This blog is a theology of loss, lamentation, and elegy. It works out its salvation in fear and trembling in a post-punk bricolage inspired by Kierkegaard (I read a lot of Kierkegaard), biblical studies, and the arts. With the absurd always in mind, we seek to act by virtue of the absurd.
This is a theology among the ashes of burned-out cathedrals, in a world where we share stories and create art about how we hoped and lived as we dwell and wander in the Wilderness. It’s a theology about living a life guided by the lonely Jesus, abandoned on the cross by his closest friends and even his God. And we keep going. Alone and together, we keep going.
My name is Burke Gerstenschlager and I live in Brooklyn, New York with my wife, and young son. I’m currently finishing a book on the Mancunian post-punk band Joy Division and theological lamentation. The book should come out in 2026. For ten years, I was an academic book editor before I got tired of working for publishers. Now, I’m a freelance developmental editor and editorial consultant. Hire me! I like collaborating and writing for publications, so if you’re interested, do ask. My views are entirely independent of my employer (when I have one).
I’m part of the editorial collective for Killing the Buddha, an online magazine of religion culture and politics. Think of it as The Village Voice of underground religion writing. Write for us! I’m also a book reviewer for The Christian Century, which is basically The New Yorker of Mainline Protestantism.
I’m bleak because I hope so much. I have a Classics BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MDiv from Yale Divinity School, which makes me useless in a capitalistically-driven society.
I am inspired by liberation theology and the antifascist resistance movements against the Nazis, especially the Confessing Church and The White Rose. My resistance is grounded in my theology.
I’m a long-time member of St. Lydia’s, a dinner church in Brooklyn, NY. Come visit. You are very welcome here.
If you have a comment or question, please feel to send me a note.
“Seraphim II”, 2010. – Dan Hillier
