Preaching Deconstruction

Deconstruction is usually denigrated (or praised ) for being esoteric, abstruse, a method and a language restricted to a self-appointed academic elite. Its critics object that Deconstruction is a mind-game with no connection or relation to the real world. Perhaps the very opposite kind of speech is pulpit preaching, a dispensing of comforting bromides and pious clich s aimed at reinforcing the prejudices of the pew potatoes. What could Deconstruction and Postmodernism possibly have to do with preaching? They seem alien even to social activist liberal Protestant cheer-leading. In this book Robert M. Price applies the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and the radical theology of Thomas J.J. Altizer to real questions of spirituality and biblical interpretation. Price preaches from both Old and New Testaments, as well as the Koran and the Gospel of Thomas. Other influences on these sermons, delivered in a Baptist church, include Paul Tillich, Paul de Man, Rudolf Bultmann, Robert W. Chambers, Ingmar Bergman, Malcolm Boyd, and Thomas Ligotti. The book features a foreword by Thomas Altizer, an important new essay in its own right, as well as Price's introductory discussion of Deconstruction, then a set of innovative sermons. The sermons are not about Deconstruction. They are about spirituality and the Bible. But Deconstruction is everywhere present as an atmosphere and a medium. It quickly becomes clear, not only that no theological orthodoxy is any longer possible, but also that it is not necessary for Postmodern man (and woman) to blaze a path on the new spiritual frontier. The radical theology that erupted in the 1960s has long been relegated to a pop cultural time capsule along with lava lamps and Nehru jackets. But it is not unusual for the majority to (nervously)laugh off what makes them uncomfortable. In the 1990s, Deconstruction revived the theology of the Death of God, providing a much-needed theoretical reformulation. The significance of Deconstruction can be measured by the amount of controversy, even hysteria, that it provoked. The publication of these unique sermons is an attempt to keep that witness alive. And to demonstrate that Deconstruction provides a new way forward in religious exploration.

Robert M. Price has taught religion, theology, philosophy, world religions, and Bible in colleges, seminaries, and universities. Now most of his teaching is done via his podcasts The Bible Geek and The Human Bible. He has written numerous books including Beyond Born Again, Inerrant the Wind, The Widow Traditions in Luke-Acts, Jesus Is Dead, The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, Deconstructing Jesus, The Christ Myth Theory and its Problems, Secret Scrolls, and others. He has also served as a campus minister for the United Ministries in Higher Education and as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Montclair, NJ. He holds Ph.D. degrees in both Theology and New Testament. He speaks and writes for atheist and secular humanist groups but also infuriates them by remaining friendly to religion and conservative in his politics. (Are you alienated yet?) He is the subject of the forthcoming documentary The Gospel According to Price. Price is also a big wheel in the world of H.P. Lovecraft scholarship and fandom. He founded Crypt of Cthulhu and edited 107 issues of it. He has compiled shelves of Cthulhu Mythos anthologies for Fedogan & Bremer, Chaosium, Inc., Arkham House, and others. His own horror fiction is collected in Blasphemies and Revelations. He hosts the podcast The Lovecraft Geek.