num_pages: 216
description: Cox's interpretation of contemporary culture &amp; theology examines both the loss &amp; reemergence of festivity &amp; fantasy in Western culture. He evaluates both processes from a theological perspective, defining festivity as the capacity for genuine revelry &amp; joyous celebration &amp; defining fantasy as the faculty for envisioning radically alternative life situations. He asserts that both are vital to contemporary life &amp; faith; both are a precondition for genuine social transformation. In a success &amp; money-oriented society we need a rebirth of unapologetically unproductive festivity &amp; expressive celebration. In an age that has quarantined parody &amp; separated politics from imagination, we need a renaissance of social fantasy. It's been said that affluent Westerners have been gaining the whole world while losing their souls. In the face of this Cox affirms the necessity of a resurgence of hope, celebration, liberation &amp; experimentation. The medieval Feast of Fools, from which he's taken his title, symbolizes both the problem &amp; process. Centuries ago it provided an opportunity for the choirboy to play bishop &amp; for serious townsfolk to mock the stately rituals of church &amp; court. The eventual disappearance of the custom in the 16th century, unlamented if not welcomed by those in authority, illustrates the concerns of this controversial essay. Cox doesn't propose that a medieval practice should be revived. He does argue for a rebirth in our own cultural idiom of what was right &amp; good about the Feast of Fools. It's likely that this book will become significant in wide circles. It speaks directly to such contemporary movements as the theology of hope, the rapidly disappearing radical theology &amp; the theology of culture. For many it will provide a new perspective on the renewal of religious life &amp; the secular search for religious experience. For others it will function as a window into the experimental laboratories of the "underground church." For everyone it's a refreshing encounter with a wholly new set of perceptive observations about the problems facing us.OvertureIntroductionFestivity : the ingredients -- Festivity and the death of God -- Fantasy : the ingredients -- Fantasy and religion -- Fantasy and utopia -- Mystics and militants -- Beyond radical theology -- A theology of juxtaposition -- Christ the harlequinCodaAppendixNotesIndex of Names
language: English
title: The Feast of Fools: A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy
titlecomplete: The Feast of Fools: A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy
genres: Philosophy, Religion, Theology, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 62
publisher: Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA)