Postmodern Philosophy And Christian Thought

Are postmodern philosophy and Christian thought so diametrically opposed that "never the twain shall meet"? Or are various postmodern philosophies, in spite of their secular provenance, open to religious appropriation? These thirteen lively, original essays awaken secular postmodernisms and various modes of Christian thinking from their ideological complacency. An open space for passionate dialogue emerges from conversations that powerfully engage both intellectual and religious points of view.

The contributors to Postmodernism and Christian Philosophy bring a wealth of philosophical insights and methodological approaches to bear on a common concern, namely, the possibility and extent of a fruitful dialogue between Christian philosophy and postmodern thought. They tackle the timely question of how realism ought to respond to the threat to what Gilson called "the Western Creed" posed by modernity's heir apparent. Enriched and invigorated by the insights of St. Thomas, Jacques Maritain, Yves R. Simon, and others, the articles assembled in this volume offer a provocative vision of the way in which a world bearing the imprint of modernity can nevertheless avoid succumbing to the false alternative proposed by postmodernism. Contributors include: Benedict M. Ashley, O.P., Don T. Asselin, Michael Baur, David B. Burrell, C.S.C., John Deely, Curtis L. Hancock, Thomas S. Hibbs, Gregory J. Kerr, John F.X. Knasas, Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., James L. Marsh, Matthew S. Pugh, Gregory M. Reichberg, Robert Royal, James V. Schall, S.J., Rosalind Smith Edman, Brendan Sweetman, Joseph M. de Torre, Merold Westphal, and Robert E. Wood. ABOUT THE EDITOR: Roman T. Ciapalo is associate professor of philosophy at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

This book sorts out the confusion created by the use of the term “postmodern” in relation to widely divergent theological positions. Four different types of postmodern theology are distinguished in the preface: constructive, deconstructive, liberationist, and conservative. Two forms of each type are discussed in the book. Writing from a constructive, postmodern perspective, the authors enter into dialogue with the deconstructive postmodernism of Mark C. Taylor and Jean-François Lyotard, with the liberationist postmodernism of Harvey Cox and Cornel West, and with the conservative postmodernism of George William Rutler and John Paul II.

Addresses the promises and perils of postmodernity for the church today.

The philosophies of French thinkers Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault form the basis for postmodern thought and are seemingly at odds with the Christian faith. However, James K. A. Smith claims that their ideas have been misinterpreted and actually have a deep affinity with central Christian claims. Each chapter opens with an illustration from a recent movie and concludes with a case study considering recent developments in the church that have attempted to respond to the postmodern condition, such as the "emerging church" movement. These case studies provide a concrete picture of how postmodern ideas can influence the way Christians think and worship. This significant book, winner of a Christianity Today 2007 Book Award, avoids philosophical jargon and offers fuller explanation where needed. It is the first book in the Church and Postmodern Culture series, which provides practical applications for Christians engaged in ministry in a postmodern world.

Colin Brown's Christianity Western Thought, Volume 1: From the Ancient World to the Age of Enlightenment was widely embraced as a text in philosophy and theology courses around the world. His project was continued with the same spirit, energy and design by Steve Wilkens and Alan Padgett in volume 2, which explores the main intellectual streams of the nineteenth century. This, the third and final volume, also by Wilkens and Padgett, examines philosophers, ideas and movements in the twentieth century and how they have influenced Christian thought.

Are postmodern philosophy and Christian theology compatible? A surprising number of Christian philosophers and theologians think so. However, these same thinkers argue that postmodern insights entail the rejection of natural theology, the ability to discover knowledge about the existence and nature of God in the natural world. Postmodernism, they claim, shows that appealing to nature to demonstrate or infer the existence of God is foolish because these appeals rely on modernity’s outmoded grounds for knowledge. Moreover, natural theology and apologetics are often hindrances to authentic Christian faith. Notions like objectivity and rationality are forms of idolatry from which Christians should repent. This book carefully examines the nature of truth, rationality, general revelation, and evangelism to show that the postmodern objections fail and that Christians ought to lovingly and faithfully use natural theology and apologetics to defend and commend the Christian faith to a world in need of the knowledge of God.

Postmodern Theology consists in a sharp-edged retrospective and reflection on the forty-year history of the most important movement in contemporary religious thought that is only now passing from the scene. The author, Dr. Carl Raschke, is generally credited with having sparked the movement, even if he did not always happen to be its leading spokesperson. Not only has a comprehensive survey of postmodern theology in all its different phases and complexity not been published prior to the appearance of this book, but it is even more remarkable for someone who both “launched” it and had a central role in shepherding it along to offer what may be termed a “movement memoir.” Postmodern Theology surveys and summarizes the major figures and trends that have given currency to such familiar expressions as “deconstruction,” “deconstructive theology,” “radical theology,” “a/theology,” “God is dead,” and of course, “postmodernism” itself. Dr. Raschke also contextualizes the emergence of these catchy phrases from a frothy soup of new intellectual theories and philosophical innovations, which were international in scope but customized for both academic and popular religious writers—mainly in Britain and America—from the late 1960s onward.