Nietzsche and Theology

Description

Over a century ago, Nietzsche famously declared the death of God, but this has hardly kept Christian theologians from making positive use of this "master of suspicion." Nietzsche and Theology displays how his most generative and provocative ideas are also deeply theological and continue to teach Christians how to be Christians in the world in which they find themselves. Hovey highlights the constructive contributions that can emerge from receptively meeting Nietzsche as modernity's philosophical other. Unchained from resenting Nietzsche's "philosophical hammer," such encounters will surely reward those who journey into the far country of Nietzsche's Christianity. The book examines Nietzsche's critiques of epistemology, culture, history, morality, and metaphysics for their importance not only in philosophical theology, but also in biblical and historical studies, theological ethics, and systematic theology. Hovey argues that Nietzsche's reception in theology continues to be of critical importance and explores new, constructive avenues for the use of Nietzsche in theology. If the death of God is not primarily a metaphysical assertion but a cultural diagnosis, modern secularization surely attests to Nietzsche's prescience, a quality that yields extraordinary promise when allowed to be heard.

Craig Hovey (PhD, University of Cambridge) teaches theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of To Share in the Body (2008) and Speak Thus (2008).

'Hovey's treatment of Nietzsche is sympathetic, serious and challenging; it provokes and deserves respect and attention.' Christopher Insole, Lecturer in Theology and Ethics, University of Durham, UK Mention -Book News, February 2009 A book that pays attention to Nietzsche's meaning for theology is more than welcome... Hovey shows us the most important items of Nietzsche's philosophy. -- Journal of Reformed Theology 4 '[The author's] fresh and creative work is certain to stimulate the Dionysian muse of any reader interested in theology in the postmodern context.'-The Thomist