Excerpts from "Occupy Theology: Hyperbolic Christianity and American Culture" [part 1]

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In fact, Paul Ricoeur locates hyperbole at the center of proverb (operating through a law of paradox and hyperbole) and parable (operating through a law of extravagance).  He writes, “There is no parable that does not introduce into the very structure of the plot an implausible characteristic, something insolent, disproportionate; that is, something scandalous” (1995, 229). He argues that through paradox and hyperbole one is disoriented, the “extraordinary breaks forth in the ordinary,” and by way of proverb and/or parable one is again reoriented to a new way of seeing and being, a new way of perceiving reality. Rather than being deceitful, hyperboles used in proverbs and parables can reveal new ways of thinking and being in the world. They are strategies of transformation as well as disruption and resistance through excess, extravagance, and exaggeration.

Excerpts from "Recovering Hyperbole"

Hyperbole is one of the most effective ways of trying to express the often confounding and inexpressible positions that characterize the liti- gious discussions of impossibility and the struggle with transcendence and immanence, the conceptual (re)articulation of subjectivity, and the destabilization of systems of knowledge and economy. It is employed when language or thought must transcend epistemological and ontological boundaries in order to describe the magnitude of an extraordinary perspec- tive or situation. It stretches language to its breaking point and responds in abundance, in copia. Hyperbole is more than a stylistic figure of speech. It is a “sophisticated, discursive figure of thought” ( Johnson 2010, 44), an “inordinate movement and a violent impulsion” (Webb 1993a, 18), that can be a generator of thought and meaning (Stanivukovic 2007), a men- tal phenomenon (Holmqvist and Pluciennik 2008), a propelling toward transcendence from an immanent exigency (Simpson 2009), a tool of philosophical and religious inquiry (Ettenhuber 2007) as well as an argumentative form (Ricoeur 1992; Schlueter 1994; Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca 2003).

Secularism and Religion

"Religionists and secularists are mirror images of each other who share more than they are willing to admit; each reverses but does not displace the other. Although it is not immediately obvious, both perspectives rest on the same error. Bound by the exclusive logic of either/or, each side in this conflict sees religion and secularity as irreconcilable opposites.

Faith in/and Capitalism

In Dynamics of Faith, Paul Tillich writes:

There is no criterion by which faith can be judged from outside the correlation of faith. But something else can happen: The faithful can ask himself or be asked by someone else whether the medium through which he experiences ultimate concern expresses real ultimacy. This question is the dynamic force in the history of religion,

The Pairing of "Occupy" and "Wall Street"

It is both curious and subversive that the Occupy Wall Street movement chose “occupy” as its primary term. “Wall Street” is a fairly obvious choice as it represents, it is a synecdoche for, that which the movement opposes. Wall Street is a symbolic space where times and ideologies intersect. “Occupy” primarily signifies

(Re)Politicizing Theology and (Re)Theologizing Politics

I have recently been venturing more into the realm of political theology, especially in terms of the Occupy movement and the disappointing direction a capitalistic liberal democracy is heading. In response to a post by Adam Kotsko discussing the phrase "spiritual but not religious,"

Deliberating through Ethical Exaggeration and Hyperbolic Responsibility in the Public Sphere?

How does one articulate, enunciate, or deliberate about an ethic or ethical system without using excessive, exaggerated concepts such as "love" or "alterity?" It seems to me that for a truly beneficial discussion about ethics, one must engage in a practice and language of excess and exaggeration.

Theological Worlds as rhythms we are all of us enmeshed within

"Obsessio, on the one hand, is the crystallization of deep need around focused imagery so powerful as to become a driving impetus toward satisfaction. Epiphania, on the other hand, is the congealing of those events which so function as hints that they give hopeful contours worthy of wager.