Desire, Faith, and the Darkness of God : Essays in Honor of Denys Turner

In The Face Of Religious And Cultural Diversity, Some Doubt Whether Christian Faith Remains Possible Today. Critics Claim That Religion Is Irrational And Violent, And The Loudest Defenders Of Christianity Are Equally Strident. In Response, Desire, Faith, And The Darkness Of God: Essays In Honor Of Denys Turner Explores The Uncertainty Essential To Christian Commitment; It Suggests That Faith Is Moved By A Desire For That Which Cannot Be Known. This Approach Is Inspired By The Tradition Of Christian Apophatic Theology, Which Argues That Language Cannot Capture Divine Transcendence. From This Perspective, Contemporary Debates Over God’s Existence Represent A Dead End: If God Is Not Simply Another Object In The World, Then Faith Begins Not In Abstract Certainty But In A Love That Exceeds The Limits Of Knowledge. The Essays Engage Classic Christian Thought Alongside Literary And Philosophical Sources Ranging From Pseudo-dionysius And Dante To Karl Marx And Jacques Derrida. Building On The Work Of Denys Turner, They Indicate That The Boundary Between Atheism And Christian Thought Is Productively Blurry. Instead Of Settling The Stale Dispute Over Whether Religion Is Rationally Justified, Their Work Suggests Instead That Christian Life Is An Ethical And Political Practice Impassioned By A God Who Transcends Understanding. (publisher). The Trials Of Desire -- Immanence And Transcendence. End Without End: Cosmology And Infinity In Nicholas Of Cusa ; The Darkness Of God And The Light Of Life: Augustine, Pseudo-denys, And Eckhart ; Mysterious Reasons: The Rationality And Ineffability Of Divine Beauty ; Using Reason To Derive Mutual Illumination From Diverse Traditions -- Disourse And Authority. Assent To Thinking ; Apian Transformations And The Paradoxes Of Women's Authorial Personae In Late Medieval England ; Academics And Mystics: The Case Of Jean Gerson ; How Wrong Could Dante Be? Authority And Error In Paradiso Cantos 26-29 -- Marxism And Negative Theology. The Turning Of Discourse: Generous Grammar Or Analogy In Ecstacy ; Love Was His Meaning: On Learning From Medieval Texts ; Ideology And Religion, Yet Again ; Is Marxism A Theodicy? ; If You Do Love, You'll Certainly Be Killed: A Conversation ; As We Were Saying: Marxism And Christianity Revisited -- Revelations Of Love. How To Say Thank You: Reflecting On The Work Of Primo Levi ; Sitit Sitiri: Apophatic Christologics Of Desire ; Our Love And Our Knowledge Of God ; Eckhart, Derrida, And The Gift Of Love ; How To Fail, Or The Fine Delight That Fathers Thought. Edited By Eric Bugyis And David Newheiser. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "In the face of religious and cultural diversity, some doubt whether Christian faith remains possible today. Critics claim that religion is irrational and violent, and the loudest defenders of Christianity are equally strident. In response, Desire, Faith, and the Darkness of God: Essays in Honor of Denys Turner explores the uncertainty essential to Christian commitment; it suggests that faith is moved by a desire for that which cannot be known. This approach is inspired by the tradition of Christian apophatic theology, which argues that language cannot capture divine transcendence. From this perspective, contemporary debates over God's existence represent a dead end: if God is not simply another object in the world, then faith begins not in abstract certainty but in a love that exceeds the limits of knowledge. The essays engage classic Christian thought alongside literary and philosophical sources ranging from Pseudo-Dionysius and Dante to Karl Marx and Jacques Derrida. Building on the work of Denys Turner, they indicate that the boundary between atheism and Christian thought is productively blurry. Instead of settling the stale dispute over whether religion is rationally justified, their work suggests instead that Christian life is an ethical and political practice impassioned by a God who transcends understanding." [Résumé de l'éditeur] Religion and Theology / Christian Theology Cover 1 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Preface 14 Introduction 18 IMMANENCE AND TRANSCENDENCE 28 Chapter One: End without End 30 Chapter Two: The Darkness of God and the Light of Life 54 Chapter Three: Mysterious Reasons 89 Chapter Four: Using Reason to Derive Mutual Illumination from Diverse Traditions 110 DISCOURSE AND AUTHORITY 126 Chapter Five: Assent to Thinking 128 Chapter Six: Apian Transformations and the Paradoxes of Women’s Authorial Personae in Late Medieval England 146 Chapter Seven: Academics and Mystics 170 Chapter Eight: How Wrong Could Dante Be? 202 MARXISM AND NEGATIVE THEOLOGY 226 Chapter Nine: The Turning of Discourse 228 Chapter Ten: “Love was his meaning” 259 Chapter Eleven: Ideology and Religion, Yet Again 285 Chapter Twelve: Is Marxism a Theodicy? 316 Chapter Thirteen: “If you do love, you’ll certainly be killed” 326 Chapter Fourteen: As We Were Saying 345 REVELATIONS OF LOVE 382 Chapter Fifteen: How to Say “Thank You” 384 Chapter Sixteen: Sitit Sitiri 408 Chapter Seventeen: Our Love and Our Knowledge of God 431 Chapter Eighteen: Eckhart, Derrida, and the Gift of Love 447 Afterword 474 Contributors 494 Index 500