Barth, Derrida and the Language of Theology

by Graham Ward

This study offers a new and original analysis of the problem of religious language. Taking as its starting point Karl Barth's doctrine of analogy, the author draws parallels between Barth's insights into the language of theology and the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida, and concludes that Barth's doctrine of analogy is a theological reading of Derrida's economy of différance. This important interpretation reveals Barth's closeness to postmodern thinking and underlines his relevance to current debates on the language of theology.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Graham Ward is an English theologian and Anglican priest who has been Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford since 2012. He is a priest of the Church of England and was formerly the Samuel Ferguson Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics and the Head of the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. Previous to that he was the Professor of Contextual Theology and Ethics and Senior Fellow in Religion and Gender at the university.

Reviews

[Eric Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clear exposition of what is at stake at the boundaries of theology and philosophy in Barth and Derrida. There is also much more in this book than the title indicates, as there are chapters about Buber, Heidegger, and Levinas as well, not to mention the constant theme of the question of analogy in many of these thinkers.