Does Keller Know What Her Third Way Is?

In Catherine Keller’s On the Mystery, she discusses dissolute and absolute religion and how she believes there is a third way. However, I find it unclear whether or not Keller herself knows what her third way is. She see seems to distract the reader with definitions of absolute and dissolute, also possible explanations of the third way. When she discusses pluralism and monotheism, it really seems that she is contradicting her Christian beliefs. Therefore, it seems apparent that Keller herself is not quite sure what she believes.

In her first paragraph under the title “The Absolute and the Dissolute” on the second page, she says, “There doesn’t seem to be a firm middle ground in this argument, or at least none that has much that has much appeal.” (Keller 2) Now, why would she say this and then go on to make the argument that there is a third way. Even though in the next paragraph she says that her third way is not a middle ground, she doesn’t clearly distinguish what it is. The absolute and dissolute seem like two black and white points with some grey area in the middle perhaps. Any beliefs that fall in this grey area would derive from the absolute or the dissolute or both, because whether consciously or not, you understand these terms and your own beliefs will branch off according to your morals and your back ground. Or in other words you use these two ideas as the foundation of your belief system pulling from the absolute and dissolute, what most aligns with your ideals.

I don’t think discussing monotheism and pluralism helped her argument at all. My reason being there is no grey area between these beliefs. Either you believe in one God or you believe in multiple Gods. All Christian faiths are monotheistic faiths, so being the Christian theologist that Keller is, why would she question this belief. Making the argument that there is a third way between monotheism and pluralism contradicts her Christian beliefs. However, I do agree with Keller when she says that, “Theology is then a truth process, not a set of truths.” (Keller 21) Meaning that theology isn’t just a set of rules, but a relationship with God in which we have guidelines to follow that would please God, yet we are not forced to follow them. This is arguably the most Christian statement she makes throughout her entire book.

Catherine Keller is a great writer, but her message in this book is unclear. Her writing is very wordy and confusing most of the time. She continuously talks about her third way, while the definition of her third way is lost in the context of the book. Keller may have a future in being an Illusionist, as constantly while reading her book, I was distracted and lost when attempting to keep up with her writing. Overall, I see Keller as a very talented writer, but at the same time I don’t understand if she ever truly knew what her third way was.