S. Kyle Johnson | Boston College (original) (raw)

Papers by S. Kyle Johnson

The relatively recent notion of the mystical-political has been an important horizon in contempor... more The relatively recent notion of the mystical-political has been an important horizon in contemporary theology. A dimension of this particular landscape that has not been sufficiently developed is the relationship between mysticism and themes present in liberation theologies. Though perhaps not at first obvious, such an inquiry necessarily must take account of recent critiques of ascetic spirituality in the Christian mystical tradition. This paper seeks to analyze some of the difficulties of accounting for ascetic spirituality positively within what shall be called a “Mystical Liberation Theology,” while also proposing some ways in which a robust ascetic spirituality could still be maintained within such parameters. This shall be done through an attempt to synthesize, engage, and critique two political theologians who share a concern for mysticism and liberation, and who also engage in a significantly critical appraisal of ascetic spirituality: Sergii Bulgakov and Dorothee Soelle. It will be shown that a synthesis of both Bulgakov and Soelle provide a Mystical Liberation Theology within which traditional Christian asceticism maintains a minor, but significantly critiqued, position. Their attempts to rehabilitate traditional asceticism posterior their deconstructions are only somewhat convincing. Their reconstructions of asceticism are either self-defeating, left too vague to be substantial, or requires such a significant redefinition of asceticism that it maintains little of its original meaning. It will be shown, however, that drawing from undeveloped possibilities in their theological projects, and the proposal of potential additions or corrections for future analysis, traditional asceticism could be significantly rehabilitated as an important piece of a Mystical Liberation Theology.

Drafts by S. Kyle Johnson

The doctrine of the mystical body of Christ, while not as popular as it was in the early 20 th ce... more The doctrine of the mystical body of Christ, while not as popular as it was in the early 20 th century, has had a wide influence on how Christians in Catholic and Anglo-Catholic traditions understand their Christian identity. This doctrine is bound up in complex questions in how bodies are identified and imagined, including questions of race. Conversing both with Euro/Euro-American Catholic theology and Black/Womanist theology, it is argued that the doctrine of the mystical body engenders an imagined Christian identity centered on a paradoxically raceless and white Christ, which is not 'good news' for oppressed bodies of color. The doctrine can and should, however, be restructured and re-articulated in a way that prioritizes the particular historical identity of Jesus as an oppressed body of color who proclaims liberation.

*Early Draft* This paper attempts to add to Sarah Coakley's project in God, Sexuality, and the Se... more *Early Draft* This paper attempts to add to Sarah Coakley's project in God, Sexuality, and the Self by drawing into the conversation another under-emphasized dimension of many of the texts and figures she analyzes: The theme of spiritual combat against the devil and demonic forces. The theme of combative prayer, like contemplation, is a place of significant reflection on the activities of the persons of the Trinity, and offers potential solutions for contemporary concerns and questions about empowerment, gender, and oppression. This claim is considered by closely reading three works: Origen’s On Prayer, Athanasius’s Life of Antony, and Augustine’s On the Trinity. Each of these texts represent unique reflections, in some ways overlapping and other ways contrasting, on demons, a spiritual tradition of what I shall call combative prayer, and the Trinity. These texts teach the practices of spiritual empowerment over evil and of discerning evil powers, practices that particularly relate to the activities of the Son and the Spirit in the spiritual life. It will be suggested that while each figure’s unique approach offers important has important insights, Origen’s particular construction is the most complete and the most useful for a théologie totale. In the final section of the paper, some more substantive potential systematic considerations are discussed.

The relatively recent notion of the mystical-political has been an important horizon in contempor... more The relatively recent notion of the mystical-political has been an important horizon in contemporary theology. A dimension of this particular landscape that has not been sufficiently developed is the relationship between mysticism and themes present in liberation theologies. Though perhaps not at first obvious, such an inquiry necessarily must take account of recent critiques of ascetic spirituality in the Christian mystical tradition. This paper seeks to analyze some of the difficulties of accounting for ascetic spirituality positively within what shall be called a “Mystical Liberation Theology,” while also proposing some ways in which a robust ascetic spirituality could still be maintained within such parameters. This shall be done through an attempt to synthesize, engage, and critique two political theologians who share a concern for mysticism and liberation, and who also engage in a significantly critical appraisal of ascetic spirituality: Sergii Bulgakov and Dorothee Soelle. It will be shown that a synthesis of both Bulgakov and Soelle provide a Mystical Liberation Theology within which traditional Christian asceticism maintains a minor, but significantly critiqued, position. Their attempts to rehabilitate traditional asceticism posterior their deconstructions are only somewhat convincing. Their reconstructions of asceticism are either self-defeating, left too vague to be substantial, or requires such a significant redefinition of asceticism that it maintains little of its original meaning. It will be shown, however, that drawing from undeveloped possibilities in their theological projects, and the proposal of potential additions or corrections for future analysis, traditional asceticism could be significantly rehabilitated as an important piece of a Mystical Liberation Theology.

The doctrine of the mystical body of Christ, while not as popular as it was in the early 20 th ce... more The doctrine of the mystical body of Christ, while not as popular as it was in the early 20 th century, has had a wide influence on how Christians in Catholic and Anglo-Catholic traditions understand their Christian identity. This doctrine is bound up in complex questions in how bodies are identified and imagined, including questions of race. Conversing both with Euro/Euro-American Catholic theology and Black/Womanist theology, it is argued that the doctrine of the mystical body engenders an imagined Christian identity centered on a paradoxically raceless and white Christ, which is not 'good news' for oppressed bodies of color. The doctrine can and should, however, be restructured and re-articulated in a way that prioritizes the particular historical identity of Jesus as an oppressed body of color who proclaims liberation.

*Early Draft* This paper attempts to add to Sarah Coakley's project in God, Sexuality, and the Se... more *Early Draft* This paper attempts to add to Sarah Coakley's project in God, Sexuality, and the Self by drawing into the conversation another under-emphasized dimension of many of the texts and figures she analyzes: The theme of spiritual combat against the devil and demonic forces. The theme of combative prayer, like contemplation, is a place of significant reflection on the activities of the persons of the Trinity, and offers potential solutions for contemporary concerns and questions about empowerment, gender, and oppression. This claim is considered by closely reading three works: Origen’s On Prayer, Athanasius’s Life of Antony, and Augustine’s On the Trinity. Each of these texts represent unique reflections, in some ways overlapping and other ways contrasting, on demons, a spiritual tradition of what I shall call combative prayer, and the Trinity. These texts teach the practices of spiritual empowerment over evil and of discerning evil powers, practices that particularly relate to the activities of the Son and the Spirit in the spiritual life. It will be suggested that while each figure’s unique approach offers important has important insights, Origen’s particular construction is the most complete and the most useful for a théologie totale. In the final section of the paper, some more substantive potential systematic considerations are discussed.