Customer Reviews

Radical Theology

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This collection spans several decades, and thus spans Don Cupitt's transition from adventurous Anglican theologian to radical theologian, radical meaning that he has given up all supernatural ideas, including that of a god in any realistic sense. Many of the essays are very deep, and grapple headlong with the philosophical knowledge that has come our way since the enlightenment, and on into the recent post-modernist currents. His style is slightly similar to that of Jung, with similar flashes of extremely profound insight.

It is extremely refreshing to hear a leading figure of a major establishment faith think and change through contact with modern rational ideas, and grow to recognize that supernaturalism is a thing of the past- a relic of our collective cultural infancy.

Cupitt is still devotedly Christian, taking the story of Christ and the traditions of the church as highly valuable. But that does not mean that one has to believe in the divinity of Christ, let alone cower before a mean and vengeful god. What it means is that Christ can be seen as he more truly was- an almost Nietzschean aphorist and rabbi who wanted not to create new idols (let alone sadomasochistic ones) on the altar, but to revolutionize people's thinking away from commanded and law-given morals and towards conscience-driven and faith inspired morals.

In the end, the prospect of mature faith in humanity, in the voice that is found, after much work, within one's self, assisted by the artistry of deep religious traditions and images, is both freeing and bracing. It is high time to fully comprehend that god is made in the image of man, and that this is not at all a bad thing.

For over thirty years Don Cupitt has been provoking people like me to think. This one again did the same, and make me grateful to have someone point me in what I think is the right direction for a Christian theology to move in the 21st century.