Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming

Catherine Keller, Professor of Constructive Theology at Drew University's Graduate Division of Religion, is an occultist. Or maybe she is a pagan. Perhaps she is a radical feminist Christian – I'm not sure. In “Face of the Deep”, Keller reads Genesis and its Greek translations of “formless and void”, and “deep” as expressions of female sexuality. This project seems related, if not part of, neoclassical theology and imagines a universe full of gods who are potentialities rather than powerful father figures. This is not dissimilar (by my read) to the Victorian fascination with Plotinus, though her conception of “creation” is more informed by chaotic networks than the Eye of Providence. There is a fair bit of insight to take from her work, but at the end of the day it's just more fiction. This is fine, but I'm left with no more explanatory power for creatio ex nihilo than when I started.