Theology, Perhaps

Abstract

A public (practical) theology is about recognizing religious phenomena in (popular) culture and society, and reflecting on these phenomena from a theological perspective. There is a lot of G/god in the public domain, so one could assume that ‘the fields are white for harvest already’ (John 4:35), theologically speaking. References to biblical stories and figures abound in art and culture and religious themes and questions are the subject of movie pictures and media attention. Theologians are well suited to interpret these public phenomena because they have access to a huge database of concepts, narratives and practices to make meaning from this fragmented G/god in public domain. But what sort of G/god are we talking about? This paper explores John Caputo’s theopoetics as a model for a public theology. Caputo’s theology is presented as a way of tracing God, perhaps, in a product of popular culture.