Christopher Ben Simpson – författare

Offers a timely exploration of William Desmond's work on theology and metaphysics, bringing the disciplines of philosophy and theology together in new and vital ways. The book examines the contribution that Desmond's metaphysics makes to contemporary theological discourse and to the renewal of metaphysics.

SCM Veritas, engages in critical and original questions of pressing concern to both philosophers and theologians. The major concern of all books in this series is to display a rigorous theological critique of categories not often thought to be theological in character, such as phenomenology or metaphysics which are mainly considered as philosophical categories.

What can atheologian do with Deleuze? While using philosophy as a resource for theologyis nothing new, Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) presents a kind of limit-case forsuch a theological appropriation of philosophy: a thoroughly "modern"philosophy that would seem to be fundamentally hostile to Christian theology-aphilosophy of atheistic immanence with an essentially chaotic vision of theworld. Nonetheless, Deleuze''s philosophy can generate many potentialintersections with theology opening onto a field of configurations: a fractiousmiddle between radical Deleuzian theologies that would think through theologyand reinterpret it from the perspective of some version of Deleuzian philosophyand other theologies that would seek to learn from and respond to Deleuze fromthe perspective of confessional theology-to take from the encounter withDeleuze an opportunity to clarify and reform an orthodox Christianself-understanding.

The philosophical contributions of French phenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, carry great untapped potential for theologians thinking through some of the central affirmations of the Christian faith. This exploration is structured against the background of the fundamental interrelation between three "bodies" in Merleau-Ponty's thought and in Christian theology: the material as such or "nature" (the corporeal), the human body as a living body (the corporal), and the social body (the corporate—including language and tradition). Merleau-Ponty's philosophy offers a finessed and non-reductionistic understanding of the relations between these orders of bodies. Appropriating Merleau-Ponty's thought helps one think through Christian doctrines of creation, theological anthropology, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

The philosophical contributions of French phenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, carry great untapped potential for theologians thinking through some of the central affirmations of the Christian faith. This exploration is structured against the background of the fundamental interrelation between three "bodies" in Merleau-Ponty''s thought and in Christian theology: the material as such or "nature" (the corporeal), the human body as a living body (the corporal), and the social body (the corporate-including language and tradition). Merleau-Ponty''s philosophy offers a finessed and non-reductionistic understanding of the relations between these orders of bodies. Appropriating Merleau-Ponty''s thought helps one think through Christian doctrines of creation, theological anthropology, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

What can a theologian do with Deleuze? While using philosophy as a resource for theology is nothing new, Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) presents a kind of limit-case for such a theological appropriation of philosophy: a thoroughly "modern" philosophy that would seem to be fundamentally hostile to Christian theology--a philosophy of atheistic immanence with an essentially chaotic vision of the world. Nonetheless, Deleuze's philosophy can generate many potential intersections with theology opening onto a field of configurations: a fractious middle between radical Deleuzian theologies that would think through theology and reinterpret it from the perspective of some version of Deleuzian philosophy and other theologies that would seek to learn from and respond to Deleuze from the perspective of confessional theology--to take from the encounter with Deleuze an opportunity to clarify and reform an orthodox Christian self-understanding.

What can atheologian do with Deleuze? While using philosophy as a resource for theologyis nothing new, Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) presents a kind of limit-case forsuch a theological appropriation of philosophy: a thoroughly "modern"philosophy that would seem to be fundamentally hostile to Christian theology-aphilosophy of atheistic immanence with an essentially chaotic vision of theworld. Nonetheless, Deleuze''s philosophy can generate many potentialintersections with theology opening onto a field of configurations: a fractiousmiddle between radical Deleuzian theologies that would think through theologyand reinterpret it from the perspective of some version of Deleuzian philosophyand other theologies that would seek to learn from and respond to Deleuze fromthe perspective of confessional theology-to take from the encounter withDeleuze an opportunity to clarify and reform an orthodox Christianself-understanding.

