Title:  Epiphanies of Darkness: Deconstruction in Theology  Author:  Charles E. Winquist Philosophical and Cultural Studies in Religion Imprint:  The Davies Group, Publishers soft cover 178 pp. USD  20.00 ISBN 978-1888570504 1999   Epiphanies of Darkness is profound in its ability to bring together much of what is deepest and most disturbing in our age together with the reality of a theological desire for more. “…. [it] represents a searching and courageous appraisal of the state of theological discourse, as well as a powerfully constructive intervention into that discourse, with the aim of completely reconstituting what we mean by theology. Winquist was one of a group of contemporary radical theologians engaged in truly creative and constructive work, pressing the boundaries of what theology as a discipline is and can be, who refuse to allow piety to pass for serious theological thinking …. Winquist brought interdisciplinary breadth and insights to bear intensively and insistently on theology itself.” (from the Foreword)   Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1.  The Subversion and Transcendence of the Subject Chapter 2.  The Epistemology of Darkness Chapter 3.  The Archeology of the Imagination Chapter 4.  Metaphor and the Accession to Theological Language Chapter 5.  Body, Text and Imagination Chapter 6.  Theology and the Public Body Chapter 7.  Desire and the Subtle Body of Theology Appendix: The Deconstruction of the Theology of Proclamation Index   Reviews “[…] wonderful thing to have (Professor Winquist’s) Epiphanies of Darkness available again. I think, personally, that this is his best book, best because of the uncanny balance between a highly poetical language, a language of rare beauty and emotional investment, on the one hand, and a penetrating theoretical insight on the other, an insight that self-confidently charted the then-unexplored territory without ever failing to maintain doubts about the possibility of such a pursuit.” — Aleš Debeljak, Northwestern University.   Epiphanies of Darkness is an important book that marks a significant contribution to the growing area of deconstructive theology. By combining a sophisticated understanding of contemporary philosophy and literary criticism with his long-standing interest in depth psychology, Winquist produces a highly imaginative work that forces the reader to rethink the very foundations of theological reflection.” — Mark C. Taylor in The Journal of Religion “The theme of Epiphanies of Darkness is religious and theological, animated by the conflict between the persistence of religious experience and the inability to grasp it conceptually…employs the resources especially of the Freudian aspect of deconstruction (Lacan) in order to formulate a theory of theological thinking and to fashion a theological discourse…” — Robert P. Scharlemann in Religious Studies Review “In its sophisticated reworking or dis-articulation of traditional problems this work constitutes an important addition to the literature of deconstructive theology.” — Edith Wyschogrod in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion Author Charles E. Winquist (Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1970) was Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion at Syracuse University from 1986 until his death in 2002. He was a pioneer in postmodern, deconstructive theology and is a highly regarded theoretician of religion whose work is “constitutive of one of the more original sets of theological reflections of the late twentieth century.”  (James J. DiCenso, University of Toronto). Among his publications are The Surface of the Deep (2002), Desiring Theology (1995), Theology at the End of the Century (1990), Practical Hermeneutics (1980), Homecoming (1978), Communion of Possibility (1975), and The Transcendental Imagination (1972).