The title of this inspirational piece, “Controversy Revisited, came to mind when I saw a recent headline. The headline read, “Thomas Altizer, 91, Proponent of ‘God is Dead’ Theology, Dies.” Anyone who is my age and has studied religion and theology certainly knows the name of Thomas Altizer. My only surprise was the fact he was still alive. When I first heard about him, I assumed he was probably older than he apparently was. He was born in 1927 and obviously lived to a ripe old age.
Altizer burst on the scene in the 1960s, along with two or three other prominent teachers of theology. Precisely, he gained national notoriety with the publication of the April 8, 1966 issue of the magazine, Time. The front cover of that famous magazine posed the question, “Is God Dead?” You can imagine the uproar that caused! In the 1960s most Americans would have claimed to believe in God. Certainly the 60s were a tumultuous time. There was fervor on many fronts---feminism, civil rights, Vietnam War and so on. In a way religion played a role in all these “hot” issues.
This was also a time when I was cutting my “theological teeth,” so to speak. I wrestled with whether I owned the faith in which I grew up. Like so many students I teach today, I was not sure what I believed. As I recall, I did not really think about being a non-believer. I knew enough history and philosophy to know that people like the German philosopher, Nietzsche, had proclaimed that God was dead. But I never thought any American would so stridently make that claim. I was theologically sheltered.
I remember buying some of Altizer’s books, as well as a couple other authors’ books, like Gabriel Vahanian and William Hamilton. They were a challenge to read because they forced me to think in ways I had never been asked to think. They were a challenge because they cut to the core of what it meant to be human in this world with the possibility there was not God. It was not threatening to my career. At that point I did not know what I ultimately would do. Instead, it was more of an existential threat---a challenge of meaning and purpose of my life.
I read the article about Thomas Altizer with interest. I remembered the title of one of his books was The Christian Atheist. That title alone was a challenge. I always assumed being a Christian and an atheist were opposites. I had to think and try to absorb his thoughts and thought-process. Retrospectively, I appreciate what he and so others have done to my development.
The article quotes Jordon Miller, a college professor who considered Altizer a mentor. Miller notes, “He was one of the country’s most hated, misunderstood, radical and prophetic voices of the past century.” Interestingly, the article talks about the “God is Dead” movement, as it came to be called as a “cultural moment.” I suppose that is accurate. It would be hard to argue it has had any lasting effect. And yet, the article actually posits that it did have an enormous effect. The article claims, “But he had inflamed evangelicals, and his lasting effect may be that he helped give rise to the religious right.”
When I think about the American religious history of the 1980s to the present- the role of the religious right has been immense. It is easy to think of figures like the late, Jerry Falwell, the political movement called The Religious Right and so much more. Perhaps Thomas Altizer’s footprint is all over the past fifty years, but without his name identified with the footprint. Another pastor is quoted in the article who argues as much: “I suggest that both evangelical and mainline Protestantism’s development from the late 1960s were a reaction against his theology.”
I learned other things about Altizer. He was married three times. He once wanted to become an Episcopal priest, but could not because “he failed a rigorous psychiatric evaluation.” Interestingly, the article concludes with Altizer’s own words. He comments, “I have never regretted the offense that I gave.” That sounds like him!
So why bother to comment on a dead guy who caused so much grief? Maybe the main thing for me is to be reminded of the people and the ways our own lives are formed, impacted and guided. I never met Thomas Altizer. And yet he had a profound formative impact on me. At the time, it did not feel positive. He was truly a pain! But he asked much of me through his books.
He asked me to think and not merely accept tradition. He challenged me to be coherent and consistent and be ready to pay the price for that. He showed me why faith has to be authentic. He challenged me as I began to think about my work as ministry---whether it be teaching or pastoral ministry. I needed to think about how I would impact, form and challenge those to whom I ministered---whether it be students, colleagues or folks in the parish. Particularly I had to figure out who or what my God is. And with that, I needed to figure out how I embody and live out of that Divine Presence I believe informs my life.
