Without Negative Theology: Deconstruction and the Politics of Negative Theology

This article explores Derrida's reading of negative theology and, in particular, his dramatic claim that there would be no politics 'without' negative theology. It begins by summarising the general thrust of Derrida's critique of negative theology. It then focuses upon the complex history of the term 'without' in Derrida's texts on Pseudo-Dionysius, Angelus Silesius and others. Finally, the article places this reading of negative theology in the context of the so-called 'political turn' in Derrida's texts in recent years. The concept of the 'without', it argues, belongs with, and helps to clarify, comparatively more famous Derridaean political themes like the decision, the impossible and religion without religion. In conclusion, the article argues that a better understanding of Derrida's claim that there would be no politics 'without' negative theology might also lead to a better understanding of the politics of deconstruction.     

Preaching Christ Crucified: Luther and the Revelation of God

Abstract :  The doctrine of revelation has to do with how we know God, but Luther warned against the human presumption that God can be known fully. God remains hidden and is revealed in Jesus and his death on the cross. The cross is at odds with all human notions of an omnipotent God. Preachers ought to be suspicious of human presumptions about God that inflate and puff up. The cross is the antidote for a theology and a preaching of glory as well as the criterion for theology and preaching that authentically proclaims God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.     

Barth and Anselm: God,Christ and the Atonement

This article considers God, Christ and the atonement in the work of Anselm and Barth. It identifies key points of agreement regarding God's self‐assigned identity and the importance of dyothelitism; it discerns a marked divergence of opinion with respect to the atonement. Anselm construes the atonement in terms of a gift that Christ offers on behalf of sinful humankind. Barth, on the other hand, presents a view of atonement that builds on his revolutionary doctrine of election. He describes the cross as an event in which sin is ‘burned up’, cancelled and overcome within the time and space of God's being.     

The Futurity of God in Lutheran Theology

Futurity is God's gift to us. To understand God in light of Infinite Trinitarian Futurity places eschatological redemption closer to us than we are to ourselves. One legacy of the Lutheran branch of the Reformation is the "turn to Futurity" as we see it in Luther, Kierkegaard, Braaten, Jensen, Jungel, Pannenberg, and Peters.     

The Vulnerable and Transcendent God: The Postliberal Theology of William Placher

Abstract :  Between the extremes of fundamentalism and secularism, the postliberal Presbyterian theologian William Placher offers a dynamic middle way. This "Theology Update" summarizes Placher's work. Warning us against prematurely domesticating God's transcendence, Placher presents a picture of a God who is radically transcendent, and therefore recklessly immanent in creation. God is vulnerable in Christ, who saves us through solidarity, reconciliation and redemption.