20 December 2011

Article: Development, ethics and theology: interdisciplinary connections and challenges

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Development, ethics and theology: interdisciplinary connections and challenges

Just published: Kjetil Fretheim (MF Norwegian School of Theology), "Development, ethics and theology: interdisciplinary connections and challenges" ("Journal of Global Ethics", 7 [3], 2011: pp. 303-13).

Quote: "In this paper, I address the interdisciplinary character of development studies and ethics by discussing the relationship between Christian theology and development studies in general and development ethics in particular. I begin by presenting development theology, a kind of theology ... related to the better-known liberation theology".

19 December 2011

Job: Chancellor's Fellowship

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Job: Chancellor's Fellowship

The School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh offers a 5-year, full-time, tenure-track Chancellor's Fellowship to "early career scholar-teachers" with an interest in Christian Ethics and Practical Theology (including political theology).

Also on offer are fellowships in Religious Studies and in World Christianity. Across the university, a total of 100 Chancellor's Fellowships are available.

18 December 2011

Book: The Weimar Moment: Liberalism, Political Theology, and Law

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: The Weimar Moment: Liberalism, Political Theology, and Law

Just published: The contributed volume, "The Weimar Moment: Liberalism, Political Theology, and Law", edited by Leonard V. Kaplan and Rudy Koshar (both University of Wisconsin-Madison), is based on a 2008 conference of the same title (Lexington Books, December 2011).

Quote: " The Weimar Moment 's evocative assault on closure and political reaction ... cannot but appeal to us today. This appeal - its historical grounding and content, its complexities and tensions, its variegated expressions across the networks of power and thought - is the essential context of the present volume, whose ... challenge ... is to provide the material to confront the present effectively".

16 December 2011

Book: The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship: Essays in the Line of Abraham Kuyper

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship: Essays in the Line of Abraham Kuyper

Just published: Richard J. Mouw (Fuller Theological Seminary), "The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship: Essays in the Line of Abraham Kuyper" (Eerdmans, November 2011).

Quote: "In thirteen essays Mouw explores and develops the Kuyperian perspective on key topics in Christian cultural discipleship, including public theology ... He deftly articulates an ecumenically enriched neo-Calvinist - or 'neo-Kuyperian' - perspective that appropriates and contextualizes the ideas and insights of this important theologian and statesman for new challenges in Christian thought and service."

15 December 2011

Book: Routledge Handbook of Political Islam

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Routledge Handbook of Political Islam

Just published: Shahram Akbarzadeh (University of Melbourne) is the editor of a contributed volume titled "Routledge Handbook of Political Islam" (Routledge, December 2011).

Quote: "[A] multidisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of political Islam, one of the key political movements of our time. Drawing on the expertise from some of the top scholars in the world it examines the main issues surrounding political Islam across the world, from aspects of Muslim integration in the West to questions of political legitimacy in the Muslim world."

Job: Operations Manager

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Job: Operations Manager

The Quixote Center, "a multi-issue social justice organization ... rooted in the tradition of liberation theology and Catholic reform movements", based in College Park, MD, USA, is looking for an Operations Manager.

Please follow the link for more details about this position.

12 December 2011

Article: Spanish Fascism as a Political Religion (1931-1941)

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Spanish Fascism as a Political Religion (1931-1941)

Just published: Zira Box (National University of Distance Education, Spain) and Ismael Saz (University of Valencia), "Spanish Fascism as a Political Religion (1931-1941)" ("Politics, Religion & Ideology", 12 [4], 2011: pp. 371-89).

Quote: "Spanish Fascism was a political religion during the Republican period, that is, from the time of its consolidation during the early 1930s to the beginning of the Civil War. However - and this is the main analytical challenge - it was also one after July 1936, in spite of the fact that the formation of Franco's Movimiento Nacional imposed no small transformations upon it."

CFP: Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben, and "the Critique of Violence"

Erich Kofmel - Google+
CFP: Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben, and "the Critique of Violence"

Papers on political theology are invited for a workshop on "Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben, and 'the Critique of Violence'", in the programme of the 13th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI), to be held 2-6 July 2012 at the University of Cyprus, Nicosia. Deadline: 15 April 2012.

Quote: "Papers will be invited on a range of possible topics, including but not limited to the following: ... Political Theology ... Benjamin and/or Agamben in relation to works by Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, ... G.W.F. Hegel, ... Hermann Cohen, ... Gershom Scholem, ... Carl Schmitt, ... Jacob Taubes, ... Emmanuel Lévinas, Jacques Derrida, Jacques Rancière, Alain Badiou and others."

Papers are to be submitted to the workshop chairs. Further information on all accepted workshops and a full call for papers are to be found on the conference website: http://issei2012.haifa.ac.il/

10 December 2011

Book: Theology in the Public Sphere: Public Theology as a Catalyst for Open Debate

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Theology in the Public Sphere: Public Theology as a Catalyst for Open Debate

Just published: Sebastian Kim (York St John University), "Theology in the Public Sphere: Public Theology as a Catalyst for Open Debate" (SCM Press, September 2011).

Endorsement: "Drawing on contemporary examples from around the globe including India, Korea and South America, Professor Kim demonstrates how public theology is extending the church's core concerns for justice, community and the well being into the broader public sphere." (John Sentamu, Archbishop of York)

07 December 2011

CFP: Renaissance Borders

Erich Kofmel - Google+
CFP: Renaissance Borders

A call for papers on "Renaissance Borders" and (early modern) political theology for the Annual Princeton Renaissance Studies Graduate Conference, Princeton University, 13-14 April 2012:

"From the beginning, conceptualizations of the Renaissance have been concerned with borders: between the classical past and the modern present; between pagan and Christian; between the civilized and the barbarous. Even as the idea of the Renaissance has endured various critiques over the past half century, this attention to borders has only intensified. In current debates about secularization and periodization in Renaissance studies, the boundaries between past and present and between the sacred and the profane have taken on a newly charged intensity. And these period-specific border disputes relate to more general questions in the humanities today: the future of interdisciplinarity; the role of material culture in the study of art; political theology and the development of the liberal state; and Jacques Ranciere's reading of aesthetics as a 'distribution of the sensible.'

"We invite graduate students from across the disciplines to submit abstracts addressing the issue of borders in the Renaissance, broadly conceived. Topics of interest might include:

"- - National territory, identity, and art
- - Marginalia
- - Relations between the disciplines
- - Levels of style, genre, and class
- - Periodization
- - Secularization
- - City and country
- - Economic, political, and aesthetic distribution
- - Citizen, human, creature
- - Exceptions and emergencies

"Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to renaissanceborders@gmail.com by February 1, 2012."

06 December 2011

Book: To Kill Another: Homicide and Natural Law

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: To Kill Another: Homicide and Natural Law

On the political theology of homicide: Graham J. McAleer (Loyola University Maryland), "To Kill Another: Homicide and Natural Law" (Transaction Publishers, October 2010).

Quote: "Western theories of law have drifted steadily towards the privatization of homicide. Public acts of homicide like capital punishment are now viewed by many as barbaric, even for heinous crimes, while a private act of homicide like the (increasingly routine) starvation of comatose patients is viewed by many as a caring gesture both to patient and family. ... McAleer argues that humanitarianism is a false friend to those committed to rule of law. As a consequence, the problem of human vulnerability makes political theology an inescapable consideration for law."

Article: Citizens into wolves?: Carl Schmitt's fictive account of security

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Citizens into wolves?: Carl Schmitt's fictive account of security

Just published: Thomas Moore (University of Westminster), "Citizens into wolves?: Carl Schmitt's fictive account of security" ("Cooperation and Conflict", 46 [4], December 2011: pp. 502-20).

Quote: "This article assesses the extent to which security regimes are the products of authorization in the thought of Thomas Hobbes and Carl Schmitt. ... Schmitt's security regime is fictive, driven by colourful metaphor and political theology. By returning to classic questions of authorization - how a security regime authorizes itself - International Relations theory can examine the legitimation of security beyond an exclusively state-centric model."

02 December 2011

CFP: The Bible, Zionism and Palestine: A conference to explore the role of the bible in theology and politics in Israel and Palestine today

Erich Kofmel - Google+
CFP: The Bible, Zionism and Palestine: A conference to explore the role of the bible in theology and politics in Israel and Palestine today


Paper proposals on, for example, "Palestinian liberation theology" and "religious Zionism" are invited for a conference to be hosted 24-26 May 2012 by the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield, under the theme, "The Bible, Zionism and Palestine: A conference to explore the role of the bible in theology and politics in Israel and Palestine today". Deadline: 1 March 2012.

Quote: "We are welcoming contributions from all perspectives under four main headings: Antisemitism, Philosemitism and the Bible; The Bible and the Existence of Israel; Judaism, Christianity and Zionism; and the Bible and the Palestinians."

The Bible, Zionism and Palestine: A conference to explore the role of the bible in theology and politics in Israel and Palestine today

01 December 2011

CFP: Tradition, Place, and "Things Divine"

Erich Kofmel - Google+
CFP: Tradition, Place, and "Things Divine"

The Ciceronian Society invites paper proposals on "Social-Political Theology" and other subjects related to "Tradition, Place, and 'Things Divine'" for its second annual conference, taking place 29-31 March 2012 at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The call for papers does not mention a particular deadline.

Quote: "With respect to possible thinkers whose work might fit well with the Ciceronian Society's concerns, they are legion. Here are just a few: ... Charles Taylor, ... Stanely [sic] Hauerwas, ... Rene Girard, G.K. Chesterton, ... Alasdair MacIntyre, ... Leo Strauss, ... Eric Voegelin".

Conferences | The Ciceronian Society

29 November 2011

Article: French Laïcité and the Recent Reception of the German Secularization Debate into France

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: French Laïcité and the Recent Reception of the German Secularization Debate into France

Just published: Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins (Columbia University), "French Laïcité and the Recent Reception of the German Secularization Debate into France" ("Politics, Religion & Ideology", 12 [4], 2011: pp. 433-47).

Quote: "[B]eginning in the 1980s some leading French intellectuals turned their attention towards the German debate over secularization that Carl Schmitt initiated with his work Political Theology in the early 1920s. ... The second part of this article demonstrates ... the interest of French scholars who wish to reconceptualize the historical origins and developments of French laïcité in light of questions involving Islam, French identity, and the idea of Europe."

27 November 2011

Article: Prophetically Political, Politically Prophetic: William Cavanaugh's "Theopolitical Imagination" as an Example of Walter Brueggemann's

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Prophetically Political, Politically Prophetic: William Cavanaugh's "Theopolitical Imagination" as an Example of Walter Brueggemann's "Prophetic Imagination"

Just published: Lisa P. Stephenson (Lee University), "Prophetically Political, Politically Prophetic: William Cavanaugh's 'Theopolitical Imagination' as an Example of Walter Brueggemann's 'Prophetic Imagination" ("Journal of Church & State", 53 [4], autumn 2011: pp. 567-86).

Excerpt: "What does the political theology of a Protestant Old Testament scholar have to do with that of a Roman Catholic theologian? ... One of the primary reasons why Brueggemann's and Cavanaugh's political theologies are similar is because they are both operating with the same understanding of what the task of political theology is."

25 November 2011

Articles: Meeting Opposites: The Political Theologies of Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt / Secret Agreements and Slight Adjustments

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Articles: Meeting Opposites: The Political Theologies of Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt / Secret Agreements and Slight Adjustments: On Giorgio Agamben's Messianic Citations

Just published: Marc de Wilde (University of Amsterdam), "Meeting Opposites: The Political Theologies of Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt" ("Philosophy & Rhetoric", 44 [4], 2011: pp. 363-81).

Quote: "Challenging existing interpretations, this article shows how the political theologies of Benjamin and Schmitt are not static but developed in the course of their dialogue, in which both authors respond to each other's criticism by changing and correcting their own positions in significant ways."

The author of another article on Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben just asked me to post a note: Jason Thomas McKinney (University of Toronto), "Secret Agreements and Slight Adjustments: On Giorgio Agamben's Messianic Citations" ("The Journal of Religion", 91 [4], October 2011: pp. 496-518).

Excerpt: "I would like to critically examine some of Agamben's citations of Paul, Benjamin, and a few others. I want to argue that in certain cases both Paul and Benjamin are ultimately misread. These errors are, to be sure, more strategic than careless ..., the deployment of one form of messianism against another."

For the latter article, follow this link: http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1086/660903

23 November 2011

Article: Political Theology in the Poetry of Richard Crashaw

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Political Theology in the Poetry of Richard Crashaw

Just published: Jayme M. Yeo (Rice University), "Political Theology in the Poetry of Richard Crashaw" ("Literature and Theology", 25 [4], December 2011: pp. 393-406).

Quote: "Richard Crashaw is not normally considered a political poet. And yet, he wrote a number of early poems on the British monarchy ... This article demonstrates that the theology of 'The Flaming Heart' informs a deeply political project, in which mystical union with God is reimagined as a fundamental encounter with the other that forms the basis for an ideal society."

Book: An Eerdmans Reader in Contemporary Political Theology

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: An Eerdmans Reader in Contemporary Political Theology

Just published: "An Eerdmans Reader in Contemporary Political Theology", edited by Craig Hovey (Ashland University), William T. Cavanaugh (DePaul University), and Jeffrey Bailey (Cambridge), translators not named (Eerdmans, November 2011).

Quote: "Given that the locus of Christianity is undeniably shifting to the global South, this volume uniquely integrates key voices from Africa, Asia, and Latin America with central texts from Europe and North America on such major subjects as church and state, gender and race, and Christendom and postcolonialism. ... [A]n ideal primary-source introduction to contemporary political theology".

22 November 2011

Book: Church, Gospel, and Empire: How the Politics of Sovereignty Impregnated the West

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Church, Gospel, and Empire: How the Politics of Sovereignty Impregnated the West

Just published: Roger Haydon Mitchell (Lancaster University), "Church, Gospel, and Empire: How the Politics of Sovereignty Impregnated the West" (Wipf and Stock, November 2011).

Endorsements: "The book lays down a challenge of enormous audacity to previous accounts of secularism as the product of modernity, offering a new political conception of the genesis of modernity. It is a major contribution to contemporary Christian political theology". (Graham Ward, University of Manchester)

"In this powerful, controversial, and passionately argued book, Roger Haydon Mitchell offers a genealogy of political theology - its past, its present, and, most importantly, its future." (Arthur Bradley, Lancaster University)

21 November 2011

Article: Toward a Practical Black Theology and Liberation Ethic: An Alternative African-American Perspective

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Toward a Practical Black Theology and Liberation Ethic: An Alternative African-American Perspective

On "Black Theology for the post-Civil Rights era": Mark Gawaine Harden (Bethel University), "Toward a Practical Black Theology and Liberation Ethic: An Alternative African-American Perspective" ("Black Theology: An International Journal", 9 [1], 2011: pp. 35-55).

Quote: "This essay utilizes critical analysis, reflections, and observations to derive at a method that leads to a relevant and useful Black theology that may bridge individual life practices in the context of the Black church. ... The author argues that action, beliefs, and the context are the necessary sources for theological reflection ... grounded in the African-American experience."

Article: Political Theology Ten Years After 9/11

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Political Theology Ten Years After 9/11

Political theology, multidisciplinary and interreligious: Julie Clague (University of Glasgow), "Political Theology Ten Years After 9/11" ("Political Theology", 12 [5], 2011: pp. 645-59).

Quote: "'Political Theology Ten Years After 9/11' examines the nature of the discourse of political theology before 9/11, and discusses its tendencies to parochialism and denominationalism. In the post-9/11 context, new more inclusive, cross-cutting discussions are required by those who work in the field".

Article: Religion, Politics and Liberation: A Dialogue between Gustavo Gutiérrez, the 14th Dalai Lama and Gianni Vattimo

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Religion, Politics and Liberation: A Dialogue between Gustavo Gutiérrez, the 14th Dalai Lama and Gianni Vattimo

A liberation theologian, a Buddhist, and a nihilist: Mario I. Aguilar (University of St Andrews), "Religion, Politics and Liberation: A Dialogue between Gustavo Gutiérrez, the 14th Dalai Lama and Gianni Vattimo" ("Political Theology", 12 [1], 2011: pp. 144-66).

