Richard Kearney’s Sacramental Play between Immanence and Transcendence

Abstract

Abstract This article will discuss anatheist imagination in Kearney’s work. With the help of a poem by Sharon Olds, it will make a case for the sacramental – or anatheist – play between immanence and transcendence as a crucial motif to interpreting Kearney’s philosophy. Firstly, illustrating that the sacramental opens the door to a more embodied and carnal understanding of Kearney’s hermeneutics. Secondly, drawing on insights from my research, I’ll argue in a short history of anatheist imagination that there’s a continuity between the sacramental and Kearney’s early work on the hermeneutics of the possible. Finally, the article concludes with some considerations on the philosophical and/or theological character of Kearney’s emphasis on the sacramental imagination as a hermeneutic stance.