(from Peter Rollins' website)
In the contemporary world, atheism is almost invariably viewed as opposed to the work and world of theology. At best they barely tolerate each other; at worst they wage war.
As a result, we are often confronted with two impoverished positions. Atheism having been largely reduced to an adolescent cry on behalf of a crude positivism; theology languishing in the basement of academic institutions, offering as much insight into the world as astrology.
Thankfully there have always been thinkers who’ve grasped the profoundly theological dimensions of atheism and the deeply atheistic dimensions of theology. Individuals who see their artificial separation as detrimental, not only to intellectual life, but to the task of personal and political transformation. In recent years we only need think of people like Tillich, Bloch, Bonhoeffer, Weil, Heidegger, Derrida and Zizek.
Whether you identify as theist, atheist, agnostic or ignostic, Atheism for Lent is a reflective practice that delves headfirst into the true theological expanse that is atheism.
By exploring atheism as a profane practice of theological purification, we will explore its priestly power of exorcism. An exorcism powerful enough to cast out, not only religious dogmatism, but also the proliferation of all kinds of spiritualities that so often take its place.
So forget forsaking chocolate, TV or tiddlywinks and get ready to fast from the very ground of your being.
