Theology As Improvisation: A Study in the Musical Nature of Theological Thinking

245 Pages·2013·4.325 MB·English

by  Nathan Crawford

Theology as Improvisation
Studies in Systematic Theology
Series Editors
Stephen Bevans S.V.D., Catholic Theological Union, Chicago
Miikka Ruokanen, University of Helsinki and
Nanjing Union Theological Seminary
Advisory Board
Wanda Deifelt, Luther College, Decorah (IA)
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena (CA)
Jesse Mugambi, University of Nairobi
Rachel Zhu Xiaohong, Fudan University, Shanghai
VOLUME 13
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/sist
Theology as Improvisation
A Study in the Musical Nature of Theological Thinking
By
Nathan Crawford
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crawford, Nathan.
 Theology as improvisation : a study in the musical nature of theological thinking / by Nathan
Crawford.
  pages cm. -- (Studies in systematic theology, ISSN 1876-1518 ; v. 13)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-24596-9 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-24598-3 (e-book)
1. Theology. 2. Music--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Title.
 BT19.C73 2013
 230--dc23
                    2012046970
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ISSN 1876-1518
ISBN 978-90-04-24596-9 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-24598-3 (e-book)
Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................vii
Introduction: What Are We Playing? ...................................................................1
    A.  An Incomplete Account of Thinking God in the
Christian Tradition ................................................................................5
    B. The Problem ..........................................................................................10
    C. My Argument (or, a Modestly Proposed Solution) .....................26
    D. A Brief Excursus—Orienting Terms ...............................................28
1. Heidegger and the Question of Thinking ...................................................39
    A. Pursuing the Path of Thinking .........................................................41
    B. “Step Back” – Opening the Path to Being .......................................45
    C. Thinking as Attunement ....................................................................50
   D. Conclusion .............................................................................................62
2. Derrida and Attunement: Playing in a Deconstructive Mode ..............65
    A. Deconstruction as Attunement .......................................................67
    B. Hospitality as Attunement ................................................................76
    C. Risking Interpretation—The Example of Translation ...............84
    D. Concluding Remarks ...........................................................................90
3. Finding the Groove: Attunement as Musical Way of Thinking ............93
    A. The Centrality of Listening ...............................................................97
    B. The Place of Attunement in Improvisation ...............................101
    C.  Improvisation as Transformation: Breaking the
Musical Form .....................................................................................114
    D. Conclusion ..........................................................................................120
4. Attunement and Theology: Resonations with David Tracy ................123
    A.  Theology as Conversation: The Problem of Totality
and the Task of Theology ................................................................124
    B. Naming God: The Turn to Form through the Fragment .........136
    C. The Gathering: Rethinking the “System” of Theology .............147
    D. Excursus: An Ethics of Resistance ................................................151
    E. Conclusion ..........................................................................................157
vi contents
5.  The Theological Example: Augustine’s Unstructuring
of Theological Form ......................................................................................159
    A.  The Basis of Theology: De Musica and the Basis
of Theology .........................................................................................162
    B.  Finding the Groove: Rhetoric as Form in De Doctrina
Christiana ............................................................................................169
    C. Improvising Freely: The Form of the Confessions.....................178
    D. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................191
Conclusion: Well, Sort of ....................................................................................193
    A. Relating the Parts to the Whole ......................................................194
    B. Emphases for Theology .....................................................................198
Bibliography ..........................................................................................................207
Index ........................................................................................................................231
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All of my writing and thinking on subjects comes out of conversation with
