Baptist Seminary, VU University Amsterdam The Netherlands Amsterdam
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Abstract
This article discusses the relationship between religious satire and Christian theology to explore the possibility of satiric theology. It takes its departure from the proclamation of the cross (cf. 1 Cor 1:27) to demonstrate that the Crucified Christ can be a source for satire. To accomplish this, Paul Simpson’s analysis of satire is used to analyse the notorious crucifixion scene of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Subsequently, by way of Stanley Hauerwas’s theorising of irony, it is argued that satiric theology is theology in iconoclastic fashion. Hence, satiric theology supplies alternative comical stories to estrange people from the familiar and challenge misconceptions, thereby offering a valuable contribution to theological debate and Christian practice.
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Abrahamse, Jan Martijn. “The Clown of the Sciences: Theology at the Secular University.” Journal of European Baptist Studies 11, no. 1 (2019): 9–26. Online: doi.org/10.25782/jebs.v19i1.138.
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Baptist Seminary, VU University Amsterdam The Netherlands Amsterdam
Search for other papers by Jan Martijn Abrahamse in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This article discusses the relationship between religious satire and Christian theology to explore the possibility of satiric theology. It takes its departure from the proclamation of the cross (cf. 1 Cor 1:27) to demonstrate that the Crucified Christ can be a source for satire. To accomplish this, Paul Simpson’s analysis of satire is used to analyse the notorious crucifixion scene of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Subsequently, by way of Stanley Hauerwas’s theorising of irony, it is argued that satiric theology is theology in iconoclastic fashion. Hence, satiric theology supplies alternative comical stories to estrange people from the familiar and challenge misconceptions, thereby offering a valuable contribution to theological debate and Christian practice.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1702 | 171 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 111 | 12 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 205 | 21 | 0 |
