Research Group Theology in a Postmodern Context - Publications (more info)

G. DE SCHRIJVER, R. MICHIELS, L. BOEVE (red.), Hoop en opstanding. Feestbundel bij het emeritaat van Herman-Emiel Mertens, Leuven/Amersfoort: Acco, 1993.

'Hoop en Opstanding' geeft een boeiend overzicht van wat theologie, filosofie en literatuurwetenschap aan actuele denksporen omtrent de toekomstverwachting te bieden hebben. In het eerste deel onderzoeken diverse auteurs de antropologische basis van de hoop: wat betekent hopen, vertrouwen? In het tweede deel wordt dieper ingegaan op de theologische grondslagen van de christelijke toekomstverwachting. Hierbij worden pertinente vragen niet uit de weg gegaan. Hoe kunnen traditionele echatologische begrippen als lijden, kruis, dood, verrijzenis en oordeel nu nog inspireren? Blijft het zinvol vast te houden aan een verder leven na de dood? Wat leert de exegese hieromtrent? De bijdragen van het derde en laatste deel belichten de verwoording en verbeelding van de hoop in geschiedenis, liturgie, catechese, mystiek en literatuur.

H.-E. MERTENS & L. BOEVE (eds.), Naming God Today. Homage B. Willaert (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia, 38), Leuven: University Press, 1994.

In March 1993, the Faculty of Theology organized a colloquium in honor of em. prof. Benjamin Willaert. The title of the colloquium, 'Naming God Today', could not have been better, for the investigation of the conditions in the naming of God has a central place in the thinking of Willaert. What can we say about God? What can we call God? How can we say something about God? And in the perspective of these questions, what is the object of theology? What is its funtion and what are the conditions for a healthy theological approach? Under Willaert, these questions point to a radical theological hermeneutics.

L. BOEVE (red.), De kerk in Vlaanderen: avond of dageraad?, Leuven: Davidsfonds, 1999.

Welke geloofsgemeenschap zal welke Kerk dragen? Trekt men zich beter terug op een eiland als minderheid, zoals de eerste christenen? Of probeert men toch aansluiting te vinden met de weerspannige wereld, goed wetend dat men dan toegevingen moet doen (paartjes huwen die het enkel doen omwille van de traditie, overledenen begraven omwille van de schone schijn, vormsels toedienen omdat het zo hoort...) Wat kan men nog verwachten van de sociale bewegingen in het brede middenveld? Zijn er ook signalen van nieuw ontluikend geloofsleven? Welk antwoord geeft de bijbel op de kritische reflectie over geloof. Op deze en andere actuele vragen formuleren de talrijke auteurs stuk voor stuk duidelijke antwoorden.

L. BOEVE, Onderbroken traditie. Heeft het christelijk verhaal nog toekomst?, Kapellen: Pelckmans, 1999.

Onze tijd is getekend door een onophefbare veelheid aan wereldbeschouwingen en religies. Nochtans is het nog niet zo lang geleden dat in onze streken het christelijke geloof bijna onbevraagd het menselijke leven en samenleven betekenis verleende. Bovendien worstelt de katholieke geloofsgemeenschap in Vlaanderen met de stokkende overlevering van de christelijke traditie. Niet alleen geloofsengagement en kerkelijkheid lijden hieronder; ook de cultuur raakt gedetraditionaliseerd. Het ‘traditionele’ culturele christendom raakt uitgeteld. Ook overtuigde christenen krijgen het, precies door de kloof tussen geloof en cultuur, moeilijk om de geloofwaardigheid van hun geloof voor zichzelf te bedenken.

In deze studie betoogt de auteur dat elke nieuwe context de christelijke traditie uitdaagt om haar zinaanbod geloofwaardig te recontextualiseren. Christenen bewijzen zichzelf vandaag geen dienst als ze zich terugtrekken in het eigen grote gelijk. Dit betekent echter ook geen pleidooi voor verregaande aanpassing aan de postmoderne context. Slechts een nieuwe dialoog tussen traditie en context, in respect voor (en zelfs dankzij) de groeiende kloof tussen beide, kan uitkomst bieden.

In het eerste deel verheldert de auteur de situatie waarin de christelijke traditie op vandaag verzeild is geraakt. Hiertoe wordt het wedervaren van deze traditie in moderniteit en postmoderniteit kernachtig geschetst. Het tweede deel is gewijd aan een analyse van de actuele context, met het oog op het vinden van aanknopingspunten om de dialoog tussen geloof en context opnieuw op gang te trekken. In het derde deel krijgt deze dialoog concreet gestalte. De lezer maakt er kennis met een uitdagend Jezusbeeld, dat contextueel en theologisch gemotiveerd is. Daarna wordt de reflectie over God heropend. En tenslotte krijgt de plaats van het christelijke geloof midden de wereldgodsdiensten vernieuwde aandacht.

De uitkomst van deze studie leert dat ook in de actuele context christenen op een geloofwaardige en relevante manier over hun geloof kunnen nadenken, zonder te vervallen in traditionalisme of relativisme.

L. BOEVE & K. FEYAERTS (eds.), Metaphor and God-talk (Religions and Discourse, 2), New York: Peter Lang, 1999.

Inherently related to their worship of transcendent power – be it an element of nature, an amorphous spirit or a personalised God – humans have been puzzled by the (im)possibility of establishing any form of communication with or knowledge about the ultimate reality. The persistent pursuit throughout the ages of this intriguing matter has led and still leads humans to (re)discover and extend the boundaries of rational thought in various domains of knowledge including physics, theology, philosophy, semiotics, linguistics, etc.

The essays in this volume focus on the attempts – traditional as well as contemporary – to capture and relate insight into the Supreme Being of a monotheistic religion. The selection of contributions reflects not only the exploration of semiotics and religious language in general, but also some of the implications relating to religious experience and to doctrinal formulations. In trying to avoid a too widely scattered collection of semiotic studies, the present volume analyses the metaphorical nature of religious language from a variety of perspectives.

L. BOEVE & JOHN C. RIES (eds.), The Presence of Transcendence. Thinking ‘Sacrament’ in a Postmodern Age (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia, 42), Leuven/Paris/Sterling, VA: Peeters Press, 2001.