others, whether those others are in a book or sitting across a table or in a
classroom. Without others, the argument I put forward in this text would
not have been possible (That is part of the reason why I focus so much on
the nature of improvisation and theology as conversation!). I would like to
acknowledge the large debt that I owe to many who helped make this
project possible. And, while it would actually not be possible to thank
everyone who has inspired me or offered helpful suggestions, I would like
to try to give credit where it is due.
Since this text is a substantially revised version of my dissertation, first,
I would like to thank the Department of Theology at Loyola University of
Chicago, as well as the university itself. The time spent in the department,
whether in class, conversation, the department library, waiting for the
copier, or just over coffee, gave me the resources to be able to complete
this project. The administrators in the department, Catherine Wolfe and
Marianne Wolf, helped me to find numerous articles, use computers cor-
rectly, as well as corresponded with different entities on my behalf. As
well, the Graduate School awarded me a Arthur Schmitt Dissertation
Fellowship which enabled me the ability to focus on writing and finishing
the original draft of this project.
The person who was most influential on me as I wrote and researched
was Dr. John McCarthy, my dissertation supervisor. My first conversation
with him on this project had almost no relationship to the present project;
but he thought the idea of “attunement” was very worth exploring and he
guided me to further analyze the idea. His vast knowledge and reading in
so many subjects helped push me to explore avenues I had previously not
even thought of. As well, his guidance proved invaluable even when I was
not sure that I needed guiding. I appreciate everything that he helped me
with in this project.
I also want to thank my other readers from the department, Dr. Susan
Ross and Dr. Andrew Radde-Gallwitz. Dr. Ross’ course on the History
of Christian Thought after the Reformation allowed many of the ideas
in this dissertation to germinate. Dr. Radde-Gallwitz spent good time
talking both Augustine patristic theology and music. I would like to thank
Dr. Mark McIntosh whose courses and conversations went far toward
shaping the way that I pursued the research presented here.
viii acknowledgements
I would also like to thank some professors from other institutions who
have been guiding voices in my research. First, I would like to thank
Dr. David Smith, my advisor in my undergraduate program. He continued
to encourage me and to offer the advice to finish constantly long after
I had graduated. I also want to thank Dr. Laurence Wood and Dr. Michael
Pasquarello from Asbury Theological Seminary. These two have been
great mentors in my academic life through encouragement and critique.
I continue to enjoy their friendship. I also want to thank Dr. Bruce Ellis
Benson for serving as an outside reader on this project as well as being a
rich resource in both continental philosophy and studies in improvisa-
tion. I also appreciate the time he has spent in conversation with me over
any number of topics.
The number of people who have contributed to this through general,
casual conversation is too large to list. However, some people have consis-
tently engaged me in conversation over this project. I would like to thank
them for the time and energy they expended on a project that was not
really their own. These people would include Andrea Hollingsworth,
Bill Myatt, Brock Bingaman, Andrea Berger, Adam Hankins, and Seth
Harshman. There are many others who have also commented, suggested
resources, and have allowed me to “improvise” with—I thank you as well.
This also includes my place of worship, Trinity United Methodist Church.
This has been a community willing to let me practice my “improvisations”
in a number of ways by engaging people in the attempt to know the divine
in fuller, more robust ways.
Lastly, but most importantly, I would like to thank my family. My par-
ents Mark and Sallie Crawford have been helpful and encouraging to me
throughout this process, whether it was watching my children or telling
me to finish the “paper.” They offered strong support and encouragement
when I felt like this project may never be finished. I also thank my in-laws
Gary and Robin Neidig for being like a second set of parents. They have
offered much in the way of babysitting, council, and much support for my
whole family.
I want to acknowledge the contribution of my oldest son, Broderick,
who gave up “daddy days” so that I could finish my dissertation. I also
want to thank my second son, Camden, for being so generous and loving
while giving up special time with me. My newest son, Ryder, has also con-
tributed to this project in much more modest ways as he was a mere infant
when all was finished. However, all three of my sons have offered love,
support, encouragement, and given me the kind of feedback only a child
can, bringing a smile to my face. Most of all I want to thank my wife, Trisha
acknowledgements ix
Crawford. Without her love and support I could not have finished this. Her
encouragement, whether explicit or subtle, has benefited me in ways that
I will never know and which I could never express. She has been the rock
for our family and myself as we improvised together through this project.
It is to her that I dedicate this book.