Below is a sampling of endorsements. (Remaining blurbs can be found here.)

“This work of stunning scientific erudition and critical insight differs from the common polemics with Dawkins’ and Dennett’s theories which, while accepting their extreme Neo-Darwinist thesis, isolate it from their atheist conclusions. Professor Cunningham shows on a wealth of scientific and philosophical evidence how vulnerable the thesis is that lies at the root of those conclusions and how its genetic one-sidedness undermines the ground of Darwin’s evolutionary biology.”

Louis Dupré — Yale University

“Writing with engaging humor that betrays an extraordinary energetic intelligence, Conor Cunningham shows us why, given the Christian God, an evolutionary account of life is necessary. In the process he negotiates the philosophical controversies intrinsic to evolutionary science in a manner that illumines how some of the implications of that science mimic Christian heresies. This theological account of creation, I believe, will become a classic.”

Stanley Hauerwas — Duke University

“This is an excellent book! Very well informed and written in an accessible style, it will be easily understood by lay readers, especially thanks to the beautiful, simple examples, stories, and quotations that Cunningham employs. In addition, his interpretation of genetic science is faultless. I learned a great deal from this book!”

Michel Morange — Center for the Study of the History of Science, École Normale Supérieure, Paris

“Conor Cunningham established his reputation with the original and profound Genealogy of Nihilism. In recent years a handful of ‘sand-box’ atheists, prominent in the media, have invoked Darwin and evolution when defending their positions. In this sparkling yet rigorous book Cunningham deals with the philosophical dimensions and theological implications of evolutionary theory. Anyone who longs for this debate to be taken to a proper, intellectually challenging level needs to read Cunningham.”

Ken Surin — Duke University

“The last couple of decades have witnessed a dismal and hopelessly polarized confrontation between literalist Christians and equally fundamentalist ultra-Darwinians. Darwin would have been appalled. Here at last is a judicious and fascinating book that elegantly shows the artificiality of this mutually debilitating conflict, and tells us a lot about both evolution and belief in the bargain.”

Ian Tattersall — American Museum of Natural History, New York

“This book attempts to connect the debate about the nature of Darwinian evolution to the Christian theology of creation. The latter is often implicitly invoked — as, for instance, when the claim is made that Darwin has shown that God cannot exist — but rarely clearly discussed. Cunningham shows that the picture of God as the great Designer of artifacts, espoused by Paley and common to both ultra-Darwinians and Creationists, is profoundly at odds with Christianity. The battle between these last two is another of those incidents foreseen by Arnold in his ‘Dover Beach,’ where ‘ignorant armies clash by night.’ ”

Charles Taylor — McGill University, author of A Secular Age

“Even those sympathetic to the recent wave of evolutionary attacks on religion cannot help feeling that something is missing there: Dawkins and company lack a minimum of understanding of what religion is about, of how it works. Cunningham’s book is thus obligatory reading for all interested in this topic: while fully endorsing the scientific validity of Darwinism, it clearly brings to light its limitations in understanding not only religion but also our human predicament. A book like Cunningham’s is needed like simple bread in our confused times.”

Slavoj Žižek

“In this magnum opus Cunningham steadily pushes ultra-Darwinism and reductionist materialism for their self-undermining inconsistencies, in extremes neither permitting enough logic for understanding life. Exposing these sciences turned into scientism, he then embraces, complementary to the sciences, a deeply Christian account of creation, of both nature and human life enriched in encounter with Christ. A provocative, moving, and stimulating account.”

Holmes Rolston III — Colorado State University

Click on the following links to to see the book description, remaining blurbs, and author description.

‘On 25th May 2010 the Rt Revd Nick Baines presented 4 awards at Lambeth Palace. Roger Bolton, chair of the judging panel, announced the winners.’ [source] From the speech by Roger Bolton:

We decided to give the second of our TV merit awards to a very different sort of programme. For BBC 2, Conor Cunningham asked Did Darwin Kill God?. His answer was “no” and he convincingly demonstrated to us that Darwin did not think he had done so either.