Quote: "Gustavo Gutiérrez, the 14th Dalai Lama and the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo ... have made an enormous contribution to ... the practice of religion and politics centred on the poor ... This paper argues that the practice of a religion of love and a compassionate politics stressing commonalities rather than differences have a lot to offer to a contemporary practice and critical reflection on political theology."

17 November 2011

Book: Jesus Goes to McDonald's: Theology and Consumer Society

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Jesus Goes to McDonald's: Theology and Consumer Society

Just published in English: Luiz Alexandre Solano Rossi (Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná), "Jesus Goes to McDonald's: Theology and Consumer Society", trans. not named (Wipf and Stock, November 2011).

Quote: "This book demonstrates that Latin American liberation theology continues to produce substantial biblical exegesis, absorbing theological reflection, and a sharp social critique that enhances the worldwide church. ... Not since Gustavo Gutiérrez's On Job has there been such a compelling reading of the book of Job as a literary mirror of oppressive socioeconomic and political conditions."

15 November 2011

Book: How Civilizations Die (And Why Islam Is Dying Too)

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: How Civilizations Die (And Why Islam Is Dying Too)

Just published: The book, "How Civilizations Die (And Why Islam Is Dying Too)", by "Asia Times" columnist David P. Goldman, a.k.a. Spengler (Regnery Publishing, September 2011), includes five chapters on "Theopolitics".

In an interview, Goldman said that "Theopolitics" "was my original working title for the book ... Why do some nations find the spiritual resources to embrace life, while others chant, 'We love death'? What is the rational self-interest of a nation that has chosen to become extinct? And how will nations on the way to extinction respond to their predicament? These are the great questions of our time, and materialist political science does not have the tools to answer them. Franz Rosenzweig's sociology of religion, for example, provides a better framework for understanding these problems than the political rationalism of Leo Strauss."

CFP: Liberation Theology

Erich Kofmel - Google+
CFP: Liberation Theology

The Religion and American Culture Caucus (RAAC) of the American Studies Association (ASA) has issued a call for papers on liberation theology:

"Participants are sought for a panel on Liberation Theology for the 2012 American Studies (ASA) Annual Meeting, to be held November 15-18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Scholars from all fields are encouraged to consider the topic broadly. Topics include the development and application of liberation theology in various denominational contexts and specific nations; the politics of liberation theology, especially in America; public responses to liberation theology; and the future of liberation theology. Scholars outside of religious studies are especially encouraged to submit proposals, as are scholars focusing on lesser-known religious traditions. Scholarship focusing on Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the Caribbean are [sic] especially welcome. Historical and contemporary topics are invited.

"The Religion and American Culture Caucus of the American Studies Association is organizing panels for submission to the Program Committee of the ASA for the 2012 Annual Meeting. While only the ASA Program Committee has authority to select panels, the Caucus hopes to encourage participation in religion-focused panels by scholars in all fields.

"Presenters, chairs, commentators, and chair/commentators are sought for this panel. Presenters can read traditional papers, lead discussions or activities, share a lecture, present visual analyses, or share their research in other ways in 15-25 minute presentations. Chairs introduce panelists, manage presentation time, and facilitate discussion after the presentations. Commentators provide feedback on individual presentations and offer brief comments that synthesize findings. Chair/commentators fulfill both roles.

"With rare exceptions of non-academics who seek the approval of the ASA program committee, all participants must be members of the ASA in order to present, though membership is not required to submit a panel for consideration. Membership costs vary according to income and employment status. All participants must also register for the ASA Annual Meeting; registration cost likewise varies. Please see the http://www.theasa.net [sic] for information about cost of membership and registration. By submitting a presentation proposal or volunteering to serve as chair, commentator, or chair/commentator, you agree that, if your panel is accepted, you will join the ASA if you are not otherwise a member and register for and attend the Annual Meeting.

"ASA Annual Meeting participants may appear on the program only once - as a panelist, chair, commentator, or commentator/chair. Please submit only one presentation proposal or volunteer for only one role as submitting more than one proposal or volunteering for more than one role will disqualify all panels for which you volunteer.

"Would-be presenters should submit a 2-page CV and a 500 word abstract with title and your name to Religion and American Culture Caucus co-chair Rebecca Barrett-Fox at rbarrettfox@bethelks.edu by December 15, 2011. These should be submitted as MS Word documents or as PDFs. In addition, include a list of 3-5 key words and any AV needs at the bottom of the abstract.

"Scholars volunteering to serve as chairs, commentators, and chair/commentators should submit 2-page CVs as well as a list of topics of particular expertise and the role(s) in which they are willing to serve. Senior scholars and those who plan on attending ASA anyway but not presenting are especially encouraged to volunteer in these roles. Again, this information should be sent to Rebecca Barrett-Fox at rbarrettfox@bethelks.edu by December 15, 2011.

"The Religion and American Culture Caucus will organize panels by January 1, 2012. At that point, potential panelists and chairs will be matched and introduced to each other via email and encouraged to work together to draft a 500 word panel proposal, which must then be forwarded by panel members to the ASA Program Committee via the ASA's website. Panel submissions, which will include the panel proposal as well as individual presentation proposals and presenter and chair and commentator or chair/commentator CVs, are due to the ASA by January 26, 2012. The ASA Program Committee will identify accepted panels by early spring 2012 and will release the final schedule for the Annual Meeting early in the summer of 2012.

"Religion and American Culture Caucus members are proud of the many panels focusing on religion that appeared in the Annual Meeting program in 2011 and of the large audiences that these panels drew and hope to extend this trend to 2012's Meeting. The Caucus seeks to support scholars as well as journalists, activists, and others who work in this area, especially those whose primary home is not in religious studies programs. If you are interested in participating in the work of the Caucus, please visit http://www.theasa.net/caucus_religion/. If you are considering submitting a presentation proposal but would like support in developing or articulating your ideas in writing, please email Rebecca Barrett-Fox at rbarrettfox@bethelks.edu for assistance."

13 November 2011

Book: The WASP Question: An Essay on the Biocultural Evolution, Present Predicament, and Future Prospects of the Invisible Race

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: The WASP Question: An Essay on the Biocultural Evolution, Present Predicament, and Future Prospects of the Invisible Race

A far-right political theology of race: Andrew Fraser, formerly of Macquarie University, Sydney, is the author of "The WASP Question: An Essay on the Biocultural Evolution, Present Predicament, and Future Prospects of the Invisible Race" (Arktos, June 2011). The book includes a chapter titled "Political Theology: How America's Civil Religion Fosters Anglo-Saxon Ethnomasochism".

Quote: " The WASP Question is valuable for focusing attention on the plight of Anglo-Saxon societies assailed by runaway materialism and imposed diversity. The book articulates a role for national religions in defending populations of ethnic kin. For Anglo-Saxons, that role is fulfilled by the orthodox Christian doctrine of nations. Fraser's appeal to a patriot king who can restore Anglo-Saxons' biocultural identity and ethno-religious autonomy is a provocative alternative."

11 November 2011

Article: Global Economics and US Public Policy: Human Liberation for the Global Poor

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Global Economics and US Public Policy: Human Liberation for the Global Poor

On the praxis of black liberation theology: Keri Day (Brite Divinity School), "Global Economics and US Public Policy: Human Liberation for the Global Poor" ("Black Theology: An International Journal", 9 [1], 2011: pp. 9-33).

Quote: "This article explores how Black liberation theologies can respond to chronic poverty experienced by communities of color around the world. This article argues that ... these theologies would do well to couple the theological task with a political task in offering practical guidance toward a preferable future".

10 November 2011

Article: The Judgment of God and the Immeasurable: Political Theology and Organizations of Power

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: The Judgment of God and the Immeasurable: Political Theology and Organizations of Power

An exercise in comparative political theology: Anthony Paul Smith (DePaul University), "The Judgment of God and the Immeasurable: Political Theology and Organizations of Power" ("Political Theology", 12 [1], 2011: pp. 69-86).

