This book focuses on the relationships between phenomenology and theology, which have been varied and complex but seem currently in an inconclusive and loosely defined state. Methodological rigor is not much in evidence, and the two disciplines continue to defy any authoritative synthesis. While both disciplines grapple with questions concerning the fundamental structures of human experience, their relationship is troubled by the elusive roles of Revelation and faith, which threaten the scientific autonomy of philosophy on one side and disable theologians for consistent philosophical discourse on the other. This volume revisits that conundrum from various perspectives, as it at once repristinates some of the most vibrant points of encounter and opens possibilities for new beginnings. It begins with the theological musings into which leading phenomenologists have been drawn from the start, with special reference to Husserl, Heidegger, and Michel Henry, as well as backward glances to Fichte, Schelling, and Blondel. A second section takes up specific theological themes and examines how phenomenological approaches can refine thinking on them. These include the Incarnation, the Resurrection, the Eucharist, Grace, and Prayer. A dialogue between phenomenology and classical theologians is staged in the third section: Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Eckhart, and Karl Rahner. The closing section ranges more widely, discussing atheism, non-realist theology, and Hinduism from phenomenological angles, and showing how these topics too come within the ambit of theology.
Introduction: Phenomenology, Experience, and the Spiritual Life Joseph Rivera Part I: Phenomenologists in Theological Mode 1 Lived Experience and Faith: Transcendental Phenomenological Prolegomena James G. Hart 2 Husserl and God Emmanuel Housset 3 Intersubjectivity, Ethics, and the Christic Dimension in Husserl’s Transcendental Phenomenology Maria Villela-Petit 4 The Later Heidegger and Theology Joeri Schrijvers 5 Phenomenology and Theology in Heidegger’s Readings of Schelling Joseph S. O’Leary 6 From Love to Auto-affection: Divine Revelation in Fichte’s Religionslehre and Michel Henry’s Radical Phenomenology Frédéric Seyler Part II: Theological Themes 7 Incarnational Phenomenology Tamsin Jones 8 A Phenomenological Reading of the Resurrection Brian D. Robinette 9 A Phenomenological Approach to Ritual Practices Christina Gschwandtner 10 Becoming Living Works of Art: A Phenomenology of Liturgy Bruce Benson 11: Phenomenology of the Gift (and Grace) Jason W. Alvis 12: Kierkegaard and the Phenomenology of Patience J. Aaron Simmons 13: The Enigma of Suffering in Phenomenology and Theology Jeffrey Bloechl 14: The Gift of Joy Robyn Horner Part III: Phenomenological Readings of Theological Classics 15 Temporality and Signification: The Augustine Constitution of Time Vincent Giraud 16 Denys the Areopagite among the Phenomenologists Ysabel de Andia 17 To Live and Think without Why: Eckhart’s Affinities with Phenomenology Jean Greisch 18 The Prospects of a Christian Phenomenology in Karl Rahner Peter Joseph Fritz PART IV Reaching out beyond the Theological Enclave 19 Invoking the God, Welcoming the Stranger Jacob Rogozinski 20 Religion without Religion Colby Dickinson 21 Phenomenology, Theology, and Religious Studies Nikolaas Cassidy-Deketelaere 22 Hinduism and Phenomenology Olga Louchakova-Schwartz
Joseph Rivera is an Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Dublin City University, Ireland. Joseph S. O’Leary is an Irish theologian who taught literature at Sophia University, Tokyo, and held the Roche Chair for Interreligious Research at Nanzan University in Japan.