This sort of demanding programme is difficult to present on television, particularly at 7pm for an hour, when many potential viewers will still be getting home for work or making supper. And providing a visually appropriate accompaniment to an abstract argument requires considerable imagination on behalf of both director and presenter.

But the audience was over a million, and for many of us, the argument Conor Cunningham advanced was a welcome relief from the ritualised combat of extremists such as Richard Dawkins and assorted creationists, who are fighting a battle many think is more suited to the early 19th century than the 21st.

The Middlesex Philosophy Department has the full and unqualified support of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham on account of the excellence of its work which arguably sets the highest standards within contemporary British philosophical reflection. We therefore bitterly oppose the decision of Middlesex University to close it down and consider that this has the direst possible implications for the future of British Philosophy.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, please do so here.

Dear colleagues,

Late on Monday 26 April, the Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities, Ed Esche, informed staff in Philosophy that the University executive had ‘accepted his recommendation’ to close all Philosophy programmes: undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil/PhD.

Philosophy is the highest research-rated subject in the University. Building on its grade 5 rating in RAE2001, it was awarded a score of 2.8 on the new RAE scale in 2008, with 65% of its research activity judged ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. It is now widely recognised as one of the most important centres for the study of modern European philosophy anywhere in the English-speaking world.

The MA programmes in Philosophy at Middlesex have grown in recent years to become the largest in the UK, with 42 new students admitted in September 2009.

The Dean explained that the decision to terminate recruitment and close the programmes was ’simply financial’, and based on the fact that the University believes that it may be able to generate more revenue if it shifts its resources to other subjects – from ‘Band D’ to ‘Band C’ students.

As you may know, the University currently expects each academic unit to contribute 55% of its gross income to the central administration. As it stands (by the credit count method of calculation), Philosophy and Religious Studies contributes 53%, after the deduction of School admin costs. According to the figures for projected recruitment from admissions (with Philosophy undergraduate applications up 118% for 2010-11), if programmes had remained open, the contribution from Philosophy and Religious Studies would have risen to 59% (with Philosophy’s contribution, considered on its own, at 53%).

In a meeting with Philosophy staff, the Dean acknowledged the excellent research reputation of Philosophy at Middlesex, but said that it made no ‘measurable’ contribution to the University.

Needless to say, we very much regret this decision to terminate Philosophy, and its likely consequences for the School and our University and for the teaching of our subject in the UK.

· Professor Peter Hallward, Programme Leader for the MA programmes in
Philosophy,

· Professor Peter Osborne, Director, Centre for Research in Modern European
Philosophy,

· Dr. Stella Sandford, Director of Programmes, Philosophy

[source]

Nina Power has written an article in the Guardian commenting on the situation here: “A Blow to Philosophy, and Minorities”

Of the many ways that support for the department has materialised, there is an official website here, a Facebook group, and a petition to sign, with over 3,000 signatures and counting. There are also instructions here on how and who to write letters to the university administrators at Middlesex.

This volume contains essays by Stanley Hauerwas, Oliver O’Donovan, Alessandra Gerolin, John Milbank, Joan Lockwood O’Donovan, Adrian Pabst, Johannes Hoff, Richard H. Bell, Christopher Ben Simpson, Graham Ward, Cyril O’Regan, James Williams, François Laruelle, Stratford Caldecott, Tracey Rowland, Phil Gorski, Fergus Kerr, Jeff Olsen Biebighauser, Lydia Schumacher, Alison Milbank, Quentin Meillassoux, and Peter M. Candler, Jr.

Link to purchase in the U.K. | Link to purchase in the U.S.A.

Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire, 16-19 September 2010

Keynote speakers: Simon Conway Morris, Michael Northcott, John Rodwell, John Milbank, Simon Oliver, Alison Milbank, Margaret Barker

Call for Papers

Often today debates about our policy towards the environment are purely reactive to events or to the current perceived risk of climate change. In contrast, this conference jointly mounted by Southwell Minster, Southwell and Nottinghamshire Diocese, the University of Nottingham Theology Department Centre of Theology and Philosophy and Nottingham Trent University Department of Environmental Sciences brings together theologians, philosophers, scientists and cultural critics to a Norman cathedral and to the historic Brackenhurst estate in Sherwood Forest to explore the specifically theological resources that can be brought to bear on our relation to the natural world. We invite short contributions of 20 minutes on any of the following areas: theology or philosophy of nature, theology of creation, history of environmental ethics, the human relation to the natural world, local ecology and local culture, religion and folklore, different religious perspectives and particularly those of religions other than Christianity, the role of cultural productions such as poetry, music, architecture or film as theological responses or critiques, the Bible and ecology. Papers addressing Nottinghamshire itself and Sherwood Forest will also be welcomed.

Please submit a 250 word abstract of your paper to alison.milbank@nottingham.ac.uk or by post to Revd Canon Nigel Coates, The Minster Centre, Church Street, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25  0HD by 1 July 2010.

A memorial service will be held at St. Olaf Saturday, March 27, at 11 a.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel.

• Link to news story
• Link to official announcement on St. Olaf College’s website

Prizes
First prize: a sum of € 1000 and publication of the essay in the Tijdschrift voor Theologie. The awarded essay will be published in the 50^th volume of the journal (in 2011).

Second prize (incentive prize): a sum of € 250 and publication of the essay on the website of the Tijdschrift voor Theologie.

The award ceremony will take place in November 2010 during a festive meeting/seminar, organized by the Edward Schillebeeckx Foundation/a special session of the editorial board of the Tijdschrift voor Theologie (form, location and time to be established by the jury).

Essay

Participants are asked to submit an essay consisting of an original academic reflection on a subject concerning the relation between religious beliefs and modern culture, from the point of view of either theology, philosophy of religion or religious studies and in an appropriately literary style. This essay or article should present an original, new view on current phenomena or issues. The reflection from the point of view of either theology, philosophy of religion or religious studies may concern one particular of several different forms of religious beliefs or outlooks on life.

The essay should have a minimum of 4000 and a maximum of 5000 words (including notes). It can be submitted in either Dutch, English, German or French. Instructions for style and formatting of the text can be found on the website of the Tijdschrift voor Theologie: http://www.tijdschriftvoortheologie.net/.

Participants
This essay contest is open to authors who are currently completing or have completed an academic education in either theology, religious studies or a related discipline and who have not reached the age of 36 on 1 July 2010. Authors do not need to have the Dutch or Flemish nationality and do not have to live in either of these countries.

Deadline
The deadline for submission is 1 July 2010.

Click here to download the full description with complete set of rules for entry.

Five new books are forthcoming in the Veritas series in 2010, to be published by SCM Press in association with the Centre of Theology and Philosophy:

1. The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition and Universalism, edited by Peter M. Candler Jr. and Conor Cunningham
2. Phenomenology and the Holy: Religious Experience after Husserl, by Espen Dahl
3. Languishing Perfection: The Emergence and Distortion of the Christian Telos, by Anthony D. Baker
4. Protestant Metaphysics after Karl Barth and Martin Heidegger, by Timothy Stanley
5. The Truth is the Way: Kierkegaard’s Theologia Viatorum, by Christopher Ben Simpson (cover not yet pictured)

Click the book covers pictured above to see larger versions of each.

François Laruelle’s Non-Philosophy:
Theology,Gnosticism, and Theory

A One-day Workshop

‘Principles of a Generic Ethics’ –
François Laruelle (Université de Paris X, Nanterre)

An Introduction to Non-Philosophy — Anthony Paul Smith
(translator of Laruelle’s Future Christ: A Lesson in Heresy)

Round-table discussion: Philip Goodchild, John Milbank, and John Mullarkey

Free and Open to the Public
Minimal Lunch Provided

Friday 5th March

10.45am-5pm
University Staff Club, Conference Suite
University Park
University of Nottingham
This event will be an introduction to the work of François Laruelle and we welcome MA and Research students from across the School of Humanities to attend.

Sponsored by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
and the Centre of Theology and Philosophy

Please direct any enquiries to anthonypaul.smith@gmail.com

Please download the flyer here and distribute. More details about the day’s schedule to follow.

