31 December 2009

Books: "The Radical Orthodoxy Reader", and essays in political theology

The year 2009 has seen a number of books by John Milbank published. "The Radical Orthodoxy Reader" (Routledge), co-edited with Simon Oliver, includes a chapter, written by Milbank himself, titled "Political Theology and the New Science of Politics":

www.routledge.com/books/The-Radical-Orthodoxy-Reader-isbn9780415425131

From the publisher's description: "The Radical Orthodoxy Reader presents a selection of key readings in the field of [Anglican] Radical Orthodoxy, the most influential theological movement in contemporary academic theology. Radical Orthodoxy draws on pre-Enlightenment theology and philosophy to engage critically with the assumption and priorities of secularism, modernity, postmodernity, and associated theologies."

Already in January 2009, Milbank's "The Future of Love: Essays in Political Theology" (Cascade Books) was published:

www.wipfandstock.com/store/The_Future_of_Love_Essays_in_Political_Theology

Described thus: "With a newly written preface relating his theology to the current global situation, The Future of Love contains revised versions of eighteen of John Milbank's essays on theology, politics, religion, and culture – ranging from the onset of neoliberalism to its current crisis, and from the British to the global context. [...] Taken together, the collection amounts to a 'political theology' arrived at from diverse angles."

Michael Northcott (University of Edinburgh) writes: "These essays, published over thirty years and gathered in this important new book, demonstrate the consistent acuity and imaginative power of John Milbank's politico-theological vision. Milbank bestrides the Anglosaxon theological world with a project that is uniquely embedded in the romantic, anglocatholic, and socialist critiques of modernity from Coleridge to Ruskin. In this book we see the gradual repristination of these critiques against atheism, humanism, and neoliberalism, and the unfolding of a political theology after the secular in the form of a biblical and realist metaphysic and the neoplatonist sublime. The Future of Love is a powerful rendering of a truer and more virtuous life world than that delivered by the last thirty years of godforsaken market capitalism."

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