A militant Marxist atheist and a Radical Orthodox Christian theologian square off on everything from the meaning of theology and Christ to the war machine of corporate mafia.What matters is not so much that iek is endorsing a demythologized, disenchanted Christianity without transcendence, as that he is offering in the end (despite what he sometimes claims) a heterodox version of Christian belief.John MilbankTo put it even more bluntly, my claim is that it is Milbank who is effectively guilty of heterodoxy, ultimately of a regression to paganism: in my atheism, I am more Christian than Milbank.Slavoj iekIn this corner, philosopher Slavoj iek, a militant atheist who represents the critical-materialist stance against religions illusions; in the other corner, Radical Orthodox theologian John Milbank, an influential and provocative thinker who argues that theology is the only foundation upon which knowledge, politics, and ethics can stand. In The Monstrosity of Christ, iek and Milbank go head to head for three rounds, employing an impressive arsenal of moves to advance their positions and press their respective advantages. By the closing bell, they have not only proven themselves worthy adversaries, they have shown that faith and reason are not simply and intractably opposed. iek has long been interested in the emancipatory potential offered by Christian theology. And Milbank, seeing global capitalism as the new centurys greatest ethical challenge, has pushed his own ontology in more political and materialist directions. Their debate in The Monstrosity of Christ concerns the future of religion, secularity, and political hope in light of a monsterful eventGod becoming human. For the first time since ieks turn toward theology, we have a true debate between an atheist and a theologian about the very meaning of theology, Christ, the Church, the Holy Ghost, Universality, and the foundations of logic. The result goes far beyond the popularized atheist/theist point/counterpoint of recent books by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others. iek begins, and Milbank answers, countering dialectics with paradox. The debate centers on the nature of and relation between paradox and parallax, between analogy and dialectics, between transcendent glory and liberation. Slavoj iek is a philosopher and cultural critic. He has published over thirty books, including Looking Awry, The Puppet and the Dwarf, and The Parallax View (these three published by the MIT Press). John Milbank is an influential Christian theologian and the author of Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason and other books. Creston Davis, who conceived of this encounter, studied under both iek and Milbank.

Dans notre époque troublée, un sentiment de colère et dabandon se répand parmi de nombreux citoyens qui se sentent humiliés, incapables de mener la vie quils espèrent et impuissants à agir sur les fo

En los últimos años, la teología ha intentado legitimarse absorbiendo los métodos y las conclusiones de las ciencias sociales. El propósito del autor es sentar los fundamentos para recuperar una teologia con voz propia, esto es, una teologia que, aun siendo consciente de su caracter socialmente construido, sea capaz de articular un discurso independiente del de las ciencias sociales.Milbank parte de la constatacion de que la teologia ha asumido acriticamente los presupuestos de la sociologia moderna (sus discursos cientifico y humanista) y ha adoptado como propia la razon laica, renunciado implicitamente a la fe en la trascendencia. A partir de estos presupuestos, el autor lleva a cabo un analisis critico de la genesis de las principales formas de la razon laica (desde Platon hasta Deleuze) y muestra como la pretendida autonomia de lo secular encubre en realidad un dialogo constante con el cristianismo, y como las teorias sociales cientificas son tambien teologias o antiteologias encubiertas. En definitiva, Milbank pretende poner al descubierto la tramoya del dialogo entre la teologia social secular y la teologia, sus dependencias mutuas y sus paradojas. Al afirmar las caracteristicas propias del pensamiento teologico en particular a partir de san Agustin el autor pone de relieve el derecho de la teologia a mantener su tradicion intelectual en dialogo con las ciencias humanas. La tarea de la teologia asi concebida como una ciencia social, segun Milbank, consistiria en articular la diferencia cristiana de manera que recupere la originalidad perdida. Sus tareas fundamentales habrian de ser tres: re-narrar el mythos cristiano, re-enunciar el logos cristiano, y re-convocar la praxis cristiana.