Overview

In these letters to friends and colleagues spanning around twenty years, renowned radical theologian Thomas J. J. Altizer offers a series of meditative mini-essays on religious, theological, political, and philosophical matters that are central and vital to our contemporary era.

Full Product Details

Author:   T. Altizer ,  M. Grimshaw
Publisher:   Palgrave Macmillan
Imprint:   Palgrave Macmillan
Edition:   1st ed. 2016
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   4.777kg
ISBN:  

9781137549495

ISBN 10:   1137549491
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   02 March 2016
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: This Silence Must Now Speak, Mike Grimshaw 1. To Brian Schroeder: on Levinas (October/November 1996) 2. To Brian Schroeder: on Levinas and eschaton (December 5, 1996) 3. To D.G. Leahy: on Evil (January 17, 1997) 4. To Lissa McCullough: on Resurrection (June 13, 1997) 5. To Brian Schroeder: on Philosophy and Theology (January 18, 1998) 6. To Brian Schroeder: on Levinas and Evil (January 28, 1998) 7. To Ray L. Hart: on God Being Nothing (April 13, 1998) 8. To Thomas A. Carlson: on Hegel and Heidegger (December 30, 1998) 9. To D.G. Leahy: on Lecture 'Thinking in the Third Millennium (April 4, 2000) 10. To Cyril O'Regan: on Gnosticism (April 12, 2000) 11. To Gan Yang: on Satan (September 8, 2001) 12. To Lissa McCullough: on Political and Ethical Theology (September 7, 2005) 13. To Lissa McCullough: on Abyss (October 13, 2005) 14. To Edith Wyschogrod: on Levinas (December 2, 2005) 15. To D.G. Leahy: on Badiou and Paul (December 29, 2005) 16. To Brian Schroeder: on Nihilism (January 23, 2006) 17. To Walter A. Strauss: on Ritual (February 6, 2006) 18. To Lissa McCullough: on Sacrifice (February 7, 2006) 19. To Friends: on Ratzinger (March 2, 2006) 20. To Lissa McCullough: on Genesis and Apocalypse (March 9, 2006) 21. To Friends: on The Young Heidegger (June 29, 2006) 22. To Friends: on The Young Heidegger (July 5, 2006) 23. To Alina N. Feld and Lissa McCullough: on Angst (September 19–22,2006) 24. To John B. Cobb, Jr.: on Wittgenstein (September 27, 2006) 25. To John B. Cobb, Jr.: on Whitehead (October 4, 2006) 26. To Andrew Hass: on Hegel (January 5, 2007) 27. To Andrew Hass: on Hegel (January 11, 2007) 28. To Friends: on American Religion (January 24, 2007) 29. To Friends: on Theopaschism (January 25, 2007) 30. To Friends: On Harnack and Theopaschism (January 26, 2007) 31. To Lissa McCullough: on Birth of Vision (March 13, 2007) 32. To Donald Weinstein: on America (March 23, 2007) 33. To Friends: on Marcel Gauchet (March 27, 2007) 34. To Friends: On Gauchet and Theology (May 7, 2007) 35. To John D. Caputo: On Heidegger (May 17, 2007) 36. To Brian Schroeder: On Eschatology (June 7, 2007) 37. To John T. Wilcox: on Job (June 13, 2007) 38. To Friends: on Hegel (July 10, 2007) 39. To John D. Caputo: on Prayer (September 29, 2007) 40. To Edward S. Casey: on Ethics (November 23, 2007) 41. To Friends: on Altruism (November 28, 2007) 42. To Walter A. Strauss: on Altruism (December 4, 2007) 43. To Friends: on Demythologizing (October 30, 2008) 44. To Friends: on Good Friday (April 10, 2009) 45. To Friends: on Ritual (May 8, 2009) 46. To Friends: on Taubes' Occidental Eschatology (March 25, 2010) 47. To Friends: on Taubes' Occidental Eschatology (March 31, 2010) 48. To Friends: on Death (June 4, 2011) 49. To Friends: on Weber and Revolution (July 18, 2010) 50. To Friends: on Ballets Russes (July 22, 2011) 51. To Friends: on Weber and Predestination (July 23, 2010) 52. To Andrew Hass: on Aristotle (July 29, 2011) 53. To Friends: on Kazin and God (August 2, 2011) 54. To Friends: on SPEP and Heidegger (October 26, 2011) 55. To Friends: on Occupy Wall Street (November 14, 2011) 56. To Friends: on Apocalypse (December 26, 2011) 57. To Friends: on The Unique Ground of America (February 11, 2012) 58. To Friends: on William Hamilton (March 2012) 59. To Friends: on The Middle of Religion and Politics (March 7, 2012) 60. To Ray L. Hart: on Radical Catholicism (May 13, 2012) 61. To Friends: on Poetry and Homiletics (June 19, 2012) 62: To Friends: on Oriental Mysticism and Biblical Eschatology (June 26, 2012) 63. To Friends: on Oriental Mysticism and Biblical Eschatology (June 28, 2012) 64. To Friends: on Eugene O'Neill (July 18, 2012) 65. To Friends: on Revolution and God (November 9, 2012) 66. To Friends: on Freedom and Responsibility (February 13, 2013) 67. To Friends: on Philosophy and Theology (June 7, 2013) 68. To Friends: on Penderecki's The Devils of Loudon (August 6, 2014) 69. To Friends: on America and the Death of God (September 22, 2014) 70. To Friends: on Cancer and Theology (September 22, 2014) 71. To Friends: on Nihilism (March 2, 2015) 72. To Friends: on Being and God (March 10, 2015) 73. To Friends: on the radical Tillich (April 11, 2015) 74. To Friends: On Benedict XVI and Augustinianism (April 26, 2015) List of Recipients

