Theopoetics: What We Talk About When We Talk About God
Homebrewed Christianity Podcast with Tripp Fuller
What do we talk about when we talk about God? There are so many problems with the inherited concept, language, and vision of God, that ‘god’ might just need a time out. You would be surprised how familiar theologians are with ‘god’ problems! One cluster of constructive responses to the predicament of divine discourse is theopoetics. If you ever wondered what would happen if 600 people got to nerd out in person with a bunch of craft beverages and sat down to hear three outstanding theologians tackle this problem, then you were likely at Theology Beer Camp. There, I was joined by Catherine Keller, Kristy Whaley, and Ilia Delio to wrestle with the language we use about ‘god’ and the theopoetic turn in theology.
If you want to get info, updates, and access to pre-sale tickets for Theology Beer Camp 2025, you can sign up here.
Kristy Whaley is faculty at St. Petersburg College, where she teaches both religion and humanities. Her interdisciplinary interests are primarily centered on Christian theology and literature, but often also stray into pop culture, mainly about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost. Her most recent book, Wounded Images, is a work in theopoetics. She is also a podcaster and you can put her in your earbuds by checking out Theology on the Rocks.
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC, and American theologian specializing in science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics, and neuroscience and the import of these for theology.
Catherine Keller is George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology in The Graduate Division of Religion of Drew University. If you are new to Catherine Keller and Process Theology this is the book to start with – On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity In Process.
Previous Podcast Visits With Catherine:
Previous Episodes With Ilia Delio:
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Join me this DECEMBER for our open online class exploring the ‘Theologians of Crisis’ – Breaking into the Broken World. Join us to learn about Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rudolph Bultmann as we explore their thoughts and timely reflections in their Advent/Christmas sermons.
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For those interested in the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I would love for you to check out our audio documentary on Bonhoeffer and his resistance to Nazi Germany. Over 8 episodes, it walks through Bonhoeffer’s life and legacy with the wisdom of Bonhoeffer scholars across the globe. I created it with Dr. Jeffrey Pugh to introduce the historical Bonhoeffer to a broad audience, hoping to address some of the myths and misuses of his legacy rampant in popular culture. Suppose you want to go deeper into Bonhoeffer’s theology. In that case, you can join the documentary’s companion class, The Rise of Bonhoeffer, to get access to extended interviews with renowned Bonhoeffer scholars, regular livestream QnA sessions, selected readings from Bonhoeffer, and an online community of fellow Bonhoeffer learners. The class is donation-based, including 0, so join the online community and learn at your own pace.
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