Finding a Place for the Idea of God: 
Volume II: An Extended Essay
Exploring Theological Identity, Work and Value
In Our Phenomenological Investigations of the Life-World

(2004-2009, 2014-2015)

Noël Tointon

This essay
 is dedicated to my friends…

Francesco, Luciana, Bill, Robert D., Lindsay, Marc, Vera, Phil, Mary,
And Brian…

Who, on numerous occasions, 
have patiently allowed me 
to try out various ideas. 
Without their criticism 
this work would not have the reached 
the current form 
it has finally arrived in
for which I am most grateful 
although all faults
I alone must take responsibility for.

Finding a Place for the Idea of God: 
Volume II: An Extended Essay
Exploring Theological Identity, Work and Value
In Our Phenomenological Investigations of the Life-World (2004-2009, 2014-2015)*

Index [An Extended Essay in Sections (0-12)]

O.   Introduction (2theoa.rtf)

1.    The Pre-Expositional Basis of Our Topic (2theob.doc)

2.    The Exposition of Our Topic (2theoc.rtf, 2theod.doc)

3.    Is Theological Difference an Illusion (Pre-Introduction/Introduction and Paper)
                  		         (2theopreintro.doc/2theointro.doc/2theod.doc-2theoe.doc)
4.    Theological Conformity (2theof.doc)

5.    The Possible Religious Dimensions of a Theological Complexion (2theog.doc)

6.    The Determination of the Religious Viability of Theological Work (2theoh.doc)

7.    Theological Value (2theoi.doc)

8.    The Importance of the Theological Turn? (2theoj.doc)

9.	Re-Commitment through Dialogue (2theok.rtf)
[Plus Structual Guide not completed]
10.	The Transformational Treatment of the Theological Discipline 
(2theol.doc - 9.6.15)

11.  The Critical (Preparatory) Re-Constitution of the Philosophical Prospect
       (2theom.doc - 10.8.15.)
12.  The Critical Theological Re-Appropriation of the Philosophical Prospect
      (2theon.doc - 26.10.15.)
Appendix A: Re(-)considerations (2theoAppendixA.doc)

Appendix B: Allied Papers, etc., Related to this Extended Essay 
       (2theoAppendixB.doc)

* For the latest version of this document (2thoa.rtf) refer to my homepage site:
www.homestead.com/noelshompage/noelsrelphil.html 
0.    Introduction

	To the reader of this extended essay let me say that even before finishing what now is called Finding a Place for the Idea of God: Volume I, I was wrestling with a flood of new ideas dealing with the topic I had already called theological work, i.e., what are we allowed to entertain in the (hypothetical) construction of a viable theology, i.e., the formulation of a relatively integrated set of theologically-oriented concepts that both individually and collectively have a positively experiential and potentially meaningful intersection in the life of the individual and the life of the community, etc. In other words, constructing a theology that has the valid appearance of a ‘real’ relevance for how we might live our lives in this World-of-Life, this world as lived. It was all very well for the theologian to explain why they thought the concept of the Divine has value, i.e., phenomenological sense in our multi-dimensional psychic mapping of the life-world, had hermeneutical meaning and an existential meaningfulness in some form or other, they, also, had to earn their keep and clearly show how their concepts of the Divine could 'work' in this world-of-life for-us! The Life-World may have (or may not have) a whole hierarchy of ongoing forms of spiritual integrity, but, we, the people, ask “What exactly does that mean for us in the here and now as we lead our lives before the sight of each other and before the ‘sight’ of this undefined or ill-defined sense of deity?” Can a fruitful and viable theology be found to work for us, or, is this type of theoretical exposition just a mere sea of words, a noisy breeze of thin air, a murky metaphysical stream too polluted to swim in, or worse, a dancing fire ready and waiting to entice the fanatic and then distort and consume their reason, therein, in a conflagration of babbling bigotry and inhuman behaviour towards those that, thankfully, in the light of such comments, do not feel they have to believe in such an over-committed fashion? In my opinion the validity of our beliefs, i.e., their viability, reveals itself in and through the positive transformation of our sense of self(s) as a result of their being seriously entertainment via their simultaneous belief and dis-belief and the creation of a ‘space’ therein, in between, in which these constructs can actively reconstruct both themselves and ourselves as a result of the overall transcendental suspension naturally put into effect by such a manoeuvre. If my reader is hoping to find in these philosophical investigations absolute truth in some form or other it is my suggestion that they need to take a walk in the opposite direction…! (1)