There can be little doubt that at the heart of the Christian tradition stands a conviction that God is present in the world. Understanding and articulating this, particularly theologically, has nevertheless proved rather difficult, and often become the source of conflicts and divisions. How and/or in what sense can a infinite God – a God that truly ‘transcends’ every (finite) thing – actually be ‘present’ in the finite? While such a question could hardly be expected to lend itself to a simple answer, the depths of its inquiry shows itself to be particularly germane. For Christians this question about “the presence of transcendence” touches upon – and gives shape to – the very vital sense of what it means to be a Christian. Theologically, giving words to such a self-understanding shows how “incarnation” – whether in theologies of creation, revelation, grace, or in Christologies, ecclesiologies, etc. – is a mystery in which our very being a Christian is rooted. The advent of the postmodern age has brought forth both new opportunities and further challenges to understanding Christianity’s underlying question concerning the presence of transcendence. The contributions of this volume stem from a common origin – an occasion that sought to probe the question of “sacramental presence in a postmodern context.” From the 3rd through the 6th of November 1999, scholars from various countries gathered in Leuven to participate in the second biannual ‘Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology’ (LEST II), entitled: “Sacramental Presence in a Postmodern Context: Fundamental-Theological Approaches”. This event was devoted to reflecting upon the conditions and possibilities for thinking the ‘presence of transcendence’ in the present ‘postmodern age’.

L. BOEVE & L. LEIJSSEN (eds.), Sacramental Presence in a Postmodern Context (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 160), Leuven: University Press and Peeters Press, 2001.

In 1996 the project "Postmodern Sacramento-theology" was begun in Leuven. The neologism "postmodern sacramento-theology" was meant to indicate the basic sacramental structure of religious life, thinking and activity as a point of departure for theology. Such theology does not envisage the construction of a new "sacramental theology" or "theology of the sacraments" but a specific perspective from which to theologise as such. Every expression about God, whether in word or deed, needs to be understood as sacramental and thus submitted to sacramento-theological reflection to the degree that it is inscribed in and gives form to the mutual involvement of human beings and God. Thus considered, every theology is sacramento-theology, and sacramentology is no longer only, or mainly, a single theological discipline, but an essential feature of the fundamental or systematic theology to be set forth momentarily. Thinking sacramental presence - as one of the major themes in sacramento-theology to reflect upon the relation between transcendence and immanence -, therefore, sets new challenges for the theological agenda. After an analysis of postmodern critical consciousness, Boeve sketches some major questions for a recontextualisation of the theological reflection on the sacramentality of life, followed the contributions made at the LEST-congress.

L. BOEVE & L. LEIJSSEN (eds.), Contemporary Sacramental Contours of a God Incarnate (Textes et études liturgiques/Studies in Liturgie, 16), Leuven: Peeters Press, 2001.

The variety of questioning, methods and answers presented in this volume all make manifest that 'thinking sacramentality' has become a crucial theme under theological discussion. The contemporary sacramentological question - how to think the divine and its mediation, i.e. the 'presence of God', in an intellectual context which is most critical of premodern and modern thinking patterns of doing so - clearly stands at the heart of theology's endeavours today. As a matter of fact, more than being the subject of a more narrowly focused 'sacramentology' or 'theology of the sacraments', today's reflection on the sacramentality of religious life, in its activity and its thinking, constitutes a critical and fecund point of departure for theology as a whole. In short, contemporary theology would seem to be profoundly 'sacramento-theology'. The contributions presented in this volume reflect some papers of Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology II ('Sacramental Presence in a Postmodern Context: Fundamental Theological Approaches').

L. BOEVE, S. VAN DEN BOSSCHE, G. IMMINK, P. POST (red.), Levensrituelen en sacramentaliteit tussen continuïteit en discontinuïteit (Meander, 5), Kampen: Gooi en sticht, 2003.

De huidige pastorale situatie van het overleven van de levensrituelen, de grotere rituelen op de as van het leven van geboorte tot sterven, vormt een grote uitdaging voor tal van theologische (sub)disciplines. Enerzijds delen deze rituelen in de detraditionalisering en daalt over het geheel van de bevolking de participatie eraan. Anderzijds blijven merkwaardig veel mensen - die niet actief kerkbetrokken zijn of bewust werk maken van hun geloof - aan deze rituelen deelnemen. De motivering hiertoe lijkt diffuus en slechts een minderheidwordt expliciet in termen van het christelijk verhaal geduid. Hoe dienen theologen deze realiteit in hun reflectie te betrekken? Hoe kan de theologie hierbij aansluiting vinden en aan het christelijke geloof een actuele vormgeving bieden? Getuigt deze evolutie van een verbrede religiositeit die de nieuwe vindplaats is voor de theologie, of eerder van een verderschrijdende secularisatie waarbij het christelijke verhaal enkel nog narratieve verdubbeling is? Welke analyse past hier? Vanuit liturgiewetenschap, empirische theologie, praktische theologie, systematische en fundamentele theologie, sacramentenleer en andere cultuur- en maatschappijwetenschappen gaan auteurs op deze vraagstelling in.

L. BOEVE, Interrupting Tradition. An Essay on Christian Faith in a Postmodern Context (Louvain Theological & Pastoral Monographs, 30), Leuven/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2003.

Coming to terms with the problem of meaning in today's world is a matter that obliges us to account for the fact that religions and worldviews are characterised by their plurality. It was not so long ago that the Christian faith in the West constituted the virtually unquestioned source in which people sought to find meaning for their everyday practices. In contemporary Western societies, a variety of old and new religions and worldviews have taken their place in the atlas of fundamental life options side by side with the so-called world religions. Complex phenomena such as New Age and the proliferation of new religious movements and groups make it all the more difficult to get a grasp of the situation. Even within the major religions there is evidence of a variety of distinct ways of experiencing and perceiving their core features. In addition, clear examples of cross-pollination between religions can be observed whereby specific elements are taken over from one religious and cultural tradition into another. The African Christ takes the form of a tribal elder; the Asian Jesus is presented as a guru. In the West, God is presented at one moment as a father and at another as a liberator, saviour, comforter, friend, partner, mother as well as unnameable spirit, driving force, divine energy, 'higher form'. Not surprisingly, western contemplative spirits are drawn to the mysticism of eastern Buddhism.

The goal of the present monograph is to present the process and results of our attempted dialogue in three parts. Part one will endeavour to clarify the situation in which the Christian tradition finds itself today. To this end, the first chapter will offer a sketch of the tradition as such and how it developed. At this stage we will introduce one of the core concepts of our argument: 'recontextualisation'. Tradition develops when the context shifts. In chapter two we will offer a more in-depth analysis of the radical confrontation between the Christian faith and modernity. In chapter three we will follow this historical line of thought through to the present day and offer an analysis of the problem of fundamental life options in what is now referred to as the postmodern context.

