From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Mon Apr 14 2003 - 21:52:49 BST
Dear David B.,
You wrote 13 Apr 2003 18:26:10 -0600:
'Based on what you posted, Kuitert looks like my favorite kind of
theologian. ... It looks a lot like mythology to me ... He's in a little
danger of trading a anthropomorphic god image for an abstract god image, but
mostly I think he's right on.'
Except for his identification of 'god' with '(the power of) the word' (which
he does elsewhere in his article in a part which I didn't translate; you've
got to take my word for it (-:) and except for my general dislike of
theology, I also think Kuitert is quite right.
That his writings look a lot like mythology to you, may say more about you
than about Kuitert's writings: if you look for archetypes or gods or
spirits, you can see them anywhere. They also abound in the writings on this
list, I guess. Mythology DOES provide powerful metaphores to interpret and
understand experience.
The same experience can also be interpreted and understood with higher
quality intellectual patterns of value however. (Please translate this as
just 'intellectual patterns of value' if you don't want to enter again into
the discussion whether mythology belongs to the social or the intellectual
level with me.) Kuitert's writings also reflect very rational
considerations, the opposite of what I would call 'mythology'.
On top of that his writings point at (what he calls) 'transcendence' beyond
myth and intellect and at (what we call) DQ.
I don't see how Kuitert is in danger of trading a anthropormorphic god image
for an abstract god image. He explicitly puts all images of god into
perspective as man-made creations, including theological abstract ones. He
locates the divine not in any image, but in the imaging capability of man.
In the words of another part of his article:
'Is nothing holy anymore? Understandable question, when another religious
image is overtaken by time. My answer is formulated in the title of my last
book: man is holy, because he is FOR A TIME A PLACE OF GOD. Indeed, I slide
men and god into one another, but without making god into an ingredient of
man. Is that possible? Yes, only in ONE way without making accidents. Read
"spirit" for "god". Man is for a while a governor of spirit, because he
commands the word, and the power of the word is spirit.'
With friendly greetings,
Wim
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archives:
Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Apr 14 2003 - 22:12:54 BST