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God's Stuff: The Constructive Powers of Chaos For Teaching Religion
Author(s) -
Willhauck Susan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
teaching theology and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1467-9647
pISSN - 1368-4868
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9647.2009.00576.x
Subject(s) - metaphor , chaos (operating system) , constructive , epistemology , order (exchange) , sociology , space (punctuation) , philosophy , theology , computer science , linguistics , computer security , process (computing) , finance , economics , operating system
Order and organization are valued in the classroom, and there is a prevailing understanding that chaos should be avoided. Yet chaos can also be potent space or a source from which new things spring forth. This article investigates biblical, scientific, and cultural understandings of chaos to discover how these contribute to a revelatory metaphor for teaching. It examines Catherine Keller's engagement with chaos theory in creation theology for pedagogical implications. Using a framework suggested in the work of Mary Elizabeth Moore, the author interprets powers and practices of chaos teaching and provides examples of how the metaphor plays out in the teaching of religion and theology.