L. BOEVE (red.), God: Hoe voelt dat?, Leuven: Davidsfonds, 2003.

"Als kind is mij geleerd dat God in het kerkgebouw woont, en dat je aan het rode lampje aan het tabernakel kan zien of Hij thuis is. Brandt het lampje, dan heb je geluk, dan is God er en kan je met Hem praten... Ik deed dan ook hard mijn best om tijdens dat ene uurtje in de week God te ‘ervaren’, te voelen dat Hij er was. Pas later leerde ik dat God misschien toch geen ‘Hij’ is en niet in de kerk woont maar in de wereld rondom ons" (Annekatrien Depoorter). Woont God vandaag nog in de kerk? Of woont hij misschien eerder in de liefde? Of in alternatieve christelijke vieringen? In confronterende voettochten voor jongeren? In drukbezochte bedevaartsoorden? In esoterie en new age? In Werchter, de grootste Vlaamse ‘openluchtkathedraal’? 'God: Hoe voelt dat?' handelt over de actuele honger naar religieuze ervaringen. Heeft het christelijk geloof daarop het alleenrecht? Hoe ervaren christenen God? En wat betekenen de vele andere vormen van authentiek zin-zoeken in onze samenleving? Enkele jonge wetenschappers van de KU Leuven, geruggensteund door professoren uit België en Nederland, kijken ernaar door hun eigen menswetenschappelijke of theologische bril. Andere auteurs zijn praktijkdeskundigen: zij antwoorden met een verhaal of getuigenis. Samen dagen ze de lezers van deze bundel uit hun eigen visie en (geloofs-)ervaringen op het spoor te komen en te toetsent hun visie te toetsen.

L. LEIJSSEN, Met de stille glans van Gods Geest. Sacramenten en postmoderniteit (Verkenningen), Averbode: Uitgeverij Altiora, 2003.

In onze tijd is er veel vernieuwing op het gebied van de sacramentenbeleving. Voor belangrijke levensmomenten bestaan er verscheidene rituelen. Antropologisch gezien behoren de christelijke sacramenten tot de uitdrukkingsvormen van de religieuze ervaring. Zij bevinden zich in het rituele veld van de mensheid. Tegen die achtergrond wordt in dit boek het eigene van de sacramenten als teken van christelijk geloof behandeld in de context van de postmoderniteit. Hier verschijnt ieder sacrament als een gratuite gave van Gods Geest, als een profetisch teken van Gods nabijheid, vooruitgrijpend op de eindbestemming. Ieder van de zeven sacramenten wordt getypeerd in de symbolische orde van initiatie, genezing en roeping. Het hart van dit symbolische netwerk is de eucharistie, de hoogste beleving van Jezus' aanwezigheid in de Kerk. Doorheen de zeven sacramenten straalt het goddelijke licht als in een icoon naar ons toe en geeft het aan ons menselijke bestaan de stille glans van Gods Geest.

L. BOEVE & L.P. HEMMING, Divinising Experience. Essays in the History of Religious Experience from Origin to Ricoeur (Studies in Philosophical Theology, 23), Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2004.

There is hardly a category more prominent in modern and postmodern reflection on religion than that of religous experience. In 'Divinising Experience', scholars gathered in the Research Group 'Theology in a Postmodern Context' (KU Leuven), have sought to investigate from quite different perspectives the theological approaches of twelve key authors in the history of religous experience. Organised chronologically, they present studies on Origen, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Friedrich Schleiermacher, William James, Wolfhard Pannenberg, Paul Tillich, John Henry Newman, Edward Schillebeeckx, Hans Urs von Balthasar and Paul Ricoeur. Not suprisingly, each of the investigations in intself suggests a different approach to and analysis of 'experience' as a category. This volume therefore presents almost a 'double movement' on the one hand as enquiries into specific thinkers, and on the other to discover who we are as readers, when we take up the category of religious experience as a reading key. In their own way, the twelve essays of 'Divinising Experience' provide a kind of introductory reader in the question of religous experience.

L. BOEVE, Y. DE MAESENEER, S. VAN DEN BOSSCHE (eds.), Religious Experience and Contemporary Theological Epistemology (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 188), Leuven: University Press and Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2005.

This volume of proceedings of the fourth international Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology (LEST IV), organised at the Faculty of Theology, KU Leuven on November 5-8, 2003, consists of two parts. In the first part, the opening lecture and the other keynote lectures, including the responses, are gathered. In the second part, we present a selection of the contributions offered in the thematic seminars.

LEST IV functioned as the culmination point of two research projects on theology and religious experience, running in the research group 'Theology in Post-modern context', and focussing on a critical of the place and role of religious experience in the legitimation structures of contemporary theological thinking patterns.

Apart from this volume, a collection of short papers selected from the junior conference preceding the main conference and of the main conference itself, is published in the series Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia, entitled: Encountering Transcendence: Contributions to a Theology of Christian Religious Experience.

L. BOEVE, H. GEYBELS, S. VAN DEN BOSSCHE (eds.), Encountering Transcendence: Contributions to a Theology of Christian Religious Experience (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia, 53), Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2005.

This volume consists of several contributions to a refined understanding of religious experience in view of a contemporary theological epistemology presented at the LEST IV-conference (Leuven, November 2003). Diverse sample studies taken from the extensive field of religion, theology and religious studies reveal that 'religious experience' is today clearly a pivotal issue. More specifically, this is made evident in modern theological hermeneutics and in the anti-modern and/or post-modern reactions thereto, the theology of world religions and inter-religious dialogue, the contemporary resurgence of religiosity in Western society and culture, and the so-called turn to religion in contemporary continental philosophy. It would appear from such studies that the category of 'religious experience' is frequently called upon to clarify or explain the phenomenon of religion and religiosity on the one hand and to support and legitimise religious positions or the critique thereof on the other.