[Post updated to reflect new poster and location]

The neoliberal project in the West has created an increasingly polarized and impoverished world, to the point that the vast majority of its citizens require liberation from their present socioeconomic circumstances. The marxist theorist Kenneth Surin contends that innovation and change at the level of the political must occur in order to achieve this liberation, and for this endeavor marxist theory and philosophy are indispensable. In Freedom Not Yet, Surin analyzes the nature of our current global economic system, particularly with regard to the plight of less developed countries, and he discusses the possibilities of creating new political subjects necessary to establish and sustain a liberated world.

Surin begins by examining the current regime of accumulation—the global domination of financial markets over traditional industrial economies—which is used as an instrument for the subordination and dependency of poorer nations. He then moves to the constitution of subjectivity, or the way humans are produced as social beings, which he casts as the key arena in which struggles against dispossession occur. Surin critically engages with the major philosophical positions that have been posed as models of liberation, including Derrida’s notion of reciprocity between a subject and its other, a reinvigorated militancy in political reorientation based on the thinking of Badiou and Zizek, the nomad politics of Deleuze and Guattari, and the politics of the multitude suggested by Hardt and Negri. Finally, Surin specifies the material conditions needed for liberation from the economic, political, and social failures of our current system. Seeking to illuminate a route to a better life for the world’s poorer populations, Surin investigates the philosophical possibilities for a marxist or neo-marxist concept of liberation from capitalist exploitation and the regimes of power that support it.

Praise for the book:

“Freedom Not Yet is a stunning, mature, and major work. It provides a unique combination of strong empirical research and significant theoretical sophistication. Kenneth Surin is after a workable model for revolution within the broad frame of the marxist tradition, and he provides significant engagements with approaches including identity, subjectivity (Derrida), event (Badiou), nomadology (Deleuze and Guattari), and transcendence (Radical Orthodoxy), cutting through each with a sure hand. This book will be at the center of discussions for a long time to come.”—Roland Boer, author of Political Myth: On the Use and Abuse of Biblical Themes

“Freedom Not Yet will interest all those seeking alternatives to the present system of capitalist political and financial control.”—Paul Patton, author of Deleuze and the Political

The book is now available in the U.S., and will be available in the UK and worldwide on 25 February 2010.

Amongst the updates for the site include:

• A revamped and much more comprehensive publications page.  There are now nearly 200 publications added which represent the work of the staff, fellows, and members of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy.  This also includes books that are a part of the Interventions, Illuminations, New Slant, Radical Orthodoxy, and Veritas series of books.
• An updated fellows & members page that now includes a sign-up form for those who would like to join the Centre of Theology and Philosophy.
• The ability to submit your own news story to the Centre.  There is only so much work out there that we are aware of ourselves, so it would help us if you know of work that would be of interest to the Centre to submit it and we’ll consider adding it to our news blog.
• Lastly, the news feed will act both as a source of CoTP news as well as soon a platform for blogging.  More on that to come…

For information about the Symposium, please call 202-526-3799 or contact information@johnpaulii.edu. Registration ends Friday, November 20, 2009.

Speakers include David L. Schindler, D. C. Schindler, Conor Cunningham, Michael Hanby, Nicholas Healy, amongst others.

Please click here for more details.

Details:

The publication of the book Jesus of Nazareth on 16 April 2007 was an unprecedented event: never before had a reigning Pope published personal reflections on Jesus. Benedict XVI’s book engages not just with New Testament scholarship but also with fundamental methodological questions related to historical criticism.

The Pope and Jesus of Nazareth provides essays by some of the leading scholars in Britain, continental Europe and the USA to highlight the insights and limits of the Pope’s reflection on Jesus. Specifically, it engages with the book from critical, cross-disciplinary and different faith perspectives.

Contributors include: Richard Bell, Markus Bockmuehl, Peter Casarella, Roland Deines, Henri-Jérôme Gagey, Richard B. Hays, Fergus Kerr OP, Francisco Javier Martínez, John Milbank, R. W. L. Moberly, George Dennis O’Brien, Angus Paddison, Adele Reinhartz, Mona Siddiqui, and Olivier-Thomas Venard OP.

