Publications

 MARCUS POUND
(William B Eerdmans Publishing Co, Dec 2008)
ISBN-10: 080286001X
ISBN-13: 978-0802860019

“With clarity and humor, and in wonderfully short compass, Marcus Pound introduces the thought of not only Slavoj Žižek but also his guru, Jacques Lacan. Pound finds in these masters of inversion a profound anti-theology that only needs to become more theological—more orthodox—in order to work, to rid us of complacency. This is a book for those new to Žižek and for those who, knowing him already, want to know him newly—as the theologian he might almost be. It’s as enjoyable as reading Žižek himself.” Gerard Loughlin, Durham University

“Slavoj Žižek’s work, always iconoclastic, has since 1997 embraced the seemingly scandalous project of a materialist theology. Marcus Pound’s new book is a long-called-for response, from within the field of theology, that takes Žižek’s theological turn seriously, testing it against its sources, and situating it within wider theological debates. In doing so, Pound achieves a very searching examination of Žižek’s oeuvre, significantly recasting the reception of Žižek’s work. Pound’s theological perspective also allows him to pose searching questions about what he provocatively calls Žižek’s ‘politics of abandonment’ and about the wider situation of the post-Enlightenment Left today.” Matthew Sharpe, author of Žižek: A Little Piece of the Real

MARCUS POUND
(London: SCM, 2007)
ISBN: 033404152X (hbk); 0334041392 (pbk)

“The subtitle of Pound’s book could have been ‘Lacan with Kierkegaard’. It stages an extraordinary dialogue between the two thinkers, demonstrating the Kierkegaardian resonances of the key Lacanian concepts. From now on, we know that the Freudian notion of the ‘trauma’, its sexual reference not withstanding, belongs to the divine. The book is a true event: after reading it, neither Kierkegaard nor Lacan will remain the same in our theoretical imaginary. You can ignore this book… if you want to remain a happy idiot.” Slavoj Žižek

“Marcus Pound’s first book is the most important sustained reflection on the relation of Theology and Psychoanalysis to date. His approach is admirably focused, since it compares the ideas of the theological founder of complex motivational psychology – Søren Kierkegaard – with those of the most sophisticated secular psychoanalytical theorist – Jacques Lacan. In doing so Pound offers, in a short compass, both a psychological deepening of theological orthodoxy and a theological critique of psychoanalysis as such. Future engagement with this area must begin with this lucid, subtle, and brilliant treaties.” John Milbank

“The vitality of Christian theology today, its creativity, its imaginative and scholarly engagement, are nowhere more evident than in this book. Pound’s presentation of an interface between psychology and doctrine is as bold as it is original. Kierkegaard meets Lacan, trauma is related to liturgy and therapy to sacramentalism – all under the aegis of Aquinas! This is contemporary theology at its best – exploring new terrains and forging distinctive relations between onetime strangers.” Graham Ward

PAUL D. MURRAY (ed.)
Oxford University Press, 2008
ISBN: 9780199216451

In January 2006, a colloquium on “receptive ecumenism” was held at Durham University, England. The colloquium brought together 150 theologians, ecumenists and ecclesiastics from across the traditions (and a great many of them of international standing) in order to explore a fresh way of conceiving the ecumenical task fitted for the contemporary situation – referred to as Receptive Ecumenism.

The essential principle behind Receptive Ecumenism is that the primary ecumenical responsibility is to ask not “What do the other traditions first need to learn from us?” but “What do we need to learn from them?” The assumption is that if all were asking this question seriously and acting upon it then all would be moving in ways that would both deepen our authentic respective identities and draw us into more intimate relationship.

Publisher’s description:

This volume proposes a fresh strategy for ecumenical engagement – ‘Receptive Ecumenism’ – that is fitted to the challenges of the contemporary context and has already been internationally recognised as making a distinctive and important new contribution to ecumenical thought and practice. Beyond this, the volume tests and illustrates this proposal by examining what Roman Catholicism in particular might fruitfully learn from its ecumenical others.