Because of the loss of plausibility of tradition-bound religiosity and of foundational, so-called onto-theological schemes, 'religious experience' has come to constitute, for many, the last (or latest) point of departure and anchor for religion and religious thinking. This is certainly the case with respect to tendencies within contemporary Christian traditions and theological reflection. In a multitude of ways and from a variety of different perspectives, 'religious experience' and 'experience of transcendence' or 'of the divine' have gained a prominent place in philosophical and fundamental-theological conceptual schemes. In reaction to this, other authors have denied the very primacy given to religious experience in reflection upon faith, pointing to the constitutive role of tradition and narrative without which there is no religious experience. From all this follows that the category of religious experience is in great need of reconceptualisation, not least from a theological point of view. On the one hand, religious experience is all too easily called upon to legitimise religious claims (often against 'tradition') and on the other hand, the category has become misleading in so far as it is tainted by the modern scientific understanding of experience - in reaction to which 'tradition' is then too easily invoked to protect the core of religion.

Both young scholars at the preceding junior conference and senior scholars during the conference's paper sessions presented from diverse perspectives new ways to conceive of religious experience in view of today's challenges of secularisation, religious plurality, the aestheticisation of religion, etc. The selected contributions have been arranged in four thematically oriented parts: 'Approaching Religious Experience in a Post-modern Age', 'Modern (Re)Thinking of Religious Experience', 'Liberating Religious Experience', and 'Challenges for Spirituality'.

Apart from this volume, the opening lecture and the other keynote lectures, including the responses, are gathered in another volume in the series Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, entitled: Religious Experience and Contemporary Theological Epistemology. That volume also contains a selection of the contributions offered in the thematic seminars.

H. GEYBELS, Het goddelijk gevoel: Een geschiedenis van de religieuze ervaring, Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2005.

Religieuze ervaring is helemaal in. Tal van kerken, religieuze bewegingen en sekten dwepen met religieuze ervaring als oplossing voor de eenzijdige beklemtoning van dogma's en onderricht. Wierookstokjes, lichaamsoefeningen, meditatie, exotische gewaden en muziek hebben de catechismus in het verdomhoekje gedrukt. De nadruk ligt nu op het voelen en niet langer op het kennen van God. Die tendens gaat niet alleen op voor talrijke alternatieve religieuze bewegingen, maar ook voor het christendom. Hier wordt gefocust op de christelijke religieuze ervaring.

In de christelijke Oudheid is religieuze ervaring eerder iets intellectueels dan iets emotioneels. Het zoeken naar God komt overeen met het zoeken naar de waarheid. Maar er is wel iets bijzonders aan de hand met dat zoeken naar waarheid: het impliceert namelijk de hele mens en niet alleen het verstand. Voor de filosofische scholen van de Oudheid gaat de zoektocht naar waarheid altijd gepaard met een bepaalde levenswijze, met speciale deugden en soms zelfs met welomschreven diëten. Het beste voorbeeld van die denkwijze is Augustinus. Na de Oudheid sterft die intellectuele visie op religieuze ervaring een stille, doch voorlopige dood.

In dezelfde periode als Augustinus ontstaat in het Oosten een nieuwe visie op religieuze ervaring die snel aan populariteit wint in het Westen en die de westerse visie op religieuze ervaring eeuwenlang zal beïnvloeden: religieuze ervaring als existentiële ervaring. In de kloosters wil men door een specifieke denk- en leefwijze het christendom de menselijke existentie helemaal laten doordesemen. De bijbel en de christelijke leer worden helemaal geïntegreerd in het persoonlijke leven. In dat proces spelen gebedsmethodes een centrale rol.

Net in de periode dat het monastieke model van religieuze ervaring een hoogtepunt bereikt in de figuur van Bernardus van Clairvaux, komt het onder vuur te staan van nieuwe ontwikkelingen in de theologie, waarin Petrus Abaelardus een cruciale plaats bekleedt. De nieuwe theologie legt de nadruk op het denken en niet langer op het ervaren van God. Beide strekkingen, de existentiële en de intellectuele, zullen zich radicaliseren vanaf de dertiende eeuw. De eerste laat een persoonlijke relatie toe (mystiek), terwijl de tweede een hechte eenheid tussen God en mens uitsluit (scholastiek).

In de Moderniteit komt het intellectuele model in diskrediet. De mens ontdekt dat hij met het verstand niet automatisch bij God uitkomt (ontwikkeling van de moderne wetenschap) en vooral in protestantse kringen (het piëtisme) ontwikkelt men dan nieuwe wegen om bij God uit te komen. Die zijn gebaseerd op zintuigelijkheid en emotie: God bestaat want men wordt hem gewaar. In het katholicisme blijft men tot diep in de twintigste eeuw vasthouden aan het intellectuele model. Het succes van New Age en andere nieuwe religieuze bewegingen is deels te wijten aan het feit dat de katholieke kerk lange tijd de existentiële pool van de religie heeft onderbelicht. Daardoor is ruimte gecreëerd voor vormen van religieuze ervaring met als kenmerken individualisme, emotie en sentiment, zintuigelijkheid en ongebondenheid...

Y. DE MAESENEER (ed.), God out of Place? (Ars Disputandi Supplement Series, 3), Utrecht: Ars Disputandi, 2005.

From the Preface:

"How to speak about transcendence today? How to represent the transcendent in a context in which God seems to have no place anymore? No philosopher of religion or theologian can avoid this fundamental question. And not a few of them end up being paralysed by its enormous weight. However, do we really understand what is at stake in this all too familiar question?

In his Postmodernity's Transcending: Devaluing God (London: SCM Press and Notre Dame University Press, 2005) Laurence Paul Hemming seeks to lay bare the foundations from which this kind of questioning arises. His endeavour involves an investigation into the topic of the sublime, using this term to unlock the question of the place of God, or, better, the displacement of God. The book could be considered as a philosophical genealogy of the concept of the aesthetic sublime. At the same time it is an exploration of the nature and limits of theological thinking. Hemming confronts the reader with the God and gods to be found in the writings of Protagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Derrida. Throughout this exciting journey Hemming provocatively suggests that contemporary attempts to speak of God are unknowingly out of place. Much theology and philosophy turn out to remain built upon modern suppositions about subjectivity and transcendence which rule out a genuine approach of God from the very outset.

God out of Place? is to be read as a first response to the challenges Hemming raises: the proceedings of a book symposium, on the 12th October 2004, organised by the Research Group 'Theology in a Postmodern Context' at the Faculty of Theology, Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). On this occasion Hemming presented the manuscript of the book, which arose from an extended period as guest professor and research fellow in Leuven (2002-2004), to critical responses by experts from different backgrounds. [...]