To revisit that controversy is to reaffirm who I am, who God is and what my ministry looks like. Thank you Thomas Altizer!
Altizer burst on the scene in the 1960s, along with two or three other prominent teachers of theology. Precisely, he gained national notoriety with the publication of the April 8, 1966 issue of the magazine, Time. The front cover of that famous magazine posed the question, “Is God Dead?” You can imagine the uproar that caused! In the 1960s most Americans would have claimed to believe in God. Certainly the 60s were a tumultuous time. There was fervor on many fronts---feminism, civil rights, Vietnam War and so on. In a way religion played a role in all these “hot” issues.
This was also a time when I was cutting my “theological teeth,” so to speak. I wrestled with whether I owned the faith in which I grew up. Like so many students I teach today, I was not sure what I believed. As I recall, I did not really think about being a non-believer. I knew enough history and philosophy to know that people like the German philosopher, Nietzsche, had proclaimed that God was dead. But I never thought any American would so stridently make that claim. I was theologically sheltered.
I remember buying some of Altizer’s books, as well as a couple other authors’ books, like Gabriel Vahanian and William Hamilton. They were a challenge to read because they forced me to think in ways I had never been asked to think. They were a challenge because they cut to the core of what it meant to be human in this world with the possibility there was not God. It was not threatening to my career. At that point I did not know what I ultimately would do. Instead, it was more of an existential threat---a challenge of meaning and purpose of my life.
I read the article about Thomas Altizer with interest. I remembered the title of one of his books was The Christian Atheist. That title alone was a challenge. I always assumed being a Christian and an atheist were opposites. I had to think and try to absorb his thoughts and thought-process. Retrospectively, I appreciate what he and so others have done to my development.
The article quotes Jordon Miller, a college professor who considered Altizer a mentor. Miller notes, “He was one of the country’s most hated, misunderstood, radical and prophetic voices of the past century.” Interestingly, the article talks about the “God is Dead” movement, as it came to be called as a “cultural moment.” I suppose that is accurate. It would be hard to argue it has had any lasting effect. And yet, the article actually posits that it did have an enormous effect. The article claims, “But he had inflamed evangelicals, and his lasting effect may be that he helped give rise to the religious right.”
When I think about the American religious history of the 1980s to the present- the role of the religious right has been immense. It is easy to think of figures like the late, Jerry Falwell, the political movement called The Religious Right and so much more. Perhaps Thomas Altizer’s footprint is all over the past fifty years, but without his name identified with the footprint. Another pastor is quoted in the article who argues as much: “I suggest that both evangelical and mainline Protestantism’s development from the late 1960s were a reaction against his theology.”
I learned other things about Altizer. He was married three times. He once wanted to become an Episcopal priest, but could not because “he failed a rigorous psychiatric evaluation.” Interestingly, the article concludes with Altizer’s own words. He comments, “I have never regretted the offense that I gave.” That sounds like him!
So why bother to comment on a dead guy who caused so much grief? Maybe the main thing for me is to be reminded of the people and the ways our own lives are formed, impacted and guided. I never met Thomas Altizer. And yet he had a profound formative impact on me. At the time, it did not feel positive. He was truly a pain! But he asked much of me through his books.
He asked me to think and not merely accept tradition. He challenged me to be coherent and consistent and be ready to pay the price for that. He showed me why faith has to be authentic. He challenged me as I began to think about my work as ministry---whether it be teaching or pastoral ministry. I needed to think about how I would impact, form and challenge those to whom I ministered---whether it be students, colleagues or folks in the parish. Particularly I had to figure out who or what my God is. And with that, I needed to figure out how I embody and live out of that Divine Presence I believe informs my life.
To revisit that controversy is to reaffirm who I am, who God is and what my ministry looks like. Thank you Thomas Altizer!
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