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In the 1950s, the Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich wrote aseries of lectures dealing with what he saw as the ‘problem of theology andculture.’ Tillich argued that secular art could perform a sacred function inbringing human beings towards a more authentic awareness of ‘the ultimateconcern.’ For Tillich, the greatest works of art were those which drew viewersand readers towards the horizon of understanding. In this course, we willconsider a range of different literary masterpieces, considering the ways inwhich the work of these writers can bring us into encounter with the mysteriesof human existence. We will bring these secular works of art into dialogue withsome key concerns of the Christian theological tradition: providence, justice,prayer, mysticism and vocation.
Week 1: Freedom in Paradise Lost by John Milton.
Paradise Lost sits on the pantheon of great English works of literature. For all its canonical status, though, Milton's masterpiece is a highly unusual work: filled with hallucinatory images and profound, provocative theological contention. In this lecture, we shall focus primarily on the figure of Lucifer, and on the notion of freedom as it relates to sin and salvation.
Week 2: Encounter in The Other Name by Jon Fosse
Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023. For some, Fosse's masterpiece is his seven part Septology which begins with The Other Name. Fosse wrote this work whilst in the process of converting to Catholicism. The story concerns a painter, named Asle who is confronted – dogged even – by the presence of a doppelganger, an alcoholic, also named Asle. In his encounters with this doppelganger Asle begins to develop a sense of the presence of God. Encounter, the presence of the other, and the presence of God will be our topics of discussion in this weeks session.
Week 3: Divine Violence in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
Shirley Jackson's story provoked a storm of outrage and vituperation when it was first published in 1948. It tells the story of a town whose inhabitants hold a lottery each year, the observance of which is intended to ensure good harvest and good fortune. As the story progresses, we come to understand the true, grisly nature of the lottery. Shocking though it may be, Jackson deliberately drew on Biblical imagery in her story, and in doing so she invites us to think about the nature of divine violence, sacrifice and propitiation in the Judeo-Christian traditions.
Week 4: Creation in The Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Reading a selection of poems, this week, we will consider Hopkins' poetry as an expression of his own theology of creation. In particular we will take into account Hopkins' concept of the 'inscape' – the idea that "each being in the universe selves, that is, enacts its identity" – and how this idea undergirds his understanding of the interaction between human and non-human life.
Week 5: Forgiveness in The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy.
In this classic text, the titular protagonist lies dying surrounded by his loving family. In their interactions with one another, however, Ivan Ilyich comes to understand that his newfound awareness of his own mortality has separated him, socially, from those he loves most. He goes on a journey of self-discovery and ultimately, in the face of death, comes to an understanding of the nature of the 'authentic life.'
Reading - Paradise Lost
Question for reflection
1. How does the story of Paradise Lost change the Biblical story of Creation
2. How did Milton’s life experiences shape the writing of Paradise Lost?
3. Is Satan a hero/anti-hero or villain in the poem?
4. Is Milton’s God benevolent?
5. How does Milton’s Arianism change the story of the fall and redemption of mankind?
6. Paradise Lost is a lament for the failure of the English Republic. Do you agree?
Readings 1,2 and 3
Question for reflection
1. Why does Fosse use doppelganger characters in his novel? Does this call to mind any biblical themes?
2. Asle’s painting is a St Andrew’s Cross comprising a purple line intersected with a brown line. Is there any significance to this?
3. What do you understand by the aphorism: “that God is God, I am the cause of that; if I were not, then God would not be God.”
4. What does Asle mean by ‘shining darkness’ when describing his painting?
5. What does Asle mean when he says: “The only thing that gives meaning is what doesn't mean anything in the normal sense”?
6. What does Asle mean when he says: “As you start to believe it you believe it.”
7. Is Septology a Christian novel?
Reading - Shirley Jackson, The Lottery.
Question for reflection
1. Are the people of the village guilty of the sin of murder?
2. Is Tessie Hutchison a scape-goat?
3. What is the difference between structural an dindividual sin?
4. How does the Christian concept of salvation relate to the existence of social/structural sin?
5. What kinds of structural violence exists in our own society?
Reading - The Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkin.
Question for reflection
1. What does Hopkins mean by ‘inscape’?
2. How is the concept of inscape expressed in these poems?
3. In Kingfishers Catch Fire and in Binsey Poplars, Hopkins uses the words ‘selve’ and ‘unselve’ as verbs. What do you think he means by this?
4. All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change.
How do these lines describe Hopkins theology?
5. What relevance does Hopkins view of creation in these poems have for our thinking about ‘care of creation’?
6. How does the concept of inscape affect Hopkins view of human freedom?
7. How did Hopkins’ life experiences shape his:
a. Poetry.
b. Theology.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
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Aidan is a tutor in Social and Environmental Justice stream. He completed his PhD at the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge in 2018. During his doctoral studies he ran as a Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party. He is the author of two academic books: Jewish Christians in Puritan England (2020) and Israelism in Modern Britain (2021). Between 2020 and 2022 he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at St Mary's University in London.