	Originally, in a tentative continuation of this research I had settled on the Title: Theological Identity, Work and Value but then wondered what form that exposition was going to take if I decided to continue – one more conclusion, a colophon, another set of essays, a swollen appendix, an additional postscript..? Furthermore, what relationship would this text bear with my just finished set of essays? As this topic is in a new direction, albeit already heralded at the end of my first volume in many of my footnotes, some times being thought out between the lines, and, stated in a few comments of future intentions, etc., I decided to let this exposition take a life of its own as a Second Volume hoping that its doesn't assume the physical dimensions of the First. (2)

	By theological identity I am dealing with both viable concepts of the Divine and viable forms of interaction in the hope that those who take a theological turn in their religious and philosophical lives will meet a recognition and realization of those modal expectations and determine, therein, their phenomenal-phenomenological ‘reality’. (3)

	By theological value is meant finding viable forms of theological value in our lives, and, being able to successfully evaluate the same. All systems of theological thought ‘promise’ and ‘deliver’ an excess of value in this regard, but, what is crucially at stake for us in this type of investigation is to improve on both the delivery of this promise and the nature of that delivered! (4)

	But, in these mental deliberations that are giving birth to this text (whilst showering today to be more specific) I realized that these three themes are already accommodated in my work on the six orders of judgment and that the same are accommodated within the economy of the hermeneutic circle! Identity concerns pre-essential-essential forms of judgment and the integrity of the same concerns a second order essentials of an aesthetic orientation. Work is a pragmatic fourth order type of concept with a third order de-ontological, ethical flavour (in so far as to why and how we should ethically re-ordered our lives-before-others and before some-sense-of-the-divine [and our own sense(s) of self]). Value could be discerned through the possibility of fifth order hermeneutic concepts with an evaluation of the same taking a sixth order factual complexion. At the same time value has been treated as that simulated/re-simulated in and through the totality of the hermeneutic circle (and dependent upon sense, meaning and meaningfulness and their particular types of privileging). The value of value being that part born in and through the properly and appropriately conducted overall transcendental suspension as previously defined although in the course of our limited existence that value, usually, is distorted through the (pseudo-)psychotic-like maintenance of our inadequately suspended ontological commitments, epistemological habits and metaphysical beliefs, etc! These distortions are naturally rectified through the instantiation of an appropriate and proper overall transcendental suspension. Moreover, in such an orientation both the resident metaphors of our text are exposed and their rhetorical nature of their meta-textual contexts are equally exposed within the ambit of this overall suspension – in the process re-problematizing the raison-d’être of those metaphors in the first place and from this re-promotion of their ‘created origins’ there is realized the consequent promotion of a new creativity to issue forth from this re-simulated existential matrixn of meaningfulness… also known as the Life-World, as exposed in this world as lived… which our previous researches in Volume I will also allow us to be interpreted through a theological lens… should that be so desired by the theist…. (5)

	In a complex religious world, as the modernist, postmodernist and contemporary citizens debate and re-define this dimension of human experience, where are we to begin? If such a world is rotten to the core with misguided metaphysical speculations run rampant in a riotous jungle of conceptual madness and mayhem where are we to start? Should we seek an exit from such illusions or should we find ourselves content with more tempting fruit to hand, or, preoccupy ourselves elsewhere, indulge and distract ourselves in more meaningful pursuits, or, at least seek those goals that might look achievable? (6)

	Despair not! As argued previously we can only start a journey from that very spot beneath our ‘feet’! Where else could we start? But the trick is this – through a proper and appropriate transcendental suspension we are given a map and a way out through this thicket of prejudice; this confused realm of pre-judgment. Like a two edged sword our prejudices should be made to carefully work for us and not against us! Prejudice in the form of metaphysical speculation is merely the deployment of metaphors beyond their metaphorical level of deployment! This mistreated state of affairs is naturally rectified through the relatively correct exercise of the overall transcendental suspension! So, what might first trap us can also free us! Thus, with this hopefully correct insight to hand let us proceed! Thence, let us ‘go for the ride’ and enjoy the highways and byways of our philosophical panorama as it is seen to pass us by. For what have we to lose, indeed, we have everything to gain if successful… if only in finding what can be had or cannot be had along that way?? At least let us scout out the terrain ahead of us and see if we do have a direct path through this thicket of belief and can see through this confused tangle of conflicting beliefs often more strange than any earthly landscape… this being the primary objective of this text! (7)

							           Noël Tointon, Sydney, 1.1.04.