The contributions to God out of Place? are not merely commentaries or reactions to Hemming's Postmodernity's Transcending, but offer essays of contemporary thinkers dealing with the question of transcendence in their own right, reflecting on the places of God, self and world. And they elicit in their turn often vivid and sharp replies from Hemming."

(Note: Ars Disputandi is an on-line journal for Philosophy of Religion. For full access to the contributions of this volume, or to order a printed copy, please visit Ars Disputandi on-line).

L. BOEVE, J. SCHRIJVERS, W. STOKER AND H.M. VROOM (eds.), Faith in the Enlightenment? The Critique of the Enlightenment Revisited (Currents of Encounter, 30), Amsterdam/New York, NY: Rodopi, 2006.

One of the urgent tasks of modern philosophy is to find a path between the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the relativism of postmodernism. Rationalism alone cannot suffice to solve today's problems, but neither can we dispense with reasonable critique. The task is to find ways to broaden the scope of rational thought without losing its critical power.

The first part of this volume explores the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers and shows nuances often absent from the common view of the Enlightenment. The second part deals with some of the modern heirs of Enlightenment, such as Durkheim, Habermas, and Derrida. In the third part this volume looks at alternatives to Enlightenment thought in West European, Russian and Buddhist philosophy. Part four provides, over against the Enlightenment, a new starting point for the philosophy of religion in thinking about human beings, God, and the description of phenomena.

This book is the result of the 15th biennial conference of the European Society for the Philosophy of Religion, which took place in Leuven from September 3-6, 2004.

F. DEPOORTERE, Geloof in verzet: Over de toekomst van het christendom (Christenen in dialoog), Averbode: Altiora, 2006.

ABSTRACT (adapted from the back cover)

A growing group of young, Flemish theologians reflects self-confidently and without complexes on faith, culture, and contemporary society. As a child of the post-conciliar Church, Frederiek Depoortere confronts himself with many questions regarding what can inspire someone to do theology today; and on how this can be combined with political commitment. For Christians, this book hopes to challenge one to reflect on the future of one’s faith, a faith that can only remain vital when it is constantly challenged and put into question. The road to a hopeful future leads via submission, (self-)critical reflexivity, and resistance against the tentacles of both fundamentalism and global capitalism. In addition, this book aspires to be helpful to both Christians and non-Christians to understand the fate of religion and Christian faith in contemporary society, the challenges posed by this societal context, and the possible strategies to deal with them.

SUMMARY

Is there still a future for Christianity? This book wants to offer a nuanced and substantiated answer to this question. To this end, an extensive study is undertaken of the contemporary situation of Christianity. Topics dealt with are: the enduring relevance of Friedrich Nietzsche’s proclamation of the death of God, the return of religion in contemporary society, the discontent in our so-called post-modern culture, as it expresses itself in the success of extreme-right political parties, the hegemony of global capitalism and the impotence of politics. In particular, it is made clear why traditions, including religious ones, experience difficulty today. Two prototypical ways in which traditions can deal with this situation are discussed. These reactions are designated as ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘New Age’. Religion is thus confronted with a growing rigidity on the one hand and with the crumbling of its heritage on the other.

In a second step, a number of strategies to make a future for Christianity possible are discussed and evaluated. Starting from the proposal by Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo for a post-modern Christianity, the question is raised whether it is still possible to believe in the God of the Bible. In particular, the impact of the natural sciences on the Biblical view of God receives much attention in this regard. Two strategies to deal with this problem are rejected as untenable, namely that of the creationists, who attempt to submit the natural sciences to the Bible, but also that of those who plead for a complete separation of faith and science. Moreover, as discussed in the book, these are not the strategies most often used by believers, who, on the contrary, more often choose for a symbolization and psychologization of their faith convictions; or they follow the road of negative theology. As the book argues, however, these strategies lead to hidden forms of atheism. As a result, the conclusion seems unavoidable that we can no longer avoid an atheistic position. This book wants to take this fact seriously, but pleads for a weak atheism, which – in contrast to the strong atheism of modernity – has learned the lessons of post-modernity and avoids closing itself as a hegemonic master narrative; in this way leaving room for Christian faith. In the search for a future for Christianity within the limits of this weak atheism, a thorough reflection on the origins of Christianity – and more specifically on Jesus’s proclamation of the Kingdom of God – is carried out.

The book concludes with a plea for a double strategy. On the one hand, it argues for the development of a philosophical and scientific anthropology of Christianity, which must demonstrate why the Christian narrative is relevant for all human beings. In order to avoid, however, reducing Christianity to a philosophy, it should also develop a religiosity in which enduring God’s absence and looking forward to revelation are the core-elements. In conclusion, an initial impetus to the further development of this double strategy is also provided.

L. BOEVE, God onderbreekt de geschiedenis: Theologie in tijden van ommekeer (Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2006).

Op relatief korte tijd zijn de plaats en de rol van het christelijke geloof in onze samenleving en cultuur grondig gewijzigd. Niet alleen is de quasi-automatische overdracht van de christelijke traditie van de ene generatie op de andere gestokt, bovendien is het christendom niet langer de enige speler op het levensbeschouwelijke veld. Dat heeft belangrijke gevolgen voor de wijze waarop we het christelijke geloof begrijpen. Hoe kunnen we het vruchtbaarst de verhouding tussen het christelijke verhaal en de context denken en wat is de precieze impact van de laatste op het eerste? Wat betekent de religieuze heropleving vandaag voor het christelijke geloof? Of het frequent opduiken van religieuze symbolen in de media, los van hun oorspronkelijke traditionele inbedding? Hoe theologisch nadenken over het feit dat de klassieke levensrituelen de kaalslag van de klassieke geloofspraktijk met verve weten te overleven? En wat met de religieuze veelheid: hoe de belijdenis dat God zich in Jezus Christus openbaarde te situeren in relatie tot de waarheidsclaims van andere godsdiensten? Welke theologische methode komt hiervoor vandaag het best van pas? Waartoe dient ze in staat te zijn? Waarvoor moet ze zich hoeden? En hoe verhoudt ze zich tot andere theologische opvattingen?

