A Theology of Failure: Žižek against Christian Innocence

Marika Rose

Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services

Fordham University Press

Visit our Partner Page See all our books

Book

A Theology of Failure

Žižek against Christian Innocence

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2019

About this book

Everyone agrees that theology has failed; but the question of how to understand and respond to this failure is complex and contested. Against both the radical orthodox attempt to return to a time before the theology’s failure and the deconstructive theological attempt to open theology up to the hope of a future beyond failure, Rose proposes an account of Christian identity as constituted by, not despite, failure. Understanding failure as central to theology opens up new possibilities for confronting Christianity’s violent and kyriarchal history and abandoning the attempt to discover a pure Christ outside of the grotesque materiality of the church.

The Christian mystical tradition begins with Dionysius the Areopagite’s uncomfortable but productive conjunction of Christian theology and Neoplatonism. The tensions generated by this are central to Dionysius’s legacy, visible not only in subsequent theological thought but also in much twentieth century continental philosophy as it seeks to disentangle itself from its Christian ancestry. A Theology of Failure shows how the work of Slavoj Žižek represents an attempt to repeat the original move of Christian mystical theology, bringing together the themes of language, desire, and transcendence not with Neoplatonism but with a materialist account of the world. Tracing these themes through the work of Dionysius and Derrida and through contemporary debates about the gift, violence, and revolution, this book offers a critical theological engagement with Žižek's account of social and political transformation, showing how Žižek's work makes possible a materialist reading of apophatic theology and Christian identity.

Rose builds upon Zizek's work, while remaining deeply critical at key moments.

Author / Editor information

Contributor: Marika Rose Marika Rose is Lecturer in Philosophical Theology at the University of Winchester.

Reviews

This book is a valuable contribution to anyone remotely interested in political theology, continental philosophy, or method. The clear, concise, and accessible survey of varied works, movements, and figures, itself makes it worth the read. The arguments in the book will challenge the general reader or seminarian to take seriously the social impact—and potential—of philosophical and theological thought. The expert in the fields of continental philosophy or political theology will find a deft web of theological/philosophical conversation that is sure to stir. --- Rose's book is more than simply a work of theology... Recommended. --- An ambitious and significant project in continental philosophy and theology. Engaging Dionysius beyond the usual texts and reading that corpus through Žižek, Rose offers way of linking ontology, language, and theology—through failure—that is theologically productive.---Ellen Armour, Vanderbilt University --- This is the best work I have ever read on Žižek in relation to theology, maybe the best such work possible. Rose’s prose style is clear and engaging, and her project significantly advances our understanding of Christian apophaticism, of Žižek’s project, and of the potential future stakes of theology for a secular world.---Adam Kotsko, author of Neoliberalism’s Demons: On the Political Theology of Late Capital

Topics

Publicly Available

Frontmatter
i

Download PDF
Publicly Available

Contents
ix

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Introduction: failing
1

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

1. Ontology and desire in dionysius the areopagite
15

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

2. Apophatic theology and its vicissitudes
29

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

3. The death drive: from Freud to žižek
56

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

4. The gift and violence
86

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

5. Divine violence as trauma
119

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

6. Mystical theology and the four discourses
150

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Conclusion: theology as failure
175

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Acknowledgments
183

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Notes
185

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Bibliography
235

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

Index
251

Download PDF

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

July 20, 2020

eBook ISBN:

9780823284092

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780823284092

eBook ISBN: 9780823284092

Keywords for this book

Continental Philosophy of Religion; Continental Pholosophy; Mystical Theology; Negative Theology; Pseudo-Dionysius; Radical Theology; Slavoj Zizek; Apophaticism

Audience(s) for this book

For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research

Fordham University Press

A Theology of Failure

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction: failing

1. Ontology and desire in dionysius the areopagite

2. Apophatic theology and its vicissitudes

3. The death drive: from Freud to žižek

4. The gift and violence

5. Divine violence as trauma

6. Mystical theology and the four discourses

Conclusion: theology as failure

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Bibliographic data