Between the Canon and the Messiah: The Structure of Faith in Contemporary Continental Thought

by Colby Dickinson

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Academic

, 2013

Dickinson traces the development of two concepts, the messianic and the canonical, as they circulate, interweave and contest each other in the work of three prominent continental philosophers: Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida and Giorgio Agamben, though a strong supporting cast of Jan Assmann, Gershom Scholem, Jacob Taubes and Paul Ricoeur, among others, also play their respective roles throughout this study. He isolates how their various interactions with their chosen terms reflects a good deal of what is said within the various discourses that constitute what we have conveniently labelled, often in mistakenly monolithic terms, as 'Theology'.

By narrowing the scope of this study to the dynamics generated historically by these contrasting terms, he also seeks to determine what exactly lies at the heart of theology's seemingly most treasured object: the presentation beyond any representation, the supposed true nucleus of all revelation and what lies behind any search for a 'theology of immanence' today.

Features

Provides a general overview of the major debates raging within contemporary continental thought.
Illuminates the resonance between philosophy and theology as manifested among today's most relevant philosophical writers.
Develops a theological evaluation that takes seriously the implications of a structural 'logic' of religion.

Contents

Acknowledgements \ Introduction \ Part I: Between Philosophy and Theology \ 1. The Legacy of an Antinomian Messianism within a Jewish Historical Context \ 2. Jacques Derrida and Giorgio Agamben on the Processes of Messianicity and Canonicity \ Conclusions formulated on the basis of Part I: Recognizing the Challenges of a 'Political Theology of Immanence' \ Part II: The Radical Hermeneutics of Theology \ 3. The 'Violence' of the Canon: A Contemporary Context for the Canonical Form \ 4. The Necessity of Hermeneutics \ Conclusions formulated on the basis of Part II \ Conclusion \ Notes \ Bibliography \ Index

Praise for Between the Canon and the Messiah

This text is particularly helpful as an exposition of how this general theme develops in the work of scholars and topics of contemporary interest: Agamben, Assmann, Benjamin, Butler, Derrida, Ricouer, Scholem and Taubes ... All in all, this book will be of interest to philosophers and theologians working in the area of contemporary continental social theory associated with the work of Agamben and his circle.

In this impressive new book, Dickinson sets forth a compelling agenda for a radical theological hermeneutics. With excellent and detailed readings of Agamben, Derrida, Benjamin, Ricoeur and Butler, Between Canon and Messiah reconfigures our map of contemporary philosophy and theology.

Product Details

• Title: Between the Canon and the Messiah: The Structure of Faith in Contemporary Continental Thought
• Author: Colby Dickinson
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781441142030, 9781472587190, 1472587197, 1441142037
• Resource ID: LLS:9781441142030
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-09T09:26:06Z

About Colby Dickinson

Colby Dickinson is Associate Professor of Theology at Loyola University, Chicago. He is the author of Agamben and Theology (2011), Between the Canon and the Messiah (2013) and Words Fail: Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation (2016), as well as numerous articles on contemporary continental philosophy and theology. He is editor of The Postmodern ‘Saints’ of France (2013) and The Shaping of Tradition: Context and Normativity (2013).