A Heart of Flesh: William Desmond and the Bible (Veritas)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The Irish philosopher William Desmond is one of the most compelling and adventurous Christian thinkers of our time. The essays gathered here undertake a journey through the Bible with Desmond that ranges across biblical theology, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, political theory, and literary studies. Some of the essays examine the place of the Bible in Desmond’s thought, considering his readings of the creation, the Abraham cycle, and the Beatitudes. Other essays bring Desmond’s ideas to bear on broad questions that emerge from the Bible about philosophy and revelation, exegesis, theopoetics, eschatology, and tyranny. Still others bring Desmond into conversation with influential philosophers who engage (or conspicuously do not engage) the Bible, such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Tillich. Together, these essays show the rich possibilities of approaching the Bible with Desmond. All take their bearings from Desmond’s “metaxological” approach, which does not seek to claim the final word, which attends to the text rather than simply imposing on it, and which allows for an ongoing dialogue.
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- Shows the rich possibilities of approaching the Bible with Desmond
- Brings Desmond into conversation with influential philosophers who engage the Bibled
- Discusses topics such as biblical theology, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, political theory, and literary studies
- “Let There Be . . . It Is Good”: Reading the Creation Poetry of Scripture (Gen 1:1—2:4a) with William Desmond - Joseph K. Gordon
- On Foxes, Birds, and Philosophers: Sabbath Thinking and the Aesthetics of Happening - Renée Köhler-Ryan
- “God Has Only Favorites”: The Intimate Universal in the Abraham Cycle - Ethan Vanderleek
- Between Hannah’s Prayer and Samuel’s Warning: Kingship and Tyranny in 1 and 2 Samuel - Robert Wyllie and Steven E. Knepper
- Blessed and Blessing: William Desmond’s Ethics of the Beatitudes and Works of Mercy - Terence Sweeney
- Reconfigured through the Word: Jesus’ Parables and Metaxological Theopoetics - Ryan G. Duns, SJ
- I in Them, Thou in Me: The Agapeic Community as Exceedingly Whole - Erik van Versendaal
- That Than Which Nothing More Between Can Be Thought: The Metaxological Christ of Pauline Theology - Brendan Thomas Sammon
- The Hyperbolic Christ: Metaxological Notes to a Pauline Hymn - William Christian Hackett
- The Peace of Jerusalem: Scriptural Exegesis as Spiritual Exercise - Andrew Kuiper
- William Desmond and the Death of Death: Metaphysics and the Heideggerian Predicament After Being - Caitlin Smith Gilson
- Afterword - William Franke
For non-specialists, continental philosophy can be an imposing thing, filled with abstruse thinkers, neologisms, and the latest trendy European name. But this collection should prompt even the most determined avoiders of continental thought to reconsider. Uniformly strong, these essays demonstrate the immense fruitfulness of reading Scripture through William Desmond’s lenses. This book is a breakthrough that left me eager for more and deeply grateful to Desmond and the authors.
—Matthew Levering, chair of theology, Mundelein Seminary
The fertile depths of William Desmond’s metaxological metaphysics are increasingly being discovered and excavated in rapidly expanding secondary literature, spanning his imposing and demanding corpus. However, Steven Knepper’s volume A Heart of Flesh breaks new ground through tapping the resources and potential of metaxological thinking in relation to biblical texts. Cyril O’Regan’s foreword alone justifies the existence of this volume. And yet there is so much more in this superb collection of essays. Highly recommended.
Philip John-Paul Gonzales, lecturer in philosophy, St. Patrick’s Pontifical University
This is a well-wrought collection of reflections, gathered under the well-informed and judicious editorship of Steven Knepper. Its different contributions offer the reader many insights on an impressive range of themes, handled with due consideration and attentive thoughtfulness. I am much taken with its offering of a diversity of surprising illuminations on matters theological and philosophical, both old and new. Very warmly recommended.
William Desmond, chair in philosophy, Villanova University
- Title: A Heart of Flesh: William Desmond and the Bible (Veritas)
- Author: Steven E. Knepper
- Series: Veritas
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Pages: 248
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9781666799187, 9781666799194, 1666799181, 166679919X, 9781666738452, 166673845X
- Resource ID: LLS:HRTFLSHWBBLVRTS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-11-27T19:31:19Z