Merleau-Ponty and Theology

Description

The philosophical contributions of French phenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, carry great untapped potential for theologians thinking through some of the central affirmations of the Christian faith. This exploration is structured against the background of the fundamental interrelation between three "bodies" in Merleau-Ponty's thought and in Christian theology: the material as such or "nature" (the corporeal), the human body as a living body (the corporal), and the social body (the corporate-including language and tradition). Merleau-Ponty's philosophy offers a finessed and non-reductionistic understanding of the relations between these orders of bodies. Appropriating Merleau-Ponty's thought helps one think through Christian doctrines of creation, theological anthropology, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

Christopher Ben Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Lincoln Christian University, USA.

Simpson's firm command of the works of both Merleau-Ponty and the early church theologians enables him to clearly explicate the two and bring them together in a conversation beneficial to graduate students and scholars at seminaries and universities who are interested in the interplay between theology and contemporary philosophy. -- Dylan Bailey, Westminster Theological Seminary, PA, US * Theological Book Review * A welcome contribution ... Simpson's scholarly work here can serve as a highly useful introduction to Merleau-Ponty's thought for theologians, and as a reference to the points of contact between his philosophy and theology. -- Orion Edgar * Modern Theology * [This book] is a welcome addition ... the first book length study to bring theology into conversation with Merleau-Ponty's thought. * Theologische Literaturzeitung * [Simpson's] treatment offers an incisive, densely referenced yet succinct overview of Merleau-Ponty's post-Kantian, post-Cartesian, and indeed post-Husserlian philosophy of phenomenology, alongside a systematic engagement with Christian loci ... It seems likely much more will be said on Merleau-Ponty and theology in future, and this is a lucid, positive early contribution theretowards. * Heythrop Journal *