RT Article
T1 Theology as Improvisation: Seeking the Unstructured Form of Theology with David Tracy
JF Irish theological quarterly
VO 75
IS 3
SP 300
OP 312
A1 Crawford, Nathan
LA English
PB Sage
YR 2010
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/177943135X
AB This article holds that theology is improvisation, as both theology and improvisation use a similar logic. The argument consists of three steps. First, the article critiques current theological aesthetics for the inability to think through the implications of using the theological notion of the Infinite when referring to God. By necessity the language ends up collapsing under its own weight. I argue that we need a new form for thinking theologically and I propose the form of improvisation. I then turn to improvisation because of its propensity to pursue the unstructured, the formless. I argue that this is a similar logic to what must be used in theology. Lastly, I turn to the work of David Tracy to articulate what theology as improvisation may entail. I argue that with Tracy’s articulation of the fragment, we see the improvisational nature of theology.
K1 David Tracy
K1 Theology
K1 Postmodern
K1 Improvisation
K1 Fragment
K1 Aesthetics
DO 10.1177/0021140010368514