Het beantwoorden van deze vragen is de opzet van dit boek. De klassieke aanpak van de moderne theologieën werkt niet meer. De culturele overlap tussen menselijk leven en christelijke betekenisverlening wordt te smal. Inzetten op de continuïteit tussen context en christelijk geloof is niet langer evident en vaak contraproductief. Maar ook het vertrekken van de breuk tussen beide voldoet niet, want dreigt de noodzakelijke band tussen geloof en (samen)leven te hypothekeren. Tussen brug en breuk ontwikkelt de auteur daarom een theologie van de onderbreking. De veranderde context daagt christenen uit om het eigene van hun verhaal over God en de mens in te zien. Maar precies dit specifieke verhaal dwingt christenen ook betrokken te zijn op hun context. Want God onderbreekt de geschiedenis.

L. BOEVE & K. JUSTAERT (red.), Consuming Religion in Europe? Christian Faith Challenged by Consumer Culture, Special Issue of Bulletin ET 17/1 (2006).

In his most remarkable book, Consuming Religion, the North-American theologian Vincent Miller addresses the effects of the commodification of society and the habits of consumer culture on religion in contemporary society. Very convincingly Miller argues that for Christians and their churches, consumer culture is not something out there, but qualifies from the very start their individual and communal identities. As far as Europe is concerned, it would seem that, because of the many other challenges European theology faces today (such as the resurgence of religion in society and new religious movements, the multicultural society and religious pluralism, etc.), a theological engagement of consumer culture hardly appears on its agenda. However, the provocation of consumer culture should not be lost sight of. It is indeed worthwhile to enquire whether Miller's thoughts offer an adequate analysis of the situation of religion and Christianity in Europe, and, consequently, whether the remedies he proposes, will be effective in bringing Christian faith into practice in our European societies, cultures and churches. In this Special Issue of Bulletin ET, therefore, the challenges of consumer culture for culture and Christian faith are addressed from a variety of perspectives, in dialogue with Miller's groundbreaking analysis. Apart from Miller, introducing his positions to a European audience, seven European theologians and philosophers take part in this dialogue: Edmund Arens (Luzern), Lieven Boeve (Leuven), Eamonn Conway (Limerick), Paul Cortois (Leuven), Yves De Maeseneer (Leuven), Walter Lesch (Louvain-la-Neuve), and Peter Scott (Manchester).

This volume is the result of an international book symposium on Consuming Religion which was organised by the Research Group in March 2006 >>> further details.

L.J. LEIJSSEN, With the Silent Glimmer of God's Spirit: A Postmodern Look at the Sacraments, New York, NY/ Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006.

With the Silent Glimmer of God's Spirit gives a comprehensive account of recent developments in sacramental theology in the context of postmodern thinking. How can we think and speak about the sacraments in a postmodern world, with its suspicion of static and rigid categories? The author resolves this by using the concepts of "gift" and "icon", both of which imply interaction between giver and recipient, between the reality looked at and the one looking.

The sacraments constitute a symbolic order and network that encompass all important moment from birth to death in the life of the Christian in the community of the church. As rituals of life they are metaphorical celebrations of faith in the incarnation and the paschal mystery of Jesus. Thus the author discusses the individual sacraments according to the usual categories of initiation, healing, and vocation, but views these categories through the lens of their relation to everyday life. He considers the grace of each sacrament as a gift of the Holy Spirit by which the Christian's daily life is illuminated with a silent glimmer of God's spirit. The author also looks at the current realities faced by those responsible for administering the sacraments and considers the pastoral implications. What to do, for example, about those who seek marriage for themselves and baptism for their children, yet otherwise show little or no commitment to the Christian community?

The book concludes with ecumenical perspectives for the celebration of the sacraments in agreement with the Eastern churches and the churches of the Protestant Reformation.

L. BOEVE & A. DECOENE (red.), Wat mogen we hopen? Perspectieven op de verrijzenis van het lichaam, Antwerpen, Halewijn, 2007.

Vandaag, zo leert onderzoek, hopen heel wat mensen dat het met de dood niet gedaan is. Maar waarop mogen mensen dan hopen? Valt er in onze hedendaagse samenleving nog iets te verwachten? Is er temidden lijden, geweld, ziekte en dood nog iets waarop wij kunnen vertrouwen? In de christelijke traditie neemt het thema van de verrijzenis van het lichaam een centrale plaats in. Het is van oudsher één van de kernelementen van de christelijke geloofsbelijdenis. Christenen drukken hiermee uit dat – uiteindelijk – mensen niet verloren gaan, maar geheeld zullen worden. Zoals God ultiem Jezus deed opstaan, zo laat God ook ons niet los. Maar is het verrijzenisgeloof nog van deze tijd? Is het misschien uitdrukking van het menselijk onvermogen om met de ultieme grens om te gaan? Kan het nog iets betekenen in het worstelen van mensen met lijden en dood? Wat leert het over de God van Jezus Christus? En hoe verhoudt deze christelijke hoop zich tot andere vormen van leven-na-de-dood? Het zijn deze vragen waarop we een antwoord zoeken op de tweede LOGOS-studiedag. Vanuit een veelvoud aan invalshoeken benaderen we het thema van de verrijzenis van het lichaam. Alle bijdragen worden gebundeld in een lees -en leerboek dat reeds beschikbaar zal zijn op de studiedag zelf.

>>> Meer informatie over de LOGOS-studiedag.

L. BOEVE, God Interrupts History: Theology in a Time of Upheaval (London/New York, NY: Continuum, 2007).

The role of Christian faith in contemporary culture has changed dramatically.  Both detraditionalization (the interruption of the handing on of faith from one generation to the next) and pluralization (Christianity is no longer the dominant player on the religious field) have caused a rupture between faith and its social context.  Because of this, modern correlationist theologies, which presume a fundamental continuity between faith and its context, no longer succeed in explaining the relation between Christian faith and contemporary society.  But theologies of discontinuity eventually fail as well, because they risk forgetting the intrinsic link between faith and history, society and culture.

Christianity today demands a theology beyond theories of continuity and discontinuity.  This book develops a theology of interruption.  Boeve emphasizes the specificity of the Christian narrative about God, humanity, and their history together, and argues that this specificity urges Christians to be engaged in their context. Because God interrupts history.

After an analysis of the contextual changes, the author sketches the fundamental aspects of a theology of interruption.  This forms the basis for his further analysis of religious experience, rituals and sacraments, negative theology, religious plurality and incarnation, and apocalypticism.

Thomas KNIEPS-PORT LE ROI & Lieven BOEVE (red.), Gods sacramentele aanwezigheid in de wereld van vandaag (Leuven: Acco, 2008)..