Endorsements previously mentioned here.

Additionally, out last month is a volume entitled Divine Transcendence and Immanence in the Work of Thomas Aquinas, a collection of studies presented at the Third Conference of the Thomas Instituut te Utrecht, 15-17 December 2005. Edited by Harm Goris, Herwi Rikhof, and Henk Schoot, this volume contains essays by CoTP members Rudi te Velde, Harm Goris, and Conor Cunningham. The full table of contents may be found here.

Collection description:

The terms ‘transcendence’ and ‘immanence’ are often used casually and as self-evident. The spatial imagery contained in their meaning determines the way they are understood and used: as opposites, like ‘there’ and ‘here’. As a consequence, the two concepts are seen as mutually exclusive when applied to God’s being and to his activity and presence in our world and in our history. This view on the relationship between God and world is characteristic not only of deism and pantheism, but also of theism.

However, in the view of Thomas Aquinas, such an opposition cannot adequately capture the central tenets of the Christian faith. This book explores Aquinas’ thought on transcendence and immanence in his discussions of creation, analogy, the Trinity, grace and Christ, and offers interpretations in which God’s transcendence and his immanence do not exclude but imply one another.

New Programme launching in January 2010

MA in Systematic and Philosophical Theology
by distance learning

Course Director: Simon Oliver, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology

Course Team: John Milbank, Conor Cunningham, Karen Kilby, Philip Goodchild, Aaron Riches, Jeff Wardle, and Tom O’Loughlin

This new programme will enable students from all over the world to engage in graduate study at one of the leading centres for research and teaching in theology and philosophy. Students will study at distance via printed and electronic media with regular contact with course tutors. Occasional visits to Nottingham for tutorial guidance are encouraged. A residential seminar and conference will be held annually in Nottingham, next between 27th and 29th April, 2010.

Further information on the programme can be found here. The applications procedure can be found here.

Also available: MA in Church History by distance learning.

For further information please contact the Course Director, Simon Oliver.

William Desmond’s original and creative work in metaphysics is attracting more and more attention from philosophers of religion. Putting Desmond in conversation with John D. Caputo, an important philosopher of religion from the Continental tradition, Christopher Ben Simpson casts new light on Desmond’s complex, multifaceted, and nuanced thought. The comparative approach allows Simpson to get at the core of recent debates in the philosophy of religion. He develops a rich understanding of how ethics and religion are informed by metaphysics, and contrasts this approach to the decidedly anti-metaphysical stance in Continental philosophy. Religion, Metaphysics, and the Postmodern presents a systematic analysis of Desmond’s thought as it advances work on Caputo’s thinking and on the philosophy of religion.

Available from:

• Indiana University Press
• Amazon.com (Amazon.co.uk is still on pre-order)

Details:

The publication of the book Jesus of Nazareth on 16 April 2007 was an unprecedented event: never before had a reigning Pope published personal reflections on Jesus. Benedict XVI’s book engages not just with New Testament scholarship but also with fundamental methodological questions related to historical criticism.

The Pope and Jesus of Nazareth provides essays by some of the leading scholars in Britain, continental Europe and the USA to highlight the insights and limits of the Pope’s reflection on Jesus. Specifically, it engages with the book from critical, cross-disciplinary and different faith perspectives.

Contributors include: John Milbank, Henri-Jérôme Gagey, Francisco Javier Martínez, Fergus Kerr OP, Richard B. Hays, Markus Bockmuehl, Adele Reinhartz, Mona Siddiqui, Peter Casarella, R. W. L. Moberly, Olivier-Thomas Venard OP, Richard Bell, Angus Paddison, Roland Deines, and George Dennis O’Brien.

