Communities of faith and other communities of discourse police the use of language within their ranks to prevent linguistic “allergens” from disturbing established forms of thought and life. Using postmodern and Anabaptist insights, Downing critiques this control of language and argues for a more open-ended exchange of ideas in both church and academy. Her preferred metaphor for the relationship of faith and learning is “imbrication,” by which she means a pattern of complex and sometimes random overlapping of academic and faith concerns.
Keywords: Anabaptist, communities of discourse, imbrication, postmodern,