Gods aanwezigheid in de wereld is allesbehalve vanzelfsprekend. Vindplaatsen van God zijn schaars geworden. Ook voor wie gelooft dat God zich in de mens Jezus heeft meegedeeld, is het goddelijke niet zomaarte ontwaren in het menselijke zien en aanraken. Wie de Onzichtbare in het zichtbare wil ontdekken, dient zich hiertoe een bijzondere wijze van waarnemen en benaderen eigen te maken. Symbolen, sacramenten en rituele handelingen van de religieuze gemeenschap vormen plaatsen en momenten om de aandacht te scherpen en ontmoeting mogelijk te maken. Want, evenals in het alledaagse leven, komt God ons eerder in stille glans dan in verblindende helderheid nabij. De bijdragen in dit boek gaan op zoek naar sporen van het goddelijke licht in het menselijk bestaan en in de sacramentele praxis van de christelijke gemeenschap. Met deze feestbundel willen collega’s en vrienden hulde betuigen aan Lambert Leijssen die gedurende vele jaren sacramentologie en liturgiewetenschappen aan de KU Leuven heeft gedoceerd, en in 2007 met emeritaat is gegaan. Doorheen zijn onderwijs- en onderzoeksactiviteiten heeft hij ons op zijn eigen bescheiden wijze als geen ander op Gods ‘stille glans’ in de wereld attent gemaakt.

F. DEPOORTERE, The Death of God: An Investigation into the History of the Western Concept of God (London/New York: Continuum, 2008).

How did the idea of the 'Death of God' come about, where were its origins? Frederiek Depoortere presents a fascinating investigation into the history of the concept of God through Greek philosophy, Mediaeval theology and the Reformation to Early Modern philosophy. He proves that the roots of modern secularism can be traced back to the epistemology of the first metaphysicians of Greek philosophy and the Christian theologians and thinkers, who further developed their concepts.

F. DEPOORTERE, Christ in Postmodern Philosophy: Gianni Vattimo, René Girard, Slavoj Zizek (London/New York: T & T Clark, 2008).

This book offers an investigation into the Christological ideas of three contemporary thinkers: Slavoj Zizek, Gianni Vattimo and Rene Girard.In the wake of Heidegger's announcement of the end of onto-theology and inspired by both Levinas and Derrida, many contemporary continental philosophers of religion search for a post-metaphysical God, a God who is often characterized as tout autre, wholly other.The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is an exception to this rule. First, he clearly has another source of inspiration: neither Heidegger, Levinas or Derrida, but Lacan and the great thinkers of German Idealism (Kant, Schelling, and Hegel). Moreover, he does not aim at tracing a post-metaphysical God. His 'turn' to Christianity is the result of his concern to 'save' the achievements of modernity from fundamentalism, post-modern relativism and religious obscurantism.The Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo is an intermediary. His sources (mainly Nietzsche and Heidegger) seem to indicate that he aligns with those philosophers whose works are inspired by Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida. Indeed, Vattimo is also searching for the God who comes after metaphysics, but he explicitly rejects the wholly-other God. With Zizek, Vattimo shares a Christological interest, an attention for the event of the Incarnation and the conviction that the Incarnation amounts to the end of God's transcendence. Both thinkers also defend the uniqueness of Christianity vis-a-vis natural religiosity. In this way, they seem to share at least some affinity with the views of the French-American literary critic and fundamental anthropologist Rene Girard, who has also defended the uniqueness of Christianity and claims that the latter broke away from the violent transcendence of the natural religions.The book will investigate the Christological ideas of these three contemporary thinkers, focussing on the topics of the relation between transcendence and the event of the Incarnation on the one hand, and the topic of the uniqueness of Christianity on the other.

M. LAMBERIGTS, L. BOEVE, T. MERRIGAN, D. CLAES (eds.), Theology and the Quest for Truth: Historical- and Systematic-Theological Studies (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovanien, 202), Leuven: University Press and Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2006.

In 2001, three research groups from the field of systematic theology and church history at the Faculty of Theology, KU Leuven, decided to join forces in an interdisciplinary project, entitled: "Orthodoxy: Process and Product". The main aim of this project consists of a "church-historical and systematic-theological study of the determination of truth in church and theology". Senior and junior scholars from the three groups agreed to take this theme as the starting point and leading question from which the many research projects they are engaged in, could be brought into relationship and - as far as possible - integrated. Although the question for theological truth already structured the research being conducted in the three groups to a significant degree, joining forces promised the realisation of a surplus-value, and this both through the gathering of a considerable critical mass (in total more than thirty junior and senior researchers) and the interdisciplinary design of the project. In this volume a first collection of contributions to this project, from a diversity of angles and research subjects, is presented. In these contributions scholars from the participating research groups investigate the implications of the overall research question for their particular line of research and research methodologies, and suggest how from this specific research the overall question may be refined and elements of answering it can be provided.

L. BOEVE, M. LAMBERIGTS, M. WISSE (eds.), Augustine and Postmodern Thought: A New Alliance against Modernity? (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovanien, 219), Leuven: University Press and Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters Press, 2009.

On November 9-11, 2006, the Research Group 'Theology in a Postmodern Context' (KU Leuven) organised an expert symposium on the return of Augustine in current postmodern philosophical-theological debates. The North-African Church Father, or at least the thinking patterns or intuitions borrowed from him, are often invoked in discussions on the relation between Christian faith and the contemporary postmodern context. On the one hand, one observes the retrieval of rather premodern approaches in order to remedy the so-called (post-)modern crisis, which is said to result in nihilism, relativism, etc. For what seems to attract some theologians in Augustinian thinking is the (apparent) marriage between Greek (neo-Platonic) philosophy and Christian faith. Such a combination of premodern metaphysics and Christian faith would serve as a necessary presupposition for every legitimate theological epistemology. On the other hand, there are theologians and philosophers who are increasingly trying to reread Augustine from a postmodern stance, stressing the role of particularity, narrativity, historicity, and the decentring of subjectivity, which they see present in Augustine's approach, or from which they deconstruct Augustine's thinking. Central questions discussed during the symposium were: Are the analyses, offered by authors who are re-introducing Augustine with respect to the contemporary context, correct? To what diagnosed problems, and on what basis, do they propose Augustine as a remedy? Are their presentations of other theological and philosophical responses to the present situation correct and which 'Augustine' do they claim to represent? More fundamentally: what would a genuine Augustinian epistemology look like, and what can we gain from it? In what way can it be normative for a theological epistemology in our day? In answering these questions, the symposium focused explicitly on contemporary philosophical and theological evaluations of both modernity and postmodernity, and theological responses to them.

