2. Defamiliarisation

Proseuxomai: a course on the messianic prayer...

A great deal of my theological work has involved the task of defamiliarisation. Religious traditions, like folk traditions, are robust; they get worn into grooves, where they stay intact for (literally) ages. With time and chance, well-intentioned mis-handling and wilful misuse, they can end up trapped in frames of meaning that bear no resemblance to th…