The philosophical contributions of French phenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, carry great untapped potential for theologians thinking through some of the central affirmations of the Christian faith. This exploration is structured against the background of the fundamental interrelation between three "bodies" in Merleau-Ponty''s thought and in Christian theology: the material as such or "nature" (the corporeal), the human body as a living body (the corporal), and the social body (the corporate-including language and tradition). Merleau-Ponty''s philosophy offers a finessed and non-reductionistic understanding of the relations between these orders of bodies. Appropriating Merleau-Ponty''s thought helps one think through Christian doctrines of creation, theological anthropology, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book examines the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts.In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson discusses the period from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative tension between Enlightenments and Awakenings of the 18th-century. Part II, The Long Nineteenth-Century, presents the great movements and figures arising out of these creative tension - from Romanticism and Schleiermacher to Ritschlianism and Vatican I. Part III, Twentieth-Century Crisis and Modernity, proceeds through the revolutionary theologies of the period of the World Wars such as that of Karl Barth or nouvelle théologie. Finally, Part IV, The Late Modern Supernova, lays out the diverse panoply of recent theologies - from the various liberation theologies to the revisionist, the secular, the postliberal, and the postsecular.Designed for classroom use, this volume includes the following features: - charts/diagrams/visual organizations of the information presented included throughout - both a one-page chapter title table of the contents and an expanded (multipage) table of contents - chapter at-a-glance outlines at the beginning of each chapter - references to further reading at the end of chapters

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book tells the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts.In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson goes from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative tension between Enlightenments and Awakenings of the eighteenth-century. Part II, The Long Nineteenth-Century, presents the great movements and figures arising out of these creative tension - from Romanticism and Schleiermacher to Ritschlianism and Vatican I. Part III, Twentieth-Century Crisis and Modernity, proceeds through the revolutionary theologies of period of the World Wars such as that of Karl Barth or novuelle theologie; this part includes a thorough section on modern Eastern Orthodox theology. Finally, Part IV, The Late Modern Supernova, lays out the diverse panoply of recent theologies - from the various liberation theologies to the revisionist, the secular, the postliberal, and the postsecular.Designed for classroom use, this volume includes the following features:- boxes/chart/diagrams/visual organizations of the information presented included throughout: e.g. lists of key points, visual organizations of systematic ideas in a given thinker, lists of significant works, lists of significant dates, brief outlines of the basic structure of some major theological works- both a one-page chapter title table of the contents and an expanded(multipage) table of contents- chapter at-a-glance overview/outline at the beginning of each chapter- specific references to secondary works and key primary works in Enqlish translation at the end of chapters

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book tells the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts.In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson goes from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative tension between Enlightenments and Awakenings of the eighteenth-century. Part II, The Long Nineteenth-Century, presents the great movements and figures arising out of these creative tension - from Romanticism and Schleiermacher to Ritschlianism and Vatican I. Part III, Twentieth-Century Crisis and Modernity, proceeds through the revolutionary theologies of period of the World Wars such as that of Karl Barth or novuelle theologie; this part includes a thorough section on modern Eastern Orthodox theology. Finally, Part IV, The Late Modern Supernova, lays out the diverse panoply of recent theologies - from the various liberation theologies to the revisionist, the secular, the postliberal, and the postsecular.Designed for classroom use, this volume includes the following features:- boxes/chart/diagrams/visual organizations of the information presented included throughout: e.g. lists of key points, visual organizations of systematic ideas in a given thinker, lists of significant works, lists of significant dates, brief outlines of the basic structure of some major theological works- both a one-page chapter title table of the contents and an expanded(multipage) table of contents- chapter at-a-glance overview/outline at the beginning of each chapter- specific references to secondary works and key primary works in Enqlish translation at the end of chapters