Endorsements:

“This book is an important response, sympathetic but not uncritical, to Pope Benedict’s appeal to trust the evangelists’ portrayal of Jesus. Whether or not Benedict’s argument is successful, the problem he addresses – the modern divide between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith – is a real one. Contributors to this volume rightly recognize this, and show how the debate can be taken forward.” — Francis Watson, Chair of Biblical Interpretation, University of Durham

“Pope Benedict hoped that his book Jesus of Nazareth would provoke an intelligent debate about what it means to be disciples of Jesus today. This book’s collection of articles, some of exceptional distinction, more than fulfils that hope. Many of them bring fresh light to bear on one of the most important questions which theology faces today, the relationship between modern biblical scholarship and faith in the Risen Lord. Wonderful!” — Timothy Radcliffe OP, Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992-2001

“This is an exciting collection of essays written by an outstanding group of international biblical scholars and systematic theologians. They creatively and resourcefully interact with Pope Benedict XVI’s book, Jesus of Nazareth, allowing the reader to obtain greater insight into and appreciation of Pope Benedict’s thought. Moreover, through their dialogue with Pope Benedict’s work, these authors also make their own individual outstanding scholarly contributions to the study of Christ.” — Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap.,
Executive Director for the Secretariat for Doctrine,
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC

“A rich and articulate inquiry into the Pope’s thought and his reflections on Jesus. This book takes up Benedict XVI’s invitation to overcome the unwarranted dualism between reason and Revelation, between the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith, and to rediscover the essence of the Christian event – God made man – the inexhaustible spring of an adequate theological and exegetical method. Those essays on the Holy Father’s hermeneutical perspective which are critical also help the deepening of knowledge.” — H.E. Angelo Cardinal Scola, Patriarch of Venice

The first is for a volume just-released: J. P. Moreland’s The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism.

[Order UK] [Order US]

Endorsements:

“J. P. Moreland’s new book is a tour de force. In six clear, concise and tightly-argued chapters, he raises profound objections to the attempts of modern naturalistic philosophers to accommodate human consciousness, free will, rationality, selfhood and morality within a purely physical world-view. He thereby significantly enhances the intellectual appeal of a theistic alternative. All open-minded metaphysicians, philosophers of mind and philosophical theologians should read this book.” — E. J. Lowe, Professor of Philosophy, Durham University

“J.P. Moreland’s book is a masterpiece of clear, compelling, accessible arguments against naturalism, and a powerful defense of a Christian understanding of persons. This should be required reading for anyone interested in the philosophy of human nature and the debate between theism and naturalism today.” — Charles Taliaferro, St Olaf Collage

“The Recalcitrant Imago Dei is a wonderful read. Chapter by chapter, Moreland systematically sets forth how naturalism denies what is so obvious about ourselves, which is that we are conscious, rational souls that have the power to make undetermined choices for purposes. The power of the book lies in the way that it makes clear how human beings become unrecognizable once naturalism has worked them over. Through page after page of careful argument, Moreland shows all of us how deeply unnatural the naturalist account of ourselves is.” — Stewart Goetz, St Ursinus College

“Materialistic naturalism has, for some years, been the received wisdom in philosophy, as well as amongst much of the educated public. Many serious philosophical arguments have been brought against this ideology, but usually in a series of separate controversies. J.P. Moreland’s great service is to bring all these objections together, whilst adding his own original contributions, in a very effective anti-naturalist polemic. He shows us that the materialist world picture cannot accommodate the most basic phenomena of human life: It has no place for consciousness, free will, rationality, the human subject or any kind of intrinsic value. Materialism does not disprove these human realities, it is simply incapable of accounting for them in any remotely plausible way. I would add to the list of its failures that naturalism lacks even a coherent account of the physical world itself. Moreland makes a very good case for saying that, as a serious world view, naturalism is a non-starter: more traditional, theistic
philosophies fare much better in the face both of the phenomena and of argument.” — Howard Robinson, University Professor in Philosophy, Central European
University, Budapest

The next two are for this year’s forthcoming edited conference volumes:

The Pope and Jesus of Nazareth, edited by Angus Paddison and Adrian Pabst; and The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition, and Universalism, edited by Peter M. Candler Jr. and Conor Cunningham. Further information on these volumes is forthcoming.