The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum The New Pantagruel

I don't know if any of you followed the sporadic history of re:generation quarterly, but it has ceased publication and its assets have been acquired by the Christianity Today International omnibus. Some of the contributors and readers of re:gen were sorry enough to see it go, that we are creating a webzine that stands in its tradition, but which, we hope, will not suffer from its limitations.<br><br>This webzine called The New Pantagruel will first publish in January 2004. You can critique its vision, view the content of the first issue, peruse the biographies of the editors and contributing editors, and sign up for e-mail publication updates by clicking the name/link above. I hope you enjoy and are challenged.<br><br>God's Peace,<br><br>Clay

onefear,<br><br>Pantagruel is an odd choice to name the site. Do you know why that name was chosen?<br><br>In the dictionary Pantagruel is described as: "the boisterous, young giant son of Gargantua in Babelais." It goes on to say, "he is a jovial drunkard characterized by rough, extravagant humor."<br><br>Do you know what they stand for? <br><br><br>Wes

Because in Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais critiqued many of the vices that need a parallel critique in American culture and the Amercian church. This is especially needed because, in many ways the church it has syncretistically responded to the siren song of modern Liberal culture, in both its conservative and liberal forms. Here's what the editor, Caleb Stegall, has to say about Pantagruel in the introduction: <br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]The pre-modern remnant of the Christian tradition reacts against the more obviously exploitative and soul deadening aspects of Liberalism, but the overweening temptation to be immediately relevant, to participate in Western “mass” culture, and to get a seat at the table has inexorably dragged the church forward towards its mass death. The Western church has become, in large part, a walking identity-crisis. Thus, we experience the frustrations of a schizophrenic who desires simultaneously to be the life of the party and to be left completely alone; we are continually demoralized by our failure to find a place where we can experience equally the pride of being different and the happiness of blending in. In essence, this crisis embodies the whole ailing left-right split of our modern era. The recognition must soon dawn on the church that no matter what one’s political persuasion, there is no modern basis for achieving the true wealth that is life; no modern basis for the humane traditions of the Church; no modern basis for a real counterweight to the forces of the age. There is, then, both a historic need and moment for prophetic voices that treat the modernity-induced crisis of church and culture effectively.<br><br>The New Pantagruel aspires to do just that, on whatever scale, large or small, is given us. It is namesake to the satirical, irreverent, jocular, and committed anti-materialist work of the 16th Century French Christian Humanist François Rabelais. Rabelais’s time was much like our own: revolution and unparalleled expansion; avarice turned nearly into an art; soul deadening materialism; stifling political centralization; easy corruption in churches and governments; gross societal inequities; and tradition either ghettoized or seeking accomodation. In Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel, Pantagruel trips through life in the French countryside with his loyal but rascally companion, Panurge. Along the way, they drink deeply of the “triumphal, earthly life” (Erich Auerbach) and the “wild enormities of ancient magnanimity” (Thomas Browne). With this mirthful temperament towards all that is humane and with frightful anger directed against the forces that would squash such things, Rabelais used laughter, parody, and what the Russian Literary Critic Mikhail Bakhtin called “grotesque realism” as a means of subverting the pillars of official culture and the proto-totalitarian orders of society. Pantagruelism is, according to Rabelais, “a certain jollity of mind pickled in the scorn of fortune.” It is that odd cast of mind which allows one to see the corruption everywhere, including in oneself, while still loving the world.</font><hr></blockquote><p>Certainly Rabelais infused Pantagruel with rough, extravagant, even lewd humor. However, in some ways this is part of the critique -- to bring the project of Liberalism down from its rarified air to the real grit of its deleterious effects on Joe Sixpack. For a small example, I think Peter Leithart gave us a glimpse of this in his, admittedly provactive, recent book Against Christianity:<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]If theology deals with "timeless truths," then all the temporal things we encounter in life are outside the range of theology.<br>But everything we encounter in life is temporal.<br>Therefore, all life is outside of theology.<br>All that remains within the realm of theology are (perhaps) ecstatic and "timeless" encounters of the soul with God, God with the solu. Theology keeps Christian teaching at the margains and ensures that other voices, other languages, other words shape the world of temporalities. Politics is left to politicians, economics to economists, sociology to sociologists, history to historians, and philosophy to madmen.<br>Theology ensures that Christians have nothing to say about nearly everything. * * * <br><br>Theology is a "Victorian" enterprise, neoclassically bright and neat and clean, nothing out of place.<br>Whereas the Bible talks about hair, blood, sweat, entrails, menstruation, and genetial emissions.</font><hr></blockquote><p>A bit tongue in cheek? Sure. Hyperbole? Sure, but with a point. BTW, I quote this NOT to draw a parallel between modern theology (reformed or otherwise) and Liberalism (there might or might not be such a parallel), BUT INSTEAD to show that sometimes the bawdy is more real than rarified.<br><br>I hope this helps. Check it out when the first issue is published in a couple of months. The proof of the pudding will be in the tasting. I hope it tastes good!<br><br>In Him,<br><br>Clay<br>

We studied Deuteronomy 22-23 in Sunday School last week. We're going through the book verse by verse, and there are things in the BIble we would not expect to be there. For instance, did you know God commanded His people to cover up their exrement?

Onefear,<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]A bit tongue in cheek? Sure. Hyperbole? Sure, but with a point. BTW, I quote this NOT to draw a parallel between modern theology (reformed or otherwise) and Liberalism (there might or might not be such a parallel), BUT INSTEAD to show that sometimes the bawdy is more real than rarified.<br><br>I hope this helps. Check it out when the first issue is published in a couple of months. The proof of the pudding will be in the tasting. I hope it tastes good!</font><hr></blockquote><p>It sounds tasteless to me. If what you've provided is a sample of what Pantagruel has to offer I think its a waste of time. The church already has all kinds of critics. We don't need more.<br><br>Harold Camping has made a practice of pointing out the flaws in the Church of Jesus Christ. Now he advocates that the Church age has ended and the Holy Spirit isn't operative in the church any longer. Your publication sounds like its going to pick up where he left off. Certainly there are many faults in the church but does criticism in this crude form serve any positive purpose? We need leaders who are going to build up the body of Christ instead of tearing it down.<br><br>Most believers already know the church has flaws and blemishes. We don't need a new publication to show us that. We need leaders not critics!<br><br><br>Wes

You are right of course. If the project is too polemic, it will fail. The church doesn't need critics, it needs Light. The publication is grounded in what we perceive to be a need for a prophetic voice in church and culture -- one which, like the prophets, calls us all to repentance while at the same time pointing a big arrow to our One Hope for the redemption and sanctification of church and culture -- Jesus Christ. Though it was born in a crucible of sadness and discontent at the corrosive effects of Liberalism, I hope you will find such illumination at the New Pantagruel.<br><br>Clay

The inaugural issue of The New Pantagruel has been published, so now you will have more on which to base an opinion. The issue includes ruminations on what it will mean to think and act Christianly from the belly of an empire by Eugene McCarraher; an exploration of the movie The Passion and the various reactions it has generated by Patton Dodd; an essay by Christopher Shannon on the early work of Ivan Illich in New York City which provided the basis for Illich's later critique of development and modernization, and inspired his own program for de-Yankification at Cuernavaca; new book reviews by Bruce Berglund and Joshua Hochschild, and much more.

You can enjoy all of this at http://www.newpantagruel.com.

I hope you enjoy and engage this material.

Clay