Quote: "This article considers how political theologies understand and organize power ...: liberal political theology ...; conservative political theology ...; and political anti-theology ... It ends by way of a speculative account of a political non-theology ... that makes each of these political theologies relative to the immeasurable itself and thus turns them into simple material that may be used to construct relative different organizations of power with greater situational efficacies."

Public lectures: Politics, Religion and Theology

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Public lectures: Politics, Religion and Theology

The Institute for Philosophy & Religion at Boston University is running a 2011-12 Lecture Series on "Politics, Religion and Theology".

Quote: "This ... series will explore ... the specific notions of civil religion (in the broadest sense from Rousseau to Tocqueville to Robert Bellah) and political theology (in a comparative way, as it has been reflected especially in political thinkers whose work has been influenced by the three monotheistic traditions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity)."

All lectures are free and open to the public.

09 November 2011

Book: Immunitas: The Protection and Negation of Life

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Immunitas: The Protection and Negation of Life

Just published in English: Roberto Esposito (Italian Institute of Human Sciences), "Immunitas: The Protection and Negation of Life", trans. Zakiya Hanafi (Polity, November 2011).

Endorsement: "Esposito offers the reader a stunning genealogy of the category of immunization ... across a series of disciplines, including law, political theology, philosophical anthropology, and biopolitics, all culminating in the the model of the transplant for imagining an immunization that might lead to 'the immune common.' ... An absolute must read for anyone interested in thinking the future of life and politics in a biopolitical age." (Timothy C. Campbell, Cornell University)

Book - Roberto Esposito - Immunitas

Article: A Case Study in Soviet Political Religion: Modernism, The USSR in Construction, and Stalin's Russia

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: A Case Study in Soviet Political Religion: Modernism, The USSR in Construction, and Stalin's Russia


Just published: Matthew Feldman (University of Northampton), "A Case Study in Soviet Political Religion: Modernism, The USSR in Construction, and Stalin's Russia" ("Religion Compass", 5 [11], November 2011: pp. 685-97).

Quote: "The following article provides a case study in political religion theory via exploration of a neglected Soviet journal ... which appeared between January 1930 and June 1941 ... Contributors may be seen as propagandists, strangely enough, in an etymological sense: propagators of a faith - in this case a 'political theology' - on behalf of a Stalinist utopia that they believed was currently 'under construction'."

A Case Study in Soviet Political Religion: Modernism, The USSR in Construction, and Stalin’s Russia - Feldman - 2011 - Religion Compass - Wiley Online Library

05 November 2011

Article: Connolly's Mysterious Trinity Machine: A Panentheistic Reading

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Connolly's Mysterious Trinity Machine: A Panentheistic Reading

Part of a symposium of articles on William E. Connolly's "Capitalism and Christianity, American Style": Catherine Keller (Drew University), "Connolly’s Mysterious Trinity Machine: A Panentheistic Reading" ("Political Theology", 12 [2], 2011: pp. 202-9).

Quote: "Discerning a secret Trinitarian structure in Connolly's immanent naturalism, though not the Father, Son and Ghost, the article explores the potentials for developing a counter-apocalyptic strategy for political theology that can counter fundamentalist drives and lay the basis for releasing new energies of earthly becoming."

Keller

Article: A Black Theology of Liberation or Legitimation?: A Postcolonial Response to Cone's Black Theology and Black Power at Forty

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: A Black Theology of Liberation or Legitimation?: A Postcolonial Response to Cone's Black Theology and Black Power at Forty


On liberationist "black ... middle class theology": Elonda Clay (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago), "A Black Theology of Liberation or Legitimation?: A Postcolonial Response to Cone's Black Theology and Black Power at Forty" ("Black Theology: An International Journal", 8 [3], 2010: pp. 307-26).

Quote: "The signifier 'liberation' has become decontextualized (politically, economically, and culturally) in the second and third iterations of U.S. black liberation theology, causing the discourse to become perpetually oriented towards past, not present or future alternative dreams of social transformation and sites of struggle informed by the black Christian radical tradition."

Clay

Article: Habermas between Athens and Jerusalem: Public Reason and Atheistic Theology

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Habermas between Athens and Jerusalem: Public Reason and Atheistic Theology

Just published: Miguel Vatter (Diego Portales University, Chile), "Habermas between Athens and Jerusalem: Public Reason and Atheistic Theology" ("Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy", 38 [3], fall 2011: pp. 243-59).

Excerpt: "Here I discuss Habermas's sympathetic approach to the so-called critical political theology, developed by German theologians ... The third part of this presentation takes up Habermas's 'methodological atheism,' ... In this context, I compare Habermas's atheistic standpoint with that of Spinoza in light of their use of a conception of public reason to resolve the conflict between reason and faith."

The link is to a full-text copy of the journal.

http://www.interpretationjournal.com/backissues/Vol_38_3.pdf

04 November 2011

Book: Theological Tractates

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Book: Theological Tractates

Available in English for the first time: Erik Peterson, "Theological Tractates", ed./trans. Michael J. Hollerich (Stanford University Press, October 2011).

Quote: "The essays in Theological Tractates were published between 1925 and 1937 ... Among them is Peterson's landmark essay on ancient 'political theology,' 'Monotheism as a Political Problem,' which shows how ancient writers - pagans, Jews, and Christians - justified earthly monarchy by its parallel with the monotheistic belief in one divinity in heaven. Peterson asserted that such a political theology was incompatible with Christianity, a thesis that became a reference point for modern political theology."

Theological Tractates - Erik Peterson Edited, Translated, and with an Introduction by Michael J. Hollerich

Article: Machining fantasy: Spinoza, Hume and the miracle in a politics of desire

Erich Kofmel - Google+
Article: Machining fantasy: Spinoza, Hume and the miracle in a politics of desire

Another article by Kyle McGee, an independent scholar with a J.D. from Villanova University (2009): "Machining fantasy: Spinoza, Hume and the miracle in a politics of desire" ("Philosophy & Social Criticism", 36 [7], September 2010: pp. 837-56).

Quote: "Political theology understands the miracle poorly, for it captures only the inaugural movement of exception; it knows nothing of the social and political conditions it inspires. ... The article works out a conceptual genealogy, tracing the descent of the miracle back from Deleuze and Guattari to Baruch Spinoza and David Hume. Each contributes an element essential for the constitution of miraculation."

Machining fantasy: Spinoza, Hume and the miracle in a politics of desire

31 October 2011

Article: Jan Assmann and the Theologization of the Political

Google:
Article: Jan Assmann and the Theologization of the Political

On political theology in ancient Egypt: Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins (Columbia University), "Jan Assmann and the Theologization of the Political" ("Political Theology", 12 [4], 2011: pp. 511-30).

Quote: "Assmann attempts to counter Schmitt's conception of modern secularization by suggesting that Mosaic monotheism inaugurated a revolution by theologizing the political. ... It will be attempted throughout this paper to bring conceptual clarification to Assmann’s notion of theologization by relating it to the question of political theology currently taking place [sic] in France and the English-speaking world."

Links to Equinox journals still can't be attached to Google+ posts, and Google's webcache seems prevented from capturing many of the same articles. Until someone at Equinox can be bothered to fix the problem, please click on the link at the top of the cache to be taken to the publisher's abstract.

Journal special issue: Responsible South African Public Theology in a Global Era

Google:
Journal special issue: Responsible South African Public Theology in a Global Era

In January 2011, the "International Journal of Public Theology" published a special issue (5 [1]) on "Responsible South African Public Theology in a Global Era".

The introduction and the first article set out "to help the non-South African reader to better situate and understand the contributions ... Attention is also given to the debate on public theology as such and the different notions of public theologians prevalent in the South African context."

30 October 2011

Article: Demonomics: Leibniz and the antinomy of modern power

Google:
Article: Demonomics: Leibniz and the antinomy of modern power

Kyle McGee, an independent scholar who was awarded a J.D. from Villanova University in 2009, is the author of "Demonomics: Leibniz and the antinomy of modern power" ("Radical Philosophy: A Journal of Socialist and Feminist Philosophy", 168, July/August 2011: pp. 33-45).

