Theology of Consent

Jonathan Foster's Theology of Consent is one of the more academically focused works I have read this year. With that in mind, it is an accessible work as well. Foster seeks to combine the idea of mimetic desire from René Girard with an Open and Relational Theology to form a theology of consent. Foster uses the idea of disparate musical styles being combined into a new creation; taking the best of Mimetic philosophy and Open and Relational Theology (ORT) to both argue with one another and to compliment one another. I will playfully say that he forges a via media between ORT and Mimesis.

Foster lays out this project in three main sections; an introduction to the ideas of Girard around mimetic desire and scapegoating, an introduction to Open and Relational Theology, and a bringing together of the two ideas into his understanding of a Theology of Consent. Although ORT weaves itself into much of the book, which is to be expected for a Theology of Consent requires an open and relational approach to theology. Foster extends Tom Oord's definition of love to with the addition of Girard's scapegoat language; "As we prepare to do so, maybe we could modify Oord’s definition in the spirit of René Girard and say, 'To love is to act intentionally, in a relational and non-scapegoating response to God and others, to promote overall well-being.'" Foster explains his purpose for this work as "the modest proposal I make is that open and relational theology might enhance mimetic theory, particularly the latter’s tendency to be pessimistic, regressive, and even apocalyptic in the most violent sense of the word." This is a tempering of mimetic theory with open and relational language.

Foster does an excellent job of bringing seemingly contrasting ideas into cooperation. He talks of resolving the sound into a cooperation. "I’m listening for musical emanations from blending anti-sacrificial ideas with biblical and evolutionary anthropological narratives. Initially, the music gets hung up in the suspended chords of competition. But the more mimesis and open and relational thinking is layered with sociology and scripture, the more it resolves into cooperation." As he brings it together, he illuminates a way of theologizing within and understanding of consent, which rejects common thinking about omnipotence and the power that God wields. Building upon a foundation of open and relational theology, Foster places love, as defined above, as the core to understanding God within a theology of consent. It is this idea of consent which can transform theological discourse for those abused, oppressed, and neglected. These are often people crying out for consensual action by God and humanity.