A militant Marxist atheist and a “Radical Orthodox” Christian theologian square off on everything from the meaning of theology and Christ to the war machine of corporate mafia.
“What matters is not so much that Žižek is endorsing a demythologized, disenchanted Christianity without transcendence, as that he is offering in the end (despite what he sometimes claims) a heterodox version of Christian belief.”―John Milbank
“To put it even more bluntly, my claim is that it is Milbank who is effectively guilty of heterodoxy, ultimately of a regression to paganism: in my atheism, I am more Christian than Milbank.”―Slavoj Žižek
In this corner, philosopher Slavoj Žižek, a militant atheist who represents the critical-materialist stance against religion's illusions; in the other corner, “Radical Orthodox” theologian John Milbank, an influential and provocative thinker who argues that theology is the only foundation upon which knowledge, politics, and ethics can stand. In The Monstrosity of Christ, Žižek and Milbank go head to head for three rounds, employing an impressive arsenal of moves to advance their positions and press their respective advantages. By the closing bell, they have not only proven themselves worthy adversaries, they have shown that faith and reason are not simply and intractably opposed. Žižek has long been interested in the emancipatory potential offered by Christian theology. And Milbank, seeing global capitalism as the new century's greatest ethical challenge, has pushed his own ontology in more political and materialist directions. Their debate in The Monstrosity of Christ concerns the future of religion, secularity, and political hope in light of a monsterful event―God becoming human. For the first time since Žižek's turn toward theology, we have a true debate between an atheist and a theologian about the very meaning of theology, Christ, the Church, the Holy Ghost, Universality, and the foundations of logic. The result goes far beyond the popularized atheist/theist point/counterpoint of recent books by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others. Žižek begins, and Milbank answers, countering dialectics with “paradox.” The debate centers on the nature of and relation between paradox and parallax, between analogy and dialectics, between transcendent glory and liberation. Slavoj Žižek is a philosopher and cultural critic. He has published over thirty books, including Looking Awry, The Puppet and the Dwarf, and The Parallax View (these three published by the MIT Press). John Milbank is an influential Christian theologian and the author of Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason and other books. Creston Davis, who conceived of this encounter, studied under both Žižek and Milbank.

The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (Short Circuits)

Literature & Fiction

Žižek, Slavoj

Milbank, John

History & Criticism

MIT Press]

Being reconciled (Routledge Radical Orthodoxy)

Being Reconciled is a radical and entirely fresh theological treatment of the classic theory of the Gift in the context of divine reconciliation. It reconsiders notions of freedom and exchange in relation to a Christian doctrine which understands Creation, grace and incarnation as heavenly gifts, but the Fall, evil and violence as refusal of those gifts. In a sustained and rigorous response to the works of Derrida, Levinas, Marion, Zizek, Hauerwas and the 'Radical Evil' school, John Milbank posits the daring view that only transmission of the forgiveness offered by the Divine Humanity makes reconciliation possible on earth. Any philosophical understanding of forgiveness and redemption therefore requires theological completion. Both a critique of post-Kantian modernity, and a new theology that engages with issues of language, culture, time, politics and historicity, Being Reconciled insists on the dependency of all human production and understanding on a God who is infinite in both utterance and capacity. Intended as the first in a trilogy of books centred on the gift, this book is an original and vivid new application of a classic theory by a leading international theologian.

Being Reconciled (Routledge Radical Orthodoxy)

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Routledge

A comprehensive critique of modern social theory from a Christian point of view. Shows how an engagement with postmodern thought opens the way to a theology that offers a more specifically Christian account of history and society.

Theology and Social Theory (Signposts in Theology)

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Wiley/Blackwell

The Word Made Strange: Theology, Language, Culture

The essays in this new book from John Milbank range over the entire field of theology, and both extend and enrich the theological perspective underlying his earlier Theology and Social Theory. The essays are focused around the theme of a theological approach to language, and offer a richly textured and broad ranging inquiry which will contribute to a variety of contemporary debates.

Word Made Strange

Philosophy

The essays in this new book from John Milbank range over the entire field of theology, and both extend and enrich the theological perspective underlying his earlier Theology and Social Theory. The essays are focused around the theme of a theological approach to language, and offer a richly textured and broad ranging inquiry which will contribute to a variety of contemporary debates.

History

French Jesuit Henri de Lubac (1896–1991) was arguably the most revolutionary yet under-acknowledged theologian of the twentieth century. He proposed that Western theology since the early modern period had lost sight of the key to integrating faith and reason -- namely, the truth that all human beings are naturally oriented toward the supernatural. Originally published in 2005, The Suspended Middle by John Milbank defends and amplifies de Lubac’s provocative thesis and rebuts its many critics. In this second edition Milbank has expanded and clarified his argument throughout to take greater account of new critiques of de Lubac. The future of the Christian faith is at stake, says Milbank, as he urges his readers to recover and reinvigorate de Lubac’s biblical-theological-philosophical vision.

The Suspended Middle, 2d ed: Henri de Lubac and the Renewed Split in Modern Catholic Theology

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Beyond Secular Order: The Representation of Being and the Representation of the People

Beyond Secular Order is the first of a two-volume work that expands upon renowned theologian John Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in his previously published classic text Theology and Social Theory. <ul>
<li>Continues Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in Theology and Social Theory – considered a classic work in the development of systematic theology</li> <li>Authored by one of the world’s most influential and highly regarded contemporary theologians</li> <li>Draws on a sweep of ideas and thinkers to argue that modern secularism is a form of Christian heresy that developed from the Middle Ages and can only be overcome by a renewed account of Christendom</li> <li>Shows how this heresy can be transformed into a richer blend of religion, modernity and politics</li> <li>Reveals how there is a fundamental homology between modern ideas about ontology and knowledge and modern ideas about political action, expressed in both theory and practice</li> </ul>

Beyond Secular Order is the first of a two-volume work that expands upon renowned theologian John Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in his previously published classic text Theology and Social Theory. <ul>
<li>Continues Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in Theology and Social Theory – considered a classic work in the development of systematic theology</li> <li>Authored by one of the world’s most influential and highly regarded contemporary theologians</li> <li>Draws on a sweep of ideas and thinkers to argue that modern secularism is a form of Christian heresy that developed from the Middle Ages and can only be overcome by a renewed account of Christendom</li> <li>Shows how this heresy can be transformed into a richer blend of religion, modernity and politics</li> <li>Reveals how there is a fundamental homology between modern ideas about ontology and knowledge and modern ideas about political action, expressed in both theory and practice</li> </ul>

Being Reconciled: Ontology and Pardon

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Milbank, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Milbank, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Milbank, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (Short Circuits)

Being Reconciled (Routledge Radical Orthodoxy)

Being reconciled (Routledge Radical Orthodoxy)

Theology and Social Theory (Signposts in Theology)

Word Made Strange

The Word Made Strange: Theology, Language, Culture

The Suspended Middle, 2d ed: Henri de Lubac and the Renewed Split in Modern Catholic Theology

Beyond Secular Order: The Representation of Being and the Representation of the People

Beyond Secular Order: The Representation of Being and the Representation of the People

Being Reconciled: Ontology and Pardon