July 7, 2019
10:30 am in Parish Hall
Tad Staley
In this era of distraction, fragmentation and delusion, did we lose interest in the divine or was it the other way around? Theologically, Deus Otiosus is “the idle God,” who has largely retired from the world and is no longer involved with our mundane reality. Deus Otiosus is a deity beset by ennui. Instead of thundering I am that I am, this version of the almighty might yawn and mutter, Whatever… Or maybe we, Homo Otiosus, are the ones not paying attention. This will be a reflection on the dynamics – both sacred and profane – that are at play in our consciousness in a quixotic attempt to re-divinize our mundane experience and perhaps, however fleetingly, recover a lost soul.
Tad Staley is a father of four and a grandfather of four, with a lifelong interest in theology and other mythologies. He currently coordinates the Continuing Ed program at First Parish, and co-facilitates the monthly Big Questions Forum.