Liberal Theology Day 3: Emerson & Parker; Dewey & Pinn

Mike reviewed two of the most important themes of the course: authority (what are the sources of religious knowledge or experience) and the changing reputation of human nature (from total depravity in Calvinism to inherently moral in other places). Transcendentalists, as represented by Emerson and Parker in this course, described human nature at its most respected and the source of authority as completely inward.

One of the concepts introduced today that was interesting to me was what Mike called a "strong misreading"--that is, misreading someone else's work, but then running with the new idea that you've developed from your misunderstanding of the other person's view in order to create something entirely new. Such, Mike says, is what the Transcendentalists did with their misreading of Kant. (After having read Kant--and after having read the Transcendentalists--I am grateful for their misreading.)

A prayer for my fellow seminarians and me: May all our misreadings be strong misreadings and may they shed light on the dark parts of our misunderstandings!