Reviews

'This collection testifies to the sustained brilliance and continuing relevance of Altizer's theological voice. As a recipient of some of these letters, I can attest to how he has encouraged and instructed many younger theologians with these electronic missives, in addition to his numerous books. Michael Grimshaw performs a great service with his careful editing and insightful introduction.' - Clayton Crockett, Professor and Director of Religious Studies Program, University of Central Arkansas, USA

REVIEW #1 Theodore Jennings, Professor of Biblical & Constructive Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary, USA I have read with great interest and growing excitement the letters of Altizer that are included in the proposal for 'This Silence must now Speak'. One of the great values of this work is that it allows the reader to see an astonishingly creative mind engaged in the very act of thinking. This is quite different from reading a book that has already been thought through, a book that is the result of creative thinking. In these letters on the other hand we have Altizer's rather unguarded ventures into uncharted territory as he tries out his ideas in the company of friends. In this conjtext he is free to venture opinions and perspectives that might never make it into published works but that are the essential laboratory of thinking. As one might expect the letters are wide-ranging provocative with original insights and daring interventions. He fearlessly offers controversial views on Levinas, Heidegger, American fundamentalism and evangelicalism as well as old and new literary works (Eugene O'Neill, for example). While many of the basic themes might be familiar to those who have read much of Altizer's work, these themes are presented in new ways and modified through their encounter with emerging intellectual discussion and artistic expression. One of the things I found most striking in these letters is the reminder of what a quintessentially American thinker Altizer is. He deeply ponders and engages with contemporary American religious and political discourse, offering fresh insights into the way in which, for example, American fundamentalism and evangelicalism are both responses to and expressions of a basic nihilism. Of course no one could find themselves in agreement with every opinion articulated by this creative and radical thinker. That is also the value of reading someone in the process of actually thinking lucidly yet daringly. One is provoked to think for oneself also in new ways. As I understand it the material included in the proposal is but a fragment of the material that may be included in this volume. I must say that this sampling certainly whetted my appetite for more. Altizer is, as he has been for over half a century one of our most daring, original and creative thinkers. I believe readers from many disciplines and perspectives will find this to be both an accessible and a challenging collection. In my own case I have taught a graduate seminar on Twentieth century theology for more than 20 years and have always included a text of Altizer's in the syllabus. Although this is but one of many primary texts that I require it always is the case that students find their appetite for Altizer whetted in the process so that he becomes one of the major figures they choose to engage in their own work. This is a testament to his enduring impact as a writer and thinker. I know that they would find this volume to be of great interst and others who are more puzzled by Altizer's work would find in a collection like this a more accessible way into his way of thinking than is otherwise available. I hope it will be published. REVIEW #2 Clayton Crockett, Associate Professor and Director of Religious Studies, Department of Philosophy and Religion, University of Central Arkansas, USA. 1) This is a proposal to edit and publish a selection of semi-public letters written by Thomas J.J. Altizer, written over the course of the last twenty years. These letters are addressed to and discuss a range of contemporary scholars, including Richard Kearney, John D. Caputo, Mark C. Taylor, Ed Casey, Edith Wyschogrod and others. Altizer also mentions his own theological commitments, including his theological interpretations of Blake, Hegel, and Nietzsche. 