given to them by Hegel, Lacan, and Zizek; terms which, for the most part, are extremely unclear. Though, admittedly, they could find a home withing Christian tradition.

Third option:
It's all accurate and a current developments that needs to be embraced by the Church. But again, clarity and simplicity. Both lacking.

Fourth option:
It's all crazy.

UPDATE: See blogs I read tab

I'm adding a few more blogs to the ones I read. Enjoy.

Cross as Destruction of Structures

The cross is a violent act, a violent moment in time. On the cross we see a man brutally displayed in all his humanity and without dignity.

Yet, the cross is a self-defeating act, too. For, on the cross, we find a man, destroyed, beaten, by the powers of his age. But the violence done to Jesus is violence done to the structure(s) of the time, the powers, the State. By employing violence on a peace-making Rabbi, the son of God, they employ violence on themselves. Thus, the cross is self-destruction - of the powers and the violence upon which the State is (too often) predicated.

Anecdotes

1.

The death of God is an absurd notion if taken literally for God is spirit. --Yet some say in Christ dying God died too. But this fails to appreciate the nature of the Trinity. Perhaps God is dead but this statement needs to be explained/clarified/expounded on

2.

The endless raging and antics of those who would see the death of an idea only perpetuate that idea. 

3.

To oppose an idea is to afford it legitimacy -- when they picket and shout that God Hates Fags they already assume that Fags exist and therefore that they have some significance to culture. Maybe ignorance would be a better reaction. 

4. 

The Church is its own political institution thus any affiliation to the American system is, in very clear ways, while not wrong explicitly, flawed.

5.
--I am not political is a political statement--

6.
The self is alone and continually faces outwards to avoid seeing itself revealed to other selves. Because to be revealed to other selves would cause the self to become accountable to itself and other selves.