This book argues that the contemporary crisis of radical theology, from John Robinson to deconstruction, is connected with theology’s failure to take the technological nature of modern society seriously. An overview of modern theologians who did take technology into account, such as Teilhard de Chardin and Jacques Ellul is presented, although their judgments were mostly negative. This is followed by an exposition of Heidegger’s critique of technology, with emphasis on his notion of ‘enframing’ as a central feature, and his view that technological models are in the process of colonizing traditi ... More

This book argues that the contemporary crisis of radical theology, from John Robinson to deconstruction, is connected with theology’s failure to take the technological nature of modern society seriously. An overview of modern theologians who did take technology into account, such as Teilhard de Chardin and Jacques Ellul is presented, although their judgments were mostly negative. This is followed by an exposition of Heidegger’s critique of technology, with emphasis on his notion of ‘enframing’ as a central feature, and his view that technological models are in the process of colonizing traditional scholarly modes of thought. Chapters four, five, and six attempt to formulate a model of thinking about God that would be resistant to such colonization. The freedom and patience required of such thinking are emphasized, and it is argued that the language in which these are best articulated will be subjunctive and paratactic, a language of possibility and openness. However, language must have a vision. The vision that is called for is reversed vision, in which we see ourselves as if from the outside. The possibility of such a vision is kept open for believers in the action of liturgical remembrance. Chapters seven, eight, and nine look at the possible applications of this model in relation to ethical questions arising from genetic engineering, the life of the contemporary university, and the world of the arts ‘in an age of technical reproducibility’. The concluding chapter questions how far the model might relate to traditional Christian ideas of God. A postscript meditates on the experience of contemporary urbanity as a testing-ground for the approach that has been explored.