Abstract
This is in a series entitled The Church and Postmodern Culture, and is part of the theological struggle of modernist-influenced evangelicalism with postmodern philosophy. In fact it is useful to cite the goal of the series: ‘to bring together high profile theorists in Continental philosophy and contemporary theology to write for a broad non-specialist audience interested in the impact of postmodern theory on the faith and practice of the church.’ The author is professor of philosophy at Wheaton College and brings to his subject not only his expertise in Continental philosophy and aesthetics but also his interest in jazz music and improvisation. The idea of improvisation as a creative act is extended and redefined as a metaphor for Christian living for, as the introduction puts it, ‘improvisation is at the heart of discipleship because it is at the heart of being human.’ Benson’s work here involves the ‘deep and interpenetrating relationship of life, art and worship’ and he asserts that it is less about theory and more about how life is lived in ways, as he puts it, ‘that can properly be termed “liturgical”’.
Thus ‘liturgy’ is re-defined, or I should say developed in a fugue-like way, in order to bring its sacredness, its ecclesial, corporate nature to the ways life is lived Monday to Saturday: ‘extensive’ as opposed to ‘intensive’ liturgy. In an introduction subtitled ‘The Art of Living’, Benson discusses vocation, specifically the call to present ourselves, pace Romans 12:1, as a living, sacrificial work of art. This leads to a useful discussion of our creativity versus the creativity of God, and his discourses in Ch. 3 on Creation and various Creation theologies are, like the book as a whole, brief but very rich. Ch. 4 is a nuanced and well-illustrated survey of the problems of being a religious artist but his call that we should all be living works of art is the thrust of the last chapter.
Benson builds eclectically on Hans-Georg Gadamer by way of Bourdieu and Derrida, taking in Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, Chrysostom and Justin Martyr and many, many more. If I make the book sound busy and complex, it is: more riff than argument, this is jazz-like philosophical improvisation, very skillfully played. Benson is trying to spur the reader, and the church, to get up and dance, reclaim the arts, and embody them in the church. Well, my feet are tapping.