Saying Hello

Hi, I'm a United Methodist clergyperson, currently serving as chaplain and instructor at a United Methodist college.  I self-identify as a progressive Christian, largely because that is the most well known label referring to post-traditional Christianity. I also might describe myself around campus as a Christian, but not exclusively.  Less frequently, and primarily to those who would already understand what I mean or to those who might almost understand, I echo Derrida's claim that I could rightly be called an atheist.

I have a blog entitled "Divine Salve" where I post very infrequently, and I've been picked up in the past week as a columnist at ProgressiveChristianity.org.  Who knows whether the larger audience will prompt me to blog more often.

I'm also a grad student in the University of Louisville's Interdisciplinary Humanities Ph.D. program.  I've concentrated on phenomenology and hermeneutics.  I just passed my last comp in April, and my dissertation will deal with phenomenologist/theologian Jean-Luc Marion.  His is a postmetaphysical phenomenology/theology, and I hope augment/critique him with Gebser's integral phenomenology.

I have loved developmental theories since seminary, reading Fowler, Kohlberg, Maslow, and Piaget.  I discovered Wilber in the early aughts, when I read A Theory of Everything and quickly thereafter Integral Psychology and, because of Wilber's connection to it, Spiral Dynamics.  I've read a few of Wilber's other books, but I've kept up with the broad thrust of his thought online and see lots of great places to go with Wilber-5's Integral Postmetaphysics.

I've read through several of the threads here and hope to start interacting.  Maybe it will help me sharpen my thoughts for my dissertation.

  • Balder

    Welcome, David!  It's nice to hear from you and to learn about the work and the inquiry you are doing, much of which sounds similar in spirit to topics we explore here.  I look forward to talking with you further.