F. DEPOORTERE, Badiou and Theology (Philosophy and Theology), London/New York: Continuum/T&T Clark, 2009; 158 p.; ISBN: 978-0-567-03262-1 (PB); 978-0-567-03261-4 (HB)

The French philosopher Alain Badiou (born 1937), is one of the main representatives of a recent philosophical homage to Saint Paul. Yet, Badiou is not a believer in the traditional sense, let alone a Christian philosopher. On the contrary, he rejects transcendence and pleads for a radical this-worldliness. This does not mean however that his work is of no use for theologians, though a theological engagement with him will necessarily take some time. This book takes the first steps in that direction. It focuses on Badiou’s ontology because his challenge to theology, and more in particular to the doctrine of God, is to be found at this level of his system. The starting point is Badiou’s claim that nowadays true religion and true faith are no longer possible. To evaluate this claim, three steps are taken. In a first step, taken in Chapter 1, the theological context in which Badiou’s meta-ontology can become of interest is investigated. Starting from a clarification of the meaning of the terms ‘religion’ and ‘faith’, the issue of the existence of God is examined, which will result in the conclusion that true faith and true religion ask for a proof for the existence of God if we want to avoid what will be designated as the ‘closed circle of faith presupposing faith’. This leads us to the necessity for an ontology which repeats what Aquinas has done within the medieval-Aristotelian world-picture of his age, namely offering an openness towards God. Chapter 2 opens with an argument as to why we should turn to Badiou as a plausible source for such an ontology and will then continue by investigating the basic elements of his meta-ontological system as they are presented in the first part of Being and Event: his mathematical turn, his decision on the non-being of the one, his declaration of the void and the actual infinite. Chapter 3, finally, examines whether, despite Badiou’s outspoken atheist stance, his ontology (expressed through set theory) cannot be opened towards God. For this, the book falls back on Georg Cantor, the founder of set theory, who, in contrast to Badiou, did not draw from set theory the atheist conclusion that God is now really dead.

M. LAMBERIGTS, L. BOEVE, T. MERRIGAN (eds.), Orthodoxy, Process and Product, Leuven: Peeters, 2009.

From 2002-2008, three research groups from the departments of systematic theology and church history at the Faculty of Theology, KU Leuven, joined forces in an interdisciplinary project, entitled "Orthodoxy: Process and Product". The aim of the project was a "church-historical and systematic-theological study of the determination of truth in church and theology". The present volume contains contributions from all senior members of the project research group. The contributions are the result of a research conference in 2006, in which both the question of the nature of truth as such, and the process of determination of theological truth was approached from many different angles. Thus, questions from philosophy, systematic theology and history of church and theology are discussed, including such themes as the implications of various philosophical theories of truth for theology, the question of religious pluralism and its ramifications for theological truth-claims, theological truth claims in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, John Driedo, and at the Second Vatican Council. In addition, the meta-question of the relationship between the historical and the systematic aspects of theological truth and the way in which the historical and systematic theological disciplines interact play an important role in this volume.

L. BOEVE and G. MANNION (eds.),The Ratzinger Reader: Mapping a Theological Journey, London: T&T Clark, 2010; 286 p.; ISBN: 978-0-567-03213-3 (HB), 978-0-567-03214-0 (PB)

The volume will open with an introductory essay charting the life and career, the achievements of and the controversies surrounding the new pope. Each reading will be prefaced by a brief introduction to its context and themes and will be followed by recommended further reading on its respective subject matter.

L. BOEVE, F. DEPOORTERE and S. VAN ERP (eds.), Edward Schillebeeckx and Contemporary Theology, London: T&T Clark, 2010; 336 p.; ISBN: 9780567181602 (HB)

What are contemporary theology’s challenges? What are its fruitful approaches? Who are its promising contributors? The contributions to this collection of essays try to find answers to these questions by making references to the Dutch Dominican scholar Edward Schillebeeckx, using his theology as a starting point for an up-to-date investigation and discussion. The theological work of Edward Schillebeeckx marks the transition from a pre-modern to a modern approach to Christian faith, Church, and theology. Already more than two generations of theologians have been trained in dialogue with his thought. Contemporary theology testifies, often implicitly, to the enduring relevance of many of Schillebeeckx’s insights, while in other instances it pushes his thinking to its limits in order to deal with the current challenges for faith and society.

L. BOEVE and C. BRABANT (eds.), Between Philosophy and Theology: Contemporary Interpretations of Christianity, Surrey: Ashgate, 2011; 250 p.; ISBN: 978-1-4094-0060-8 (HB)

Long past the time when philosophers from different perspectives had joined the funeral procession that declared the death of God, a renewed interest has arisen in regard to the questions of God and religion in philosophy. The turn to secularization has produced its own opposing force. Although they declared themselves from the start as not being religious, thinkers such as Derrida, Vattimo, Zizek, and Badiou have nonetheless maintained an interest in religion.

This book brings some of these philosophical views together to present an overview of the philosophical scene in its dealings with religion, but also to move beyond the outsider's perspective. Reflecting on these philosophical interpretations from a fundamental theological perspective, the authors discover in what way these interpretations can challenge an understanding of today's faith. Bringing together thinkers with an established reputation - Kearney, Caputo, Ward, Desmond, Hart, Armour - along with young scholars, this book challenges a range of perspectives by putting them in a new context.

C. DICKINSON, Agamben and Theology, London: T&T Clark, 2011; 240 p.; ISBN: 9780567622242 (PB)

This book contains a view of the work of philosopher Giorgio Agamben in relation to his own most basic theological premises and the discipline of theology. Though the work of Italian theorist Giorgio Agamben has been increasing in popularity over the last several years in the English-speaking world, little work has been done directly on the theological legacy which actually dominates the overall force of his critical analyses, a topic which has intrigued his readers since the publication of his short book on Saint Paul's "Letter to the Romans". "Agamben and Theology" intends to illuminate such a connection by examining the theologically inflected terms that have come to dominate his work over time, including the messianic, the sacred, sovereignty, glory, creation, original sin, redemption, and revelation. "The Philosophy and Theology" series looks at major philosophers and explores their relevance to theological thought as well as the response of theology.