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book tells the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts.In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson goes from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative tension between Enlightenments and Awakenings of the eighteenth-century. Part II, The Long Nineteenth-Century, presents the great movements and figures arising out of these creative tension - from Romanticism and Schleiermacher to Ritschlianism and Vatican I. Part III, Twentieth-Century Crisis and Modernity, proceeds through the revolutionary theologies of period of the World Wars such as that of Karl Barth or novuelle theologie; this part includes a thorough section on modern Eastern Orthodox theology. Finally, Part IV, The Late Modern Supernova, lays out the diverse panoply of recent theologies - from the various liberation theologies to the revisionist, the secular, the postliberal, and the postsecular.Designed for classroom use, this volume includes the following features:- boxes/chart/diagrams/visual organizations of the information presented included throughout: e.g. lists of key points, visual organizations of systematic ideas in a given thinker, lists of significant works, lists of significant dates, brief outlines of the basic structure of some major theological works- both a one-page chapter title table of the contents and an expanded(multipage) table of contents- chapter at-a-glance overview/outline at the beginning of each chapter - specific references to secondary works and key primary works in Enqlish translation at the end of chapters

Christopher Ben Simpson tells the story of modern Christian theology against the backdrop of the history of modernity itself. The book tells the many ways that theology became modern while seeing how modernity arose in no small part from theology. These intertwined stories progress through four parts.In Part I, Emerging Modernity, Simpson goes from the beginnings of modernity in the late Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance Humanism to the creative tension between Enlightenments and Awakenings of the eighteenth-century. Part II, The Long Nineteenth-Century, presents the great movements and figures arising out of these creative tension - from Romanticism and Schleiermacher to Ritschlianism and Vatican I. Part III, Twentieth-Century Crisis and Modernity, proceeds through the revolutionary theologies of period of the World Wars such as that of Karl Barth or novuelle theologie; this part includes a thorough section on modern Eastern Orthodox theology. Finally, Part IV, The Late Modern Supernova, lays out the diverse panoply of recent theologies - from the various liberation theologies to the revisionist, the secular, the postliberal, and the postsecular.Designed for classroom use, this volume includes the following features:- boxes/chart/diagrams/visual organizations of the information presented included throughout: e.g. lists of key points, visual organizations of systematic ideas in a given thinker, lists of significant works, lists of significant dates, brief outlines of the basic structure of some major theological works- both a one-page chapter title table of the contents and an expanded(multipage) table of contents- chapter at-a-glance overview/outline at the beginning of each chapter - specific references to secondary works and key primary works in Enqlish translation at the end of chapters

Career-spanning selections from the writings of William Desmond.Known especially for his original system of metaphysics in a trilogy of books published between 1995 and 2008, and for his scholarship on Hegel, William Desmond has left his mark on the philosophy of religion, ethics, and aesthetics. The William Desmond Reader provides for the first time in a single book a point of entry into his original and constructive philosophy, including carefully chosen selections of his works that introduce the key ideas, perspectives, and contributions of his philosophy as a whole. Also featured is an original essay by Desmond himself reflecting synthetically on the topics covered, as well as an interview by Richard Kearney.

This volume of essays centers on the theme of doing Christian theology in the present postmodern context, a consistent theme of the teaching of John D. Castelein. The work will celebrate and honor John''s years of service by representing reflections of his teaching in the thought of his students and colleagues. The essays range over such topics as theological reflections on the postmodern philosophical themes, the relations between Christian theology and culture, the contributions of philosophical hermeneutics for Christian theology, and the challenges of engaging in ministry in a postmodern context. The seventeen contributors to the volume are former students and both present and former colleagues involved in various ministries, be they in a college setting or in a local church.

William Desmond's original and creative work in metaphysics is attracting more and more attention from philosophers of religion. Putting Desmond in conversation with John D. Caputo, an important philosopher of religion from the Continental tradition, Christopher Ben Simpson casts new light on Desmond's complex, multifaceted, and nuanced thought. The comparative approach allows Simpson to get at the core of recent debates in the philosophy of religion. He develops a rich understanding of how ethics and religion are informed by metaphysics, and contrasts this approach to the decidedly anti-metaphysical stance in Continental philosophy. Religion, Metaphysics, and the Postmodern presents a systematic analysis of Desmond's thought as it advances work on Caputo's thinking and on the philosophy of religion.