I’m reading Introducing Radical Orthodoxy by James K A Smith (2004), which attempts to bridge its Anglican Catholic origins and Lutheran positions. It is a text a profoundly disagree with but at least it tackles the issues. Radical Orthodoxy was established by John Milbank and argues against any correlation between theology and the Enlgihtenment project, that the secular is its own theology and life in the old Enlightenment secular dog yet.

The purpose is ultimately a question of personal and group salvation, however this is to be understood. It has to be compatible with the secular, and naturalistic, and practical. It is about reorientation, thinking again, repositioning, making adjustments. There is an eschatology to this, in that the readjustment is as if this day was the last. There is a kind of Jesus message in there, that the demand is to be prepared. But this is purely voluntary and, unlike Jesus, of this world and no supernatural end, nothing coming in clouds of glory. It is more Buddhist, so that a principal part is to understand the nature of attachment, and to loosen from attachment, and to seek clarity for this path ahead. For me, like the Buddhist, awareness is the key. A person should not even be attached to one’s own or a significant other’s life, but to recognise its value and yet allow it to let go when it departs. Tough to do, but religion is tough to do.

So in terms of method it is obviously multi-faith, finding what does the job, and naturalistic. It also understands religion as communication. It is symbolic, and a ritual exchange is a giving of something material for something higher and greater, the spiritual path. This follows the social anthropologist Mauss.

Also the language and symbol system is the maker and container of the religious content - it is not referring to anything "out there" so to speak. It either works, like a liturgy works, in its reorientating task, or it does not. Perhaps nirvana or heaven is when there is no more to be said and no more to do - no further ritual passing through.

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