Challenging the tendency for ecumenical studies to ask, whether explicitly or implicitly, ‘What do our others need to learn from us?’, this volume presents a radical challenge to see ecumenism move forward into action by highlighting the opposite question ‘What can we learn with integrity from our others?’

This approach is not simply ecumenism as shared mission, or ecumenism as problem-solving and incremental agreement but ecumenism as a vital long-term programme of individual,communal and structural conversion driven, like the Gospel that inspires it, by the promise of conversion into greater life and flourishing. The aim is for the Christian traditions to become more,not less, than they currently are by learning from, or receiving of, each other’s gifts.

The 32 original essays that have been written for this unique volume explore these issues from a wide variety of denominational and disciplinary perspectives, drawing together ecclesiologists, professional ecumenists, sociologists, psychologists, and organizational experts.

PAUL MURRAY
(Peeters Publishers, 2005)
ISBN: 9042914521

In this work, Paul Murray explores which style of rationality is most appropriate to Christian theology in the contemporary pluralist, postfoundationalist, post-modern context. At its heart is a fresh consideration of the American pragmatist tradition, focussing on the writings of Richard Rorty and Nicholas Rescher. Where Rorty correctly diagnoses the failures of foundationalist “objectivism”, Rescher’s “pragmatic idealism” is presented as healing the ills in Rorty’s own neo-pragmatism. The significant resonance between Rescher’s view of rationality and Christian understanding of the Trinity is explored. In turn, Donald Mackinnon’s influential writings are presented as exemplifying just such an approach to theology. The author both articulates an enriched form of Christian postliberalism, committed to receiving and learning from other traditions of thought and practice and probes the claim that the dynamics of human rationality can be expected to reflect the Trinitarian dynamics of God’s being.

GERARD LOUGHLIN
(Oxford: Blackwell, 2004)
ISBN: 0631211799 (hbk); 0631211802 (pbk)

“Absolutely brilliant.” Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

“Elegantly written … Loughlin’s book stands head and shoulders above the existing literature in the expanding field of religion and film scholarship. Loughlin has a sophisticated and sympathetic understanding of film-studies literature; commendably, he discusses films with attention to their specific nature as visual artifacts, as opposed to narratives that happen to be set forth in images. … Loughlin’s book serves as a model for future scholars writing about the intersection of theology and film theory. although in the final analysis, his principle concerns are theological rather than cinematic.” Film Quarterly

“Alien Sex is part of Blackwell’s Challenges in Contemporary Theology series, a series that has produced some of the most creative theological thinking in recent years. Loughlin’s book is no exception… Loughlin’s innovative method of dealing with his material is in line with the theological approach taken but also connects with the cinematic perspective. His subject matter, however, covers a wider range of interests than film and theology and delves into the realms of art history and literature. … Loughlin’s Alien Sex is an extremely interesting and important work.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion

GERARD LOUGHLIN, editor
(Oxford: Blackwell, 2007)
ISBN: 0631216073 (hbk); 0631216081 (pbk)

Contributors: James Alison, Tina Beattie, Daniel Boyarin, Virginia Burrus, Gavin D’Costa, Paul Fletcher, Christopher Hinkle, Amy Hollywood, Grace M. Jantzen, Mark D. Jordan, Gerard Loughlin, David Matzko McCarthy, Rachel Muers, Catherine Pickstock, Eugene F. Rogers Jr, Kathy Rudy, Jane Shaw, Elizabeth Stuart, Graham Ward, Linda Woodhead

“Well researched and passionately argued, this important collection of essays makes an original contribution to queer theology and to the debate about theology and sexuality in the 21st century.” Marcella Maria Althaus-Reid, University of Edinburgh

“Several elements combine to make this collection the most impressive outing yet for queer theology: the intellectual stature of so many of its contributors; the principled threading of theoretical rigor with an activist ethos that characterizes so much of its contents; and the panoramic historical sweep of the project as a whole. This volume is essential reading for all theologians and not just queer ones; for, as its editor rightly notes, theology has always been a much queerer enterprise than most of us have recognized.” Stephen D. Moore, Drew University