Excerpt: "Two apparently opposed approaches to power in political philosophy - political theology and biopower - are the contemporary heirs to this critical tradition. Each ... advancing something like a theory of radical democracy on its normative edge. ... Together, however, they compose an antinomy. ... Applying pressure to the antinomy yields an alternative concept of power that belongs to a non-democratic discourse. ... The conclusion restates some key findings that gesture towards a finally non-democratic political philosophy for the present."

Article: Re-Emergence of Practice in Contemporary Theology: Aspects and Prospects

Google:
Article: Re-Emergence of Practice in Contemporary Theology: Aspects and Prospects

Published in a Romanian journal: Olli-Pekka Vainio (University of Helsinki), "Re-Emergence of Practice in Contemporary Theology: Aspects and Prospects" ("Perichoresis: The Theological Journal of Emanuel University of Oradea", 9 [2], 2011: pp. 183-200).

Quote: "When positivist philosophies started to falter and pragmatism gained momentum in Anglo-American philosophy, it was natural for theology to ... move from theories to practices. This highlighting of practice can be seen in ... liberation theology, postliberal theology, and virtue-ethics and virtue-epistemology. In this article, I will ... examine the current debates and their possible future prospects."

The link is to a full-text copy of the article.

Article: Politico-theological critique of the national anti-myth (in Croatian)

Google:
Article: Politico-theological critique of the national anti-myth (in Croatian)

Written in Croatian, journalist Drago Pilsel's article, "Političko-teologijska kritika nacionalnog anti-Mita" ("Politico-theological critique of the national anti-myth"), was published in the journal, "Politička misao" ("Croatian Political Science Review"; 48 [1], June 2011: pp. 135-56).

Quote: "This article presents a discussion of the essence of moral, political theology, one which is specifically related to the political life and the public attitude with which Croatia would like to enter the European Union and make itself more present in the world. ... Understood in this way, every kind of theology, and especially political theology, has a permanent and necessary role to play in the process of liberation from all forms of religious alienation."

A full-text copy of the article can be downloaded from the link below.

28 October 2011

Book: Seek the Peace of the City: Christian Political Criticism as Public, Realist, and Transformative

Google:
Book: Seek the Peace of the City: Christian Political Criticism as Public, Realist, and Transformative

On theological realism in political theory: Richard Bourne (University of Cumbria), "Seek the Peace of the City: Christian Political Criticism as Public, Realist, and Transformative" (Cascade Books, October 2009).

Endorsement: "Imaginatively drawing on a wide range of theological literature, social, and political theory, Bourne, in a manner unlike anyone else, helps us see how the work of John Howard Yoder provides a constructive politics for Christians in our day. ... Bourne, hopefully, has made John Howard Yoder indispensable for work in political theology." (Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University)

CFP: The Future of Liberation Theology

Google:
CFP: The Future of Liberation Theology

The First Annual "Union Seminary Quarterly Review" Graduate Students' Conference, themed "The Future of Liberation Theology", will take place on 24 February 2012 at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The deadline for paper proposals is 1 December 2011.

Quote: "How might the varied liberationist projects of the past inform contemporary efforts within and outside the academy to confront the various crises humans face today? How, if at all, has the context for engaging such crises changed since the advent of liberation theology? What is at the root of the shift away from liberation theology in the religious academy?"

27 October 2011

Article: Mapping Black Theology Globally

Google:
Article: Mapping Black Theology Globally

Against a "universal humanism": Edward P. Antonio (Iliff School of Theology), "Mapping Black Theology Globally" ("Religion Compass", 5 [2], February 2011: pp. 61-70).

Quote: "This essay is a survey of the global presence of black theology in three regions of the world: South Africa, Britain, and the Caribbean. The essay ... constructs its international presence as a summons to recognize the extent to which black theology itself is riven by the internal differences which always constitute it in the specific idiom of its local responses to the ubiquity of racism in modernity."

Chapter: On the Muslim Question

Google:
Chapter: On the Muslim Question

Marking "Islam ... as the pre-eminent site of danger to politics": Anne Norton (University of Pennsylvania), "On the Muslim Question", in "Democracy, Religious Pluralism and the Liberal Dilemma of Accommodation", ed. Monica Mookherjee (Springer, January 2011: pp. 65-75).

Quote: "Marx’s essay 'On the Jewish Question' marks the Jew as the site where post-Enlightenment Europe confronted the spectre of theology in the question of citizenship. In our time, the figure of the Muslim has become the axis where questions of political philosophy and political theology, politics and ethics meet."

Chapter: Charisma and Critique: Critical Theory, Authority, and the Critique of Political Theology

Google:
Chapter: Charisma and Critique: Critical Theory, Authority, and the Critique of Political Theology

Just published: David Norman Smith (University of Kansas), "Charisma and Critique: Critical Theory, Authority, and the Critique of Political Theology", in "The Diversity of Social Theories", ed. Harry F. Dahms (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, October 2011: pp. 33-56).

Quote: "Marcuse broke with transcendentalism when he repudiated existentialism and political theology. He concluded that relying on any kind of charismatic savior, whether a class or a leader, is an abdication of sociological realism and political responsibility. Reaching this conclusion ... enabled him to assist Horkheimer in the elaboration of the founding principles of critical theory."

24 October 2011

Article: The Problem of Emergency in the American Supreme Court

Google:
Article: The Problem of Emergency in the American Supreme Court

Just published: Emily Hartz (University of Southern Denmark) and Rasmus Ugilt (Aarhus University, Denmark), "The Problem of Emergency in the American Supreme Court" ("Law and Critique", 22 [3], November 2011: pp. 295-316).

Quote: "Sixty years before Carl Schmitt wrote his Political Theology, and more than a 100 years before President Bush announced a 'war on terrorism' the American Supreme Court grappled with the difficult issue of emergency powers in connection with issues arising out of the American Civil War (1861-1865). ... This article engages the theoretical framework of Locke, Schmitt and Agamben in order to come to a better understanding of this important set of cases."

Articles: Emergency Government Within the Bounds of the Constitution: An Introduction / Pentecost: Democratic Sovereignty in Carl Schmitt

Google:
Articles: Emergency Government Within the Bounds of the Constitution: An Introduction to Carl Schmitt, "The Dictatorship of the Reich president according to Article 48 R.V." / Pentecost: Democratic Sovereignty in Carl Schmitt

Just published: A special issue of "Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory" on "Carl Schmitt's Constitutional Theory" (18 [3], September 2011). It includes the first English translation of Schmitt's "Die Diktatur des Reichspräsidenten nach Art. 48 der Reichsverfassung" ("The Dictatorship of the Reich president according to Art 48 of the Reich constitution": pp. 299-323).

Two articles seem particularly concerned with political theology: Ellen Kennedy (University of Pennsylvania), "Emergency Government Within the Bounds of the Constitution: An Introduction to Carl Schmitt, 'The Dictatorship of the Reich president according to Article 48 R.V.'" (pp. 284-97).

Excerpt: "Germany's first republican constitution belonged to the set of 'liberal-democratic constitutions' that replaced monarchies across Europe after the Great War. What kings and heredity had been for centuries gave way to the principle of democratic sovereignty as self-evident, a belief Carl Schmitt theorized as 'political theology': what God had been to the world, the King had been to the state, and now the people became as the present immanence of meaning."

Anne Norton (University of Pennsylvania), "Pentecost: Democratic Sovereignty in Carl Schmitt (pp. 389-402).

Excerpt: "Dictatorship, like monarchy, affirmed the subjective, the individual will, the individual. Schmitt's debt to Hegel is visible here, as is Hegel's political theology. ... His turn to Donoso Cortés reflects his commitment to 'Roman Catholicism as political form' and a more Catholic political theology. Schmitt's religious imperative has been, ironically, attractive to those Christian evangelicals who, committed to the notion of a personal God in a quite different sense, likewise insist on the primacy of the incarnate form of the divine sovereign."

22 October 2011

Book: The Revival of Political Hesychasm in Contemporary Orthodox Thought: The Political Hesychasm of John Romanides and Christos Yannaras

Google:
Book: The Revival of Political Hesychasm in Contemporary Orthodox Thought: The Political Hesychasm of John Romanides and Christos Yannaras

Eastern Orthodox identity against western globalization: Daniel P. Payne (Baylor University), "The Revival of Political Hesychasm in Contemporary Orthodox Thought: The Political Hesychasm of John Romanides and Christos Yannaras" (Lexington Books, March 2011).

