Theological reflection in extremis: remembering Srebrenica

Offering a worked example of autoethnographic theological reflection, this article suggests key aspects of ‘theological reflection in extremis’; that is, theological reflection arising out of contexts marked by extreme suffering and/or injustice that do not admit of ready theological resolution. It is suggested that such theological reflection (TR) is marked by a willingness to respond to the invitation to go beyond one’s own situation and capacities, to accept overwhelming and powerlessness, to adopt the undefended posture of Christian hospitality, to submit to the tutelage of material things, as well as to take up the stance of attentive presence and witness to the suffering other. Out of such a process of TR, insight and revelation may be born. This process is narrated through the author’s visit to Bosnia and reflections on the visit, including a sequence of poems which are offered as a form of authoethnographic theological reflection.