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Carl A. Raschke,
The End of Theology
Philosophical and Cultural Studies in
Religion
In 1979, publication of Carl Raschke’s
The Alchemy of the Word brought the
deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida into the arena of
theological discourse and marked the end of theology as it had been
understood by many. Now revised and reissued as
The End of
Theology, this work is an important contribution to
understanding the possibilities for what can be a creative
postmodern secular theology.
The first chapter
examines the aims and the shortcomings of language analysis as it
has been used in the examination of religious and theological
statements. The second chapter investigates the broader spectrum of
modern theories about the nature of language. The third chapter
recapitulates the rudiments of Heidegger’s thought, who is
identified as most fit among modern philosophers to tackle the
underlying question of meaning. The fourth chapter moves out of
Heidegger and toward a resolution of the problems of meaning and
interpretation in proposing a “radical hermeneutics.” A radical
hermeneutics does not only inquire into the significance of texts
but also into the essential core of language itself, including
religious language. The fifth chapter discusses the way in which a
radical hermeneutics must undermine conventional theological
procedures and secure a view of religious speech that is prior to
“God-language” or to the “Word of God.” Such a view is directed to
what Heidegger takes as the “originary” logos that is both a
pre-Christian and a post-Christian context of “revelation.” The
final chapter criticizes Heidegger’s own “mystifications” about
language and endeavors to take his thought one major step beyond.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. The Linguistic Turn
Chapter 2. Glimmerings of Transcendence
Chapter 3. Martin Heidegger’s Understanding of Language: Meaning
What Is Unsaid
Chapter 4. Hermeneutics as the Recovery of the Unsaid
Chapter 5. The End of Theology
Chapter 6. From Theology to Dialogy
Reviews
“Carl Raschke’s writings are always
insightful and provocative. His clear understanding of critical
philosophical issues lends his theological reflections and cultural
analyses unusual depth. Anyone interested in contemporary debates in
theology and the philosophy of religion should read
The End of
Theology.” —Mark C. Taylor
“Carl Raschke’s enquiry into the
possibilities of a radical hermeneutics both exposes the metaphysics
at the heart of ‘religious experience’ and turns us to face the
difficult question of what it might be to experience God in the
closure of metaphysics. Lucid and acute, it is a book that
challenges us to think more deeply and to live a little closer to
the edge.”
— Kevin Hart
Author
Carl Raschke is
professor of religious studies at the University of Denver. His
major books include The End of Theology (The Davies Group,
2000), Fire and Roses: Post-modernity and the Thought of the Body
(SUNY, 1996), The Engendering God (Westminster Press, 1995),
Painted Black (Harper Collins, 1990), and
Theological
Thinking (Scholars Press, 1988).
Raschke is the
author of over two hundred popular and scholarly articles on subjects
ranging from postmodern religious thought to computer-mediated
education to new religious movements. He is also a well-known
national media personality.
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