2) This is an extremely original and creative work, that will give readers access to Altizer's thinking and writing in an informal but intellectual way. Altizer is the most well-known and controversial 'Death of God' theologian, and he has continued to write and work over the past four decades in important and stimulating ways. His theology has received renewed critical attention over the last decade or so, as the legacy of the death of God has been reconsidered in academic and cultural terms. This project offers access to not only a more recent Altizer, but a new medium of presenting his ideas. 3) I think this depends partly on my answer to 4), but Altizer's reading and scholarship is constantly at the forefront of theoretical debates, and the editor will hopefully contextualize his letters in relation to contemporary theological and philosophical issues. 4) Again, this proposal is very promising, but its success will depend heavily on the editor's ability to select, present, and offer context for the letters, both in the introduction to the book and an introduction to individual letters or footnotes for them. The 18 letters I have read have been selected for their potential interest to readers, correspondents and topics, and this evidences a very competent ability on the part of the editor to pull this off. I also agree with the idea of soliciting a Foreword or Introduction from a noted contemporary scholar to draw some attention to this work. Finally, I think the editor needs to write an editorial introduction to present and contextualize Altizer's theology from the 1960s (or even 1950s) to the present, and to reflect on the technological medium of expression that these letters represent, and their significance for contemporary theology and intellectual culture. 5) Yes, and I as a sometimes-recipient of these letters I agree that they have an important role in theological thinking over the last couple decades. And they are well-placed to reach an intellectual space between a more academic and a more curious-popular theological readership. Furthermore, I would probably have reservations about this project if the editor was anyone other than Mike Grimshaw, but he is the best and perfect person to pull such a book off. Grimshaw is a superb historian of the death of God theology in the United States, as well as brilliant and original theorist in his own right, and I have great confidence that he will make this project successful. 6) This project will make an excellent fit within the Radical Theologies series, that has already published a number of extremely significant books. 7) The recent theoretical return to religion has global interest, and this book has potential to attract readers in other countries and disciplines. 8) I cannot think of any competing titles, because this is a new and experimental project. 9) The manuscript is not yet completed so I cannot fully evaluate it, but I recommend approving it for a contract as it stands. I would be willing to contribute an endorsement at a later stage if Palgrave requests one.

Author Information

Thomas J. J. Altizer was the central figure in the 'death of god' debate of the late 1960s, and has continued to develop his distinctive imaginative theology for over fifty years, above all in response to the advent of modern nihilism. In his prolific writings he consistently argues for a Christian atheism that challenges institutional orthodox Christianity at its core. His most recent works are Living the Death of God: A Theological Memoir, The Call to Radical Theology, and The Apocalyptic Trinity. Mike Grimshaw is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

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