Apophatic Theology and Twentieth-Century Novels
Drawing on apophatic theology, this essay argues that some twentieth-century texts invite an apophatic approach by revealing the limits of language and hinting at some understanding of God, without doing so directly. First, Leif Enger's Peace Like a River shows a divine encounter but, in the pr...
| Auteur principal: | |
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| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Publié: |
2018
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| Dans: |
Religion and the arts
Année: 2018, Volume: 22, Numéro: 3, Pages: 316-333 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Enger, Leif 1961-, Peace like a river
/ Percy, Walker 1916-1990, Lancelot
/ Heller, Joseph 1923-1999, Catch-22
/ Théologie apophatique
/ Roman
/ Histoire 1900-2000
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| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
apophatic theology
negative theology
Leif Enger
Walker Percy
Joseph Heller
Peace Like a River
Lancelot
Catch-22
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| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (Maison d'édition) |
| Résumé: | Drawing on apophatic theology, this essay argues that some twentieth-century texts invite an apophatic approach by revealing the limits of language and hinting at some understanding of God, without doing so directly. First, Leif Enger's Peace Like a River shows a divine encounter but, in the process, underscores the limits of language to describe this experience. Second, in a sort of parallel to negative theology, Walker Percy’s Lancelot points readers toward God by having Lancelot descend into sin and evil, an affirmation of God through negation. Finally, in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, a novel without explicit Christian interests, characters parody prayer, rail against the world’s unfairness, and deny God, but in these interactions they actually reveal something about belief and God. These texts reveal that an apophatic understanding can enrich our reading of twentieth-century novels. |
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| Description matérielle: | Online-Ressource |
| ISSN: | 1568-5292 |
| Contient: | In: Religion and the arts
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02203003 |