GERARD LOUGHLIN
(Cambridge University Press, 1996, 1999)
ISBN: 0521432855 (hbk); 0521665159 (pbk)
DOI: 10.2277/0521665159

“Gerard Loughlin gives us an extraordinarily instructive theology, redolent with the kind of nuance and profundity which are required by anyone who takes seriously the story of Jesus as God’s anointed. He ranges widely across the contemporary intellectual scene, and brings an exciting and ingenious theological programme to life. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.” Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

“With this book Gerard Loughlin makes a welcome and important contribution. It is both a more theological and a more critical work than much earlier ‘narrative theology’. Post-modern theory becomes, in the author’s hands, a preparation for the gospel, and the gospel announced is one of promise and gift.” Janet Martin Soskice, University of Cambridge

“Telling God’s Story is a lively and splendidly literate essay on what we might now mean by the authority of Scripture and sacrament. … Loughlin deploys the resources of postmodern literary theory and systematic theology with equal skill and imagination to produce a picture critical alike of liberal rationalizations and of the deconstructionist flight from realism. This is a timely, provocative and enjoyable book.” Rowan Williams, [Bishop of Monmouth] Archbishop of Canterbury

“This is a very good book … Deeply, sometimes movingly, Catholic in inspiration and sensibility, it will repay reading for years to come.” Fergus Kerr, The Tablet

“Deftly Loughlin weaves his theological voices. He writes here, as always, with great skill, imagination and conviction … Loughlin has a fertile and imaginative theological mind – the world is about to be swept back into the Word.” Graham Ward, Theology

“… an excellent account of much of what is going on in contemporary theology, both British and American … Whatever one’s opinion on reading this intriguing and noteworthy book, it is one of the debates which will fuel British theology for the forseeable future.” Gareth Jones, Reviews in Religion and Theology

JON DAVIES and GERARD LOUGHLIN, editors
(Sheffield Academic Press, 1997)
ISBN: 1850756627 (hbk); 1850758042 (pbk)

Contributors: Tina Beattie, Jon Davies, Norman Dennis, Janette Gray RSM, Gerard Loughlin, Philip A. Mellor, Chris Shilling, Alan Storkey, Elizaberh Stuart, Adrian Thatcher, Linda Woodhead

“This book offers much food for thought for anyone interested in the field of sexual ethics ‘these days’. A rich and very varied menu is on offer within the one volume. That is a major attraction of the book.” Kevin T. Kelly, Heythrop Journal

CHRIS INSOLE
(University of Notre Dame Press, 2005)
ISBN: 0268031754

“[A]n important and timely work. Insole succeeds in challenging some of the wholesale denunciations of liberalism in recent theology and exposes some of the more implausible claims of the radically orthodox.” Professor David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh

“Christopher Insole combines this new historical study of the roots of liberalism with a systematic defense of political liberalism in theological terms. His book is important reading for anyone concerned about how religion shapes the political thinking of leaders and people in the Western democracies today. This is a work that challenges us to think critically about what is happening to religion and politics everywhere in the English-speaking world today, with full awareness of the history that brought us here.” Theology Today

“The Politics of Human Frailty is a highly perceptive book which deserves to be read by theologians, politicians, church leaders, indeed by anyone interested in the defence of liberal values.” Times Literary Supplement

“Insole offers a theological justification for close partnership between Christians and advocates of political liberalism. Well-documented and scholarly, his book provides a broad brush approach and operates on a large canvas, historically and conceptually . . . [Insole] cautiously and modestly builds up a theological defence of political liberalism.” Heythrop Journal

“This book is a lucid presentation of the modern confusion over the concept of political liberalism. Insole’s book seeks to dispose of some longstanding cliches and stereotypes, its primary concern being the theological aspect of the issue from historical and contemporary perspectives.” Journal of Markets & Morality