Endorsement: "At a time when political hesychasm is frequently being used to characterize Orthodox political theology, Daniel P. Payne presents us with a much needed critical analysis of the sources of this concept and its contemporary usage in Greek Orthodox theological thought." (Kristina Stoeckl, University of Rome "Tor Vergata")

Article: Between Liberalism and Theocracy

Google:
Article: Between Liberalism and Theocracy

Just published: John D. Inazu (Washington University in St. Louis), "Between Liberalism and Theocracy" ("Campbell Law Review", 33 [3], 2011: pp. 591-608).

Quote: "By approaching these issues through the lens of political theology (as distinct from either political or constitutional theory), I hope to show that some of the most significant embodiments of conscience in the American colonies can neither be squared with an individualistic liberalism (as some on the left are prone to do) nor appropriated in the service of arguments that collapse the distinction between church and state (as some on the right are prone to do)."

Article: From Žižek's Monstrous Politics to the Political Theology of Kierkegaard's Housing Project

Google:
Article: From Žižek's Monstrous Politics to the Political Theology of Kierkegaard's Housing Project

Just published: Marko Zlomislić (Conestoga College), "From Žižek's Monstrous Politics to the Political Theology of Kierkegaard's Housing Project" ("Toronto Journal of Theology", 27 [2], August 2011: pp. 175-88).

Quote: "Kierkegaard's philosophy provides us with a radical opening from which to re-think political theology from the position of the single individual to come. The program that Žižek upholds is not adequate for the transformation of society or self because it does not have a religious understanding of the individual. As such, Žižek's position is grounded in despair, not love."

19 October 2011

CFP: Non-Western perspectives on political theology

Google:
CFP: Non-Western perspectives on political theology

The journal, "Political Theology" (www.politicaltheology.com), is calling for papers and contributions to its blog from non-Western perspectives:

"Do you have first-hand experience of religion and politics in the global South or Eastern Europe? Do you have an interest in political theology, but are tired of the Western focus of much of the discourse? Could you offer informed, intelligent comment on an issue of contemporary social and political concern in a non-Western context? If so, then the journal Political Theology wants to hear from you. We are seeking article submissions and blog posts on these themes. Calling all bloggers! We are currently planning a series called 'A Letter From...', for the journal's blog, 'There is Power in the Blog' (www.politicaltheology.com/blog/), which will feature perspectives on political theology from around the globe. If you want to put yourself forward as one of the bloggers representing a region of the globe please contact Julie Clague, Managing Editor of Political Theology
Julie.Clague@Glasgow.ac.uk."

The call has not (yet) been published, it seems, on the website of the journal or at the blog.

16 October 2011

Book: A Just Church: 21st century Liberation Theology in Action

Google:
Book: A Just Church: 21st century Liberation Theology in Action

On liberation theology in Britain today: "A Just Church: 21st century Liberation Theology in Action", by Chris Howson, an Anglican inner-city priest from Bradford (Continuum, February 2011).

Quote: "Church members have been arrested, come under the scrutiny of security forces and been super-glued together at the gates of hell (aka Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment). This is their story: their successes and disasters, ... aimed at helping other Christians to evolve their own way of thinking, growing - and demonstrating the relevance of Church in today's contexts."

CFP: Varieties of Continental Thought and Religion

Google:
CFP: Varieties of Continental Thought and Religion


A call for papers, including such on political theology and radical orthodoxy:

"Varieties of Continental Thought and Religion
June 15-16, 2012
Ryerson University
Toronto, Canada

"We invite submissions from scholars and graduate students based in Canada and abroad on the topic of Continental Thought and Religion. The general theme of the conference is meant to reflect the variety of articulations of religion that have emerged in contemporary European thought. While the focus of the conference is continental thought, we nonetheless conceive the latter in an interdisciplinary manner (including literary theory, social and political thought, psychoanalysis, and religious studies). We also encourage submissions from people interested in exploring possible connections with analytic philosophy.

"Confirmed Speakers: John Caputo (Syracuse U.), Bettina Bergo (U. de Montréal), more to be announced in the near future.

"In addition to our keynote speaker, John Caputo, we will have four commissioned workshops comprised of two papers and a response, and a series of themed panels. We invite submissions of three-page proposals for essays for the following themed panels with included possible topics:

"Phenomenology of Religion
The thought of Chrétien, Henry, Lacoste, Levinas, Marion, and Ricoeur
Topics: the gift; the work of art; appearance and transcendence; call and response

"Religion and Politics
The thought of Agamben, Asad, Connolly, Derrida, de Vries, Girard, Habermas, Schmitt, and Taylor
Topics: political theology; the post-secular; sovereignty; religion and violence; pluralism

"Religion and Speculative Realism
The thought of Brassier, Harman, Laruelle, and Meillassoux
Topics: materialism; correlationism; nihilism; the things themselves; divine inexistence; ‘future Christ’

"Beyond Theism and Atheism
The thought of Caputo, Kearney, Kristeva, Milbank, Vattimo
Topics: kenosis; anatheism; weak theology; a/theology; radical orthodoxy

"Continental Thought, Religion, and Aesthetics
The artwork of Bresson, Caravaggio, Celan, Chagall, Dostoyevsky, Dumont, Artemisia Gentileschi, Kahlo, Kapoor, Kiarostami, Kiefer, Malick, Newman, O'Keefe, and Stevens
The thought of Cavell, Cixous, Critchley, Irigaray, Marion, Nancy, and Rancière
Topics: transcendence in art; image and icon; creativity and creation; representation and idolatry

"Immanentism and Religion
Agamben, Badiou, Bergson, Deleuze, James, Foucault, Keller, and Žižek
Topics: self-organization; the event; plurality; bio-power; polydoxy

"History of Continental Thought and Religion
Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, Benjamin, Heidegger
Topics: death of God; reason and faith; scripture and philosophy; religion and fantasy; onto-theology

"Please send only one three-page (double-spaced) proposal on one of the above themes and any questions to varieties2012@gmail.com by December 31, 2011. We intend to notify authors about our decisions by February 28, 2012. Other conference details (registration fee, preliminary program, etc.) will be announced in new year.

"The VCTR Conference is organized by John Caruana (Philosophy, Ryerson University) and Mark Cauchi (Humanities, York University)."

15 October 2011

Book: A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology

Google:
Book: A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology

A "vision unbounded by national and ethnic borders" is contemplated in the interdisciplinary and ecumenical volume, "A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology", by the editors, William F. Storrar (Center of Theological Inquiry), Peter J. Casarella (DePaul University), and Paul Louis Metzger (Multnomah University), and contributors (Eerdmans, April 2011).

Endorsement: "The range of voices represented here reflects the complex and urgent question of how we can continue a worldwide exchange of action and policy that will allow all people to live together in a genuinely humane fashion. No discussion of political theology, social theory, and cosmopolitanism can be continued without reference to this book." (Robert Schreiter, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago)

Book: Hitler's Theology: A Study in Political Religion

Google:
Book: Hitler's Theology: A Study in Political Religion

The English translation of a book originally published in German: Rainer Bucher (University of Graz), "Hitler's Theology: A Study in Political Religion", trans. Rebecca Pohl (Continuum, June 2011).

Quote: " Hitler's Theology investigates the use of theological motifs in Adolf Hitler’s public speeches and writings, and offers an answer to the question of why Hitler and his theo-political ideology were so attractive and successful presenting an alternative to the discontents of modernity."

Chapter: Justice in Evangelical Political Theology

Google:
Chapter: Justice in Evangelical Political Theology

The chapter, "Justice in Evangelical Political Theology", by Stephen Kennedy (Trinity International University, Santa Ana) was published in the contributed volume, "God and Governing: Reflections on Ethics, Virtue, and Statesmanship", ed. Roger N. Overton (Pickwick Publications, July 2009; pp. 108-26).

From the editor's introduction: "Kennedy explores the implications of creation and the Trinity for how Christians ought to act within a national community. He argues that every right is reciprocated by a duty and that our existence in sociable community is a reflection of God existing eternally in three persons."

