Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Theologians will gather in Iowa City this week to discuss — what else? God. In particular g(G)od’s existence or non-existence. Of course there’s more, including the infamous “death of God” theologian, below the fold…
“Theology today is most fundamentally in quest of a language and mode whereby it can speak.”Thomas J.J. Altizer
Self-Embodiment of God, 1977
They’ve called him a Christian, they’ve called him an atheist, they’ve called him a “Christian atheist.” He’s known as one of the most radical active thinkers of modern Christian theology of the second half of the 20th century and beyond.
Over 80 years old, Dr. Thomas J.J. Altizer, author of “The Gospel of Christian Atheism,” is the controversial scholar who will open “Religion, Literature and the Arts,” an interdisciplinary conference sponsored by several departments at the University of Iowa.
“The Apocalypse of God” is the title of Altizer’s talk, which Prof. David Klemm depicted as an examination of “theological meanings that are in the Christian epic tradition from Dante through Milton, Blake and on into James Joyce and ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ in particular.”
On Friday, Klemm will give his interpretation of Altizer’s theological philosophy in a paper called “Catholic Otherness in Altizer’s Theology: A Tribute to His Thought.”
Klemm said he will try “to make it clear to people what he’s doing, what his project is, where it comes from and then I’m going to offer a salutary critique. I’m going to try to think what he [Altizer] has not thought. I’m trying to think what he omits in his theology or what is left out.”
To this reporter, it sounds like the theologians are going to “roast” Altizer.
Altizer’s work was described by Klemm as “a new theological language that addresses the way in which God is present in our time.”
But Altizer’s belief in God is muddied by his use of a circular construct that means “God is present through God’s absence in our time.”
Klemm described Altizer as “famous, if not infamous,” “controversial,” “astounding,” “amazingly active” and one of the “the most significant theologians of the late 20th century.” He also said Altizer’s talk Thursday night “should be incredible.”
Scholars from the United Kingdom and Sweden are expected to participate in the conference. Fans of James Joyce should take particular note of the work of Prof. David Jasper of the University of Glasgow, who will present a paper on the “liturgical quality” of “Finnegan’s Wake.”
Above: Map of “Finnegan’s Wake” from “Visions in Motion” by L
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter