Liminal Theology
Selections from the online space of practical theology that explores the boundaries, transitions, and the in-between
Image: Mike Dubyna
Liminal Theology is “a space of practical theology for exploring the boundaries, transitions, and the in-between.” Curated by Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Best, co-founder of the Guild for Engaged Liminality, the site features work by theologians and thinkers across society, culture, and religion. Their writings “represent and demonstrate both transitional-thinking and action-oriented work within society—especially among the marginalized, transitional, and irreligious.”
Rev. Dr. Best defines “liminality” as a: “threshold state where all we know becomes questionable. It lies on the boundary between the known and the unknown—with either being possible. Liminality is an awareness of the porous nature of knowability. Thus, liminal theology is a theology of uncertainty and transition. Consequently, this is not so much a position or a method as it is a perspective, one that takes seriously the mysterious nature of society, culture, and everyday life.”
For your reading pleasure, HTI Open Plaza has curated 20 posts from the archives of Liminal Theology that engage issues of faith and social justice impacting our communities.
2021
Mis abuelas y la Teología [My Grandmothers and Theology]
By Claudia H. Herrera-Montero
4 August 2021
Photo: Raul De Los Santos
The Negro Spirituals as a Form of Theology in the “Invisible Institution” (Part 1)
By Adeline Jean
9 February 2021
Image: Slave Quarters, Louisiana, 1861-1865.
Source: www.slaveryimages.org, compiled by Jerome Handler and Michael Tuite and sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
The Negro Spirituals as a Form of Theology in the “Invisible Institution” (Part 2)
By Adeline Jean
17 February 2021
Image: ‘Negro Village on a Southern Plantation' in Aunt Phillis’s Cabin: Southern Life as it is (1853) by Mary Henderson Eastman
Getting Back to “Community”
By Ricardo Gonzalez
1 July 2021
Photo: Robin Worrall
Tamar, Judah, and Marginalization:
A Reflection on Genesis 38
By Thomas Parks
13 December 2021
Image: A Veiled Beauty (1880) by Frederick Arthur Bridgman
2020
Were You There?
By Alex Lopez
15 July 2020
Mural portrait of George Floyd by Eme Street Art in Mauerpark (Berlin, Germany); photo by Singlespeedfahrer
Neither Here nor There
By Alex Lopez
11 August 2020
Photo: Fallon Michael
Liminality, Communitas, and Hope (Transition, Fear, and Liminality: Part II)
By Jonathan L. Best
9 September 2020
Image: Alexis Fauvet
Two Merchants, One Tale: Constructing Justice Through Artistic Encounter in Haiti
By Emmanuel Buteau
26 February 2020
Photo: Nathan Congleton
Never Forget the Rich Young Man: The Liminality of Religious Faith Among Young People - Part 2
By Andrew McCarthy
11 March 2020
Photo: James Owen
Maria Salome:
The Unknown Yet Transformative Story of a Woman Disciple of the Early Church
By Claudia H. Herrera-Montero
20 May 2020
Image: Detail from Descent from the Cross (14th c.) by Rogier van der Weyden, depicting mourners (from left) Mary of Clopas, Saint John the Evangelist, and Mary Salome. Source: Museo Nacional del Prado, Spain
2019
Remaking the Everyday
[lo cotidiano]
By Jonathan L. Best
18 January 2019
Photo: Bud Helisson
Lessons from Death
An Exploration of the Legacy of Eudel Marcelin
By Emmanuel Buteau
13 May 2019
Photo: Mayron Oliveira
Liberation on the Margins
By Rev. Marc Boswell
11 July 2019
Photo: Mathieu Cheze
Borderlands of the Bridge Prophet: A Reflection on John the Baptist as a Liminal Figure
By Andrew McCarthy
7 August 2019
Photo: Joshua Ness
Never Forget the Rich Young Man: The Liminality of Religious Faith Among Young People
By Andrew McCarthy
5 September 2019
Photo: Edward Cisneros
A Practical Theological Approach on the Dialogue between Artificial Intelligence and Contemporary Catholicism: A Brief Exploration of Learning Methods
By Jane M. Spanich
5 November 2019
Photo: Possessed Photography
2018
Digital Social Space? Interpreting Digital Action and Behavior for Today’s Churches
By Jonathan L. Best
3 May 2018
Photo: Tim Bennett
Justice is Blind
By Jonathan L. Best
25 May 2018
Photo: Emmanuel Huybrechts
Rediscovering the Everyday [lo cotidiano]
By Jonathan L. Best
20 December 2018
Image: Martin Adams