09 October 2011

Book: Anarchy and Apocalypse: Essays on Faith, Violence, and Theodicy

Google:
Book: Anarchy and Apocalypse: Essays on Faith, Violence, and Theodicy

On religious anarchism and Adventist political theology: Ronald E. Osborn (University of Southern California), "Anarchy and Apocalypse: Essays on Faith, Violence, and Theodicy" (Cascade Books, June 2010).

Quote: "In this wide-ranging collection of essays Ronald E. Osborn explores the politically subversive and nonviolent anarchist dimensions of Christian discipleship in response to ... the violence of the 'principalities and powers' in the modern world. This book will serve as an indispensible primer in the political theology of the Adventist tradition, as well as a significant contribution to radical Christian thought in biblical, historical, and literary perspectives."

Book: The Church Made Strange for the Nations: Essays in Ecclesiology and Political Theology

Google:
Book: The Church Made Strange for the Nations: Essays in Ecclesiology and Political Theology

Just published: The contributed volume, "The Church Made Strange for the Nations: Essays in Ecclesiology and Political Theology", edited by Paul G. Doerksen (Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute) and Karl Koop (Canadian Mennonite University), is available from the publisher (Pickwick Publications, September 2011), but not yet, it appears, from any online bookstores.

Endorsement: "'In early ecumenical debates ... Churches tried to define a new, critical role in society, after having failed to speak up for victims of violence and injustice. Descendents of the Radical Reformation - represented in this volume - confront us with that challenge anew. In dialogue with philosophy, history, sociology, and even the arts, a political theology for an exilic church (or exile-church) is inspired." (Fernando Enns, VU University Amsterdam)

Article: A "Collective Black" Liberation in the Face of "Honorary White" Racism? A Growing Edge for U.S. Black Liberation Theologies

Google:
Article: A "Collective Black" Liberation in the Face of "Honorary White" Racism? A Growing Edge for U.S. Black Liberation Theologies

On black theology and "color blind racism": Kevin Patrick Considine (Loyola University, Chicago), "A 'Collective Black' Liberation in the Face of 'Honorary White' Racism? A Growing Edge for U.S. Black Liberation Theologies" ("Black Theology: An International Journal", 8 [3], 2010: pp. 286-306).

Quote: "[T]he paradigm is now comprised of three racial strata - 'whites,' 'honorary whites,' and 'collective Blacks' ... My study is a theological investigation that employs a mutually critical correlation to bring the theological work of Cone into dialogue with the sociological work of Bonilla-Silva."

08 October 2011

Article: A Theo-Politics of the (Im)proper: Jacques Derrida vis-a-vis Graham Ward

Google:
Article: A Theo-Politics of the (Im)proper: Jacques Derrida vis-a-vis Graham Ward

Drawing on Derrida to criticize Ward: Daniel Miller (SUNY College, Oneonta), "A Theo-Politics of the (Im)proper: Jacques Derrida vis-a-vis Graham Ward" ("Political Theology", 12 [1], 2011: pp. 87-117).

Quote: "Scholars from a variety of disciplines have questioned the adequacy of secular liberal democracy as a model for the socio-political ... Graham Ward ... argues that theological communities provide the only means of exceeding the play of commodified surfaces in the cultural context of advanced capitalism."

Article: Competing Political Theologies: Intra-Muslim Polemics on the Limits of Prophetic Intercession

Google:
Article: Competing Political Theologies: Intra-Muslim Polemics on the Limits of Prophetic Intercession

On the political theology of Indian Muslims in the early 1800s: SherAli Khan Tareen (Franklin and Marshall College), "Competing Political Theologies: Intra-Muslim Polemics on the Limits of Prophetic Intercession" ("Political Theology", 12 [3], 2011: pp. 418-43).

Quote: "This essay ... explores the question of how this ostensibly theological debate on the limits of prophetic intercession connected to a much broader political debate surrounding the sociology of sovereignty under conditions of political change and transition ... in early nineteenth-century India."

07 October 2011

Article: Incarnating the Money-Sign: Notes on an Implicit Theopolitics

Google:
Article: Incarnating the Money-Sign: Notes on an Implicit Theopolitics

Just published: Devin Singh (Yale), "Incarnating the Money-Sign: Notes on an Implicit Theopolitics" ("Implicit Religion: Journal of the Centre for the Study of Implicit Religion and Contemporary Spirituality", 14 [2], 2011: pp. 129-40).

Quote: "Contrary to views of money's spontaneous emergence and efficacy, or ideas of its intrinsic worth, I present the understanding of money as an authoritatively instituted sign. ... Incarnational dynamics shed light on attempts at an enforced codification of reality by money's semiotic institution by the powers, and open up a space for potential critique."

Something prevents Google+ from linking to Equinox journal sites. A few weeks back, I contacted one of the editors of "Political Theology" about it, but the problem persists. Until this gets fixed, I will link to Google's cache instead of Equinox.

06 October 2011

Book: Religious Liberties: Anti-Catholicism and Liberal Democracy in Nineteenth-Century U.S. Literature and Culture

Google:
Book: Religious Liberties: Anti-Catholicism and Liberal Democracy in Nineteenth-Century U.S. Literature and Culture

A book that explores how "Catholicism was often presented in the U.S. not only as a threat to Protestantism but also as an enemy of democracy": Elizabeth Fenton (University of Vermont), "Religious Liberties: Anti-Catholicism and Liberal Democracy in Nineteenth-Century U.S. Literature and Culture" (Oxford University Press, March 2011).

Quote (chapter 3): "Antebellum captive nun tales such as Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures of the Hôtel Dieu Nunnery in Montreal (1836) present the Church as a master of argument and suggest that an antidemocratic group could gain control over public opinion through debate."

(chapter 6) "[F]igurations of a rigid and dogmatic Catholicism facilitated Adams’s and Twain’s parodies of democratic praxis. While both Adams and Twain rehearse anti-Catholic rhetoric typical of nineteenth-century U.S. public culture, they do so to critique the absolutism that they viewed as being central to the liberal tradition."

05 October 2011

Book: A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age

Google:
Book: A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age

Just published: Steven Nadler (University of Wisconsin-Madison), "A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age" (Princeton University Press, October 2011).

Quote: "When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published - 'godless,' 'full of abominations,' 'a book forged in hell ... by the devil himself.' ... Spinoza became the first to argue that the Bible is not literally the word of God but rather a work of human literature ... and that religious authorities should have no role in governing a modern state."

Chapter: The Quarrel over Political Theology: A Look Back

Google:
Chapter: The Quarrel over Political Theology: A Look Back

Just published in English: An expanded edition of "The Lesson of Carl Schmitt: Four Chapters on the Distinction between Political Theology and Political Philosophy" by Heinrich Meier (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich), trans. Marcus Brainard, first published 1998. This edition (University of Chicago Press, October 2011) includes a new chapter, "The Quarrel over Political Theology: A Look Back", trans. Robert Berman (pp. 183-206[?]).

Also included in this edition is the short essay, "Afterword to the Second German Edition", trans. Robert Berman (pp. 177-82[?]).

No abstracts provided.

30 September 2011

Book: Agamben and Theology

Google:
Book: Agamben and Theology

Drawing on the literature on political theology, although the author seems inclined to avoid the term: Colby Dickinson (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), "Agamben and Theology" (T & T Clark International, April 2011)

Excerpt: "[P]olitics would seem to be an almost religious ritual of sorts, a continuous reenacting of the exclusive inclusion performed upon the self in order to constitute some sense of sovereign being in relation to the others (both persons and animals) surrounding this newly formed 'humanity' ... This is the profound implication of Agamben's 'political theology'".

28 September 2011

Article: The Historiography of the Dragon: Heraldic Violence in the Alliterative Morte Arthure

Google:
Article: The Historiography of the Dragon: Heraldic Violence in the Alliterative Morte Arthure

On the political theology of King Arthur: Alex Mueller (University of Massachusetts, Boston), "The Historiography of the Dragon: Heraldic Violence in the Alliterative Morte Arthure " ("Studies in the Age of Chaucer", 32, 2010: pp. 295-324).

Excerpt: "For admirers of Ernst Kantorowicz's The King's Two Bodies, the myth of King Arthur has an irresistible appeal. ... Yet, as Giorgio Agamben points out, Kantorowicz fails to acknowledge the absolutist nature of sovereignty that this political theology entails. ... Optimism about Arthur's return abounds in most Arthurian texts, but resistance to such political theology can be found in the early fifteenth-century alliterative Morte Arthure, an intimate portrayal of Arthur as a prideful sovereign."

27 September 2011

Article: The Hermaphrodite Sovereign: Walter Benjamin, Carl Schmitt, and the Permanent State of Exception

Google:
Article: The Hermaphrodite Sovereign: Walter Benjamin, Carl Schmitt, and the Permanent State of Exception

On the uses and abuses of the state of exception: J.D. Mininger (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania), "The Hermaphrodite Sovereign: Walter Benjamin, Carl Schmitt, and the Permanent State of Exception" ("Baltic Journal of Law & Politics", 3 [2], 2010: pp. 144-64).

Quote: "This article re-imagines the textual relationship between Carl Schmitt and Walter Benjamin as one of much greater affinity than has typically been granted to it. This reworking of their textual relationship draws largely from a study of how and in what ways the figure of the sovereign in Walter Benjamin's study of the German Trauerspiel can be read as a response to Carl Schmitt's theory of sovereignty as found in Political Theology."

Book: The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times

Google:
Book: The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times

On theological virtues in political life: Charles Mathewes (University of Virginia), "The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times" (Eerdmans, October 2010).

Endorsement: "Charles Mathewes has rapidly developed respect in the scholarly guild for his first-rate scholarship offering a renewal of Augustinian public theology for our time. The Republic of Grace marks Mathewes's turn toward the communication of this rich tradition to a broader audience. ... A major contribution to Christian political (and ecclesial) theology." (David P. Gushee, Mercer University)

Book: Anatomyzing Divinity: Studies in Science, Esotericism and Political Theology

Google:
Book: Anatomyzing Divinity: Studies in Science, Esotericism and Political Theology

Just published: James L. Kelley (University of Oklahoma), "Anatomyzing Divinity: Studies in Science, Esotericism and Political Theology" (Trine Day, September 2011).

Quote: "[T]he study focuses on the ancient wisdom of China, India, Egypt and the Hellenistic world. Furthermore, this treatise explores the mind of G. W. Leibniz, the man who ... found his roots in the Frankish metaphysical tradition, thus thrusting forth the ideas of ancient alchemy into the modern world. Combining the study of alchemy and history, this examination forges a new window into the history of law in the West."

26 September 2011

Book: The Kingdom and the Glory: For a Theological Genealogy of Economy and Government

Google:
Book: The Kingdom and the Glory: For a Theological Genealogy of Economy and Government

Just published in English: The Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben, on the Schmitt/Peterson debate, Kantorowicz, and political theology, in "The Kingdom and the Glory: For a Theological Genealogy of Economy and Government", trans. Lorenzo Chiesa, with Matteo Mandarini (Stanford University Press, September 2011).

Excerpt: "[T]wo broadly speaking political paradigms, antinomical but functionally related to one another, derive from Christian theology: political theology, which founds the transcendence of sovereign power on the single God, and economic theology, which replaces this transcendence with the idea of an oikonomia, conceived as an immanent ordering - domestic and not political in a strict sense - of both divine and human life. Political philosophy and the modern theory of sovereignty derive from the first paradigm; modern biopolitics up to the current triumph of economy and government over every other aspect of social life derive from the second paradigm."

25 September 2011

Article: Crisis, Modernity, Authority: Carl Schmitt on Order and the State

Google:
Article: Crisis, Modernity, Authority: Carl Schmitt on Order and the State

Another find in an exceedingly remote location: Daniel McLoughlin (University of Adelaide), "Crisis, Modernity, Authority: Carl Schmitt on Order and the State" ("The Australian Feminist Law Journal", 31, December 2009: pp. 135-52).

Abstract: "Jurist Carl Schmitt's work Political Theology is used as a focal point for analysis of contemporary crisis politics."

Book: The Hebrew Republic: Jewish Sources and the Transformation of European Political Thought

Google:
Book: The Hebrew Republic: Jewish Sources and the Transformation of European Political Thought

Available in paperback next month: Eric Nelson (Harvard), "The Hebrew Republic: Jewish Sources and the Transformation of European Political Thought" (Harvard University Press, March 2010).

Quote: "Nelson argues that ... political thought in early-modern Europe became less, not more, secular with time, and it was the Christian encounter with Hebrew sources that provoked this radical transformation. ... Nelson demonstrates that central features of modern political thought emerged from an attempt to emulate a constitution designed by God. This paradox ... in turn illuminates fault lines in contemporary political discourse."

Article: The Shock of Baptismal Dying: Can We Recover the Radical Political and Transformative Nature of Baptism?

Google:
Article: The Shock of Baptismal Dying: Can We Recover the Radical Political and Transformative Nature of Baptism?

On the political theology of baptism: Jenny Dawson (Anglican Diocese of Wellington), "The Shock of Baptismal Dying: Can We Recover the Radical Political and Transformative Nature of Baptism?" ("Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice", 17 [1], February 2009: pp. 33-41).

Quote: "A radical political and transformative theology of baptism is suggested that would help Christians relive the shock of baptismal dying ... and engage with the relationship between the baptised life and extended society ... as it addresses injustices in the human community."

Article: Voting and Political Discourse as Practical Theology: Catholics, Bishops, and Obama in the U.S. Elections of 2008

Google:
Article: Voting and Political Discourse as Practical Theology: Catholics, Bishops, and Obama in the U.S. Elections of 2008

Just published: Bryan T. Froehle (St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens), "Voting and Political Discourse as Practical Theology: Catholics, Bishops, and Obama in the U.S. Elections of 2008" ("International Journal of Practical Theology", 15 [1], August 2011: pp. 74-93).

Abstract: "During the 2008 election campaign in the United States, multiple and contradictory Catholic public theologies were expressed by Catholic leaders, voters, and politicians. This study explores these Catholic public theological discourses in light of an empirical practical theological method that interrelates theological understanding with an analysis of action."

24 September 2011

Book: Sovereignty, Emergency, Legality

Google:
Book: Sovereignty, Emergency, Legality

Schmittean political theology informs many of the chapters (particularly 2, 3, and 4) in the contributed volume, "Sovereignty, Emergency, Legality", edited by Austin Sarat (Amherst) and published by Cambridge University Press in February 2010. Chapter 2 includes a section titled "Political Theology".

Quote: "This book concentrates on officials and the choices they make in defining, anticipating, and responding to conditions of emergency as well as the impact of their choices on embodied subjects, whether citizen or stranger."

23 September 2011

Book: Between Race and Reason: Violence, Intellectual Responsibility, and the University to Come

Google:
Book: Between Race and Reason: Violence, Intellectual Responsibility, and the University to Come

On race as a political theology: Susan Searls Giroux (McMaster University), "Between Race and Reason: Violence, Intellectual Responsibility, and the University to Come" (Stanford University Press, July 2010), particularly chapters 4 and 5 ("Critique of Racial Violence: The Theologico-Political Reflections of Lewis R. Gordon").

Excerpt: "Chapter 4 thus explores the complex intersections among political theologies, liberal modernity, and the racial states ... Continuing this meditation on violence and counterviolence, Chapter 5 offers much-needed historical depth to what are all-too-frequently presentist analyses of the challenges that the university has long confronted and continues to confront in relation to truth, knowledge, commerce, militarism, and war."

Article: The Cross Politics of Ecuador's Penal State

Google:
Article: The Cross Politics of Ecuador's Penal State

On the political theology of "crime" and "security" in Ecuador: Chris Garces (Cornell), "The Cross Politics of Ecuador's Penal State" ("Cultural Anthropology", 25 [3], August 2010: pp. 459-96).

Quote: "This essay examines inmate 'crucifixion protests' in Ecuador's largest prison during 2003-04. ... This form of protest, I argue, simultaneously clarified and obscured the multiple layers of sovereign power that pressed down on urban crime suspects ... The essay shows how the politico-theological performance of self-crucifixion responded to these internested forms of sovereign violence, and were briefly effective." (italics removed)