This is the upcoming Centre of Theology and Philosophy conference called The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition and Universalism. If you're interested in attending and/or presenting, we are now accepting reservations for the conference as well as paper abstracts for panels. All the information you need is on the conference site, which contains the full conference description, location details, booking, call-for-papers, and paper abstract submissions.

From the University of Nottingham Podcast webpage:

Dr Angus Paddison and Dr Adrian Pabst

In this podcast we hear about a major conference at the University, based on a hotly debated book by Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger.

Experts from around the world are gathering to debate major questions arising from the book, chiefly the concept of Jesus as an historical figure, Christ of faith, or both.

More information is available here and here.

Click here to listen to the podcast [audio/mpeg, 13.6 MB, 14:27 mins]

Listed below are the blurbs that have arrived for the respective books:

"This informed and informative book is an admirably compact and clear introduction to the essentials of Heidegger's thought. It will be very helpful for the beginner, and for the more advanced reader it offers an honorable critical interpretation. McGrath exhibits a sharp sense for the often-recessed religious preoccupations of Heidegger: out of sight is not quite out of mind, which sometimes leads to convoluted results in Heidegger's expressed thought. For the theological reader this book offers an exemplary critical engagement, attuned to Heidegger's religious equivocality and what remains hidden in the Heideggerian unsaid."
- William Desmond, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

"Heidegger's entire life was an adventure in philosophy, from phenomenology to thought, focused on a distinction between ontological be and ontic being that he was never able to explain, but that he was also never able to let go of in his long explorations into what he called the metaphysical tradition. In this remarkably lucid introduction to a philosopher notorious not only for radicalizing and obfuscating philosophical questioning but also for bringing it back to this most radical question of being or not-being, McGrath uses both biographical and existential information and the writing of Heidegger himself, especially in its earlier stages, to illuminate where this preeminent philosopher of the twentieth century was coming from in his questioning and where he was trying to go. The life of Heidegger sheds light on his philosophy, just as his philosophy sheds light on his life, with all its existential ambiguities, which were as conservative as they were radical against the inauthentic and the technological in modern mass society. In the end we learn how or why Heidegger was unable to resolve these ambiguities in his own philosophy, especially in axiology and in theology, which were never entirely absent from his thinking, and why also McGrath will not, as Heideggerians do, settle for such nihilistic ambiguities, due to the finitizing of being in Heidegger, that affect the broader question of being as well as the question of life for the human being or for the ever-present Dasein."
- Oliva Blanchette, Boston College

"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

Reviews:

"This compact study makes a significant contribution to the question of whether, in an age of science, reasonable people need to resign themselves to a naturalistic understanding of the world. Is the intellectually respected assumption that 'nature is all there is' intellectually coherent? In this 'intervention' Goetz and Taliaferro provide a readable, critical response to this important question."
- John F. Haught, Georgetown University

"Demonstrates with succinctness, brilliance, and precision that modern Anglo-Saxon naturalists are not rationalists but . . . are, in fact, the enemies of reason, which can only have any reality if the physical world has a spiritual, rational source."
- John Milbank, University of Nottingham

"More than a few people seem to regard it as a mark of sophistication to hold that nothing exists that transcends the natural order. But, as Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro show in their splendid new book, 'naturalism' is anything but a sophisticated view of reality. Under rigorous philosophical scrutiny, it isn't even a plausible one. . . . Patiently, gently, but in the end decisively, Goetz and Taliaferro demolish the dogmas of naturalism."
- Robert P. George, Princeton University

"This little gem of a book is a bold intervention in current discussions of naturalism that dominate philosophy and cognitive science. Unlike so many others, it is not just a book written to make theists comfortably smug in the face of naturalist critiques. It is unabashedly directed to naturalists as well and seeks to engage them on their turf and on their terms. It should be required reading not only for theologians who sense an obligation to engage the broader cultural milieu, but also naturalists willing to relinquish dogmatism and actually listen. The book well fulfills its function as a 'guide'--and more."
- James K.A. Smith, Calvin College

"The clearest and most penetrating exposition and critique of naturalism anywhere. In accessible, nontechnical language and brevity of style, the authors have managed to identify important versions of naturalism and expose the Achilles' heel of each. In a day when theologians and Christian leaders feel bullied by scientific naturalism, this book is a must-read."
- J. P. Moreland, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

"Taliaferro and Goetz have written a brilliant book! These veteran philosophers represent naturalism fairly, both allowing its spokespersons to speak for themselves and accurately interpreting their views. Yet the authors' criticisms of naturalism and their defense of theism are trenchant and insightful. Superbly done!"
- Paul Copan, Palm Beach Atlantic University

Supported by the British Academy

Click below for full details:

• The full Conference Poster
• A list of the Conference Speakers and Participants
• The Full Conference Programme

Olivier Boulnois, Au-delà de l'image, Une archéologie du visuel au Moyen Age, Ve-XVIe siè cle, Des Travaux/ Seuil, Paris, 2008, 496 p., + 8p. d'illustrations.

Cliquez ici pour voir la couverture du livre.

Postmodernism, Truth, and Religious Pluralism
April 11-12
Gordon College

Click here to download the full conference programme

[Click for larger version]

traditio presents:

RADICAL
ORTHODOXY
A C O L L O Q U I U M

Tuesday 13 November
2:30 pm
Ratio Studiorum:
How the Jesuits Invented Modern Higher Education
John F Montag SJ
St. Louis University

Wednesday 14 November
2:30 pm
If Jesus is Fully Human, He Must be God
Patrick Aaron Riches
Centre of Theology and Philosophy
University of Nottingham

Thursday 15 November
2:30 pm
Nihilism, Art, Theology and the Prodigal Son,
Or, There is no Sex outside Marriage
Conor Cunningham
Centre of Theology and Philosophy
University of Nottingham

Thursday 15 November
4:00pm
Panel Discussion on Radical Orthodoxy
with
John F Montag SJ
Patrick Aaron Riches
Conor Cunningham
Peter Candler
Tony Baker
Robert Miner (chair)

Treasure Room
Armstrong Browning Library

Sponsored by:
THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH
THE HONORS COLLEGE
THE INSTITUTE FOR FAITH AND LEARNING
WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHERS
SCM PRESS

Academic Seminars

Congregations and Religious Diversity in Contemporary America
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2008/warner/
R. Stephen Warner, University of Illinois at Chicago
June 23-July 18, 2008
Co-sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Communitas: A Visiting Scholars Program
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2008/communitas/
June 23-August 1, 2008
Funded by the
Provost's Office of Calvin College

The application deadline is January 31, 2008

For further information on these and other events, please visit
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/

Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids MI 49546-4402
616.526.8558
616.526.6682 fax

CALL FOR PAPERS
SCPT's Fourth Biennial Conference
Postmodernism, Truth, and Religious Pluralism

April 11-12, 2008
Gordon College (Wenham, MA)

Keynote Speakers:
Roger Haight (Union Theological Seminary)
Richard Kearney (Boston College)

With the so-called "return of religion," it is almost impossible not to address the issue of religious pluralism, which acutely raises the question of truth. What kind of positive sense of religious truth is possible in a postmodern era? What is religious truth--is it representational, propositional, orthopractical, symbolic, aletheiological, or something else altogether? How does the notion of "truth" square with a multiplicity of religious traditions? Is the very term "religion" appropriate in a pluralistic society, since the term is distinctly western? How might the earnest faith of a Christian, say, be compatible with the equally earnest faith of other believers or even non-believers? With the varieties of religions (not to mention the varieties of expressions of religions), how can their respective differences be respected? Are there forms of religious expression that simply cannot find a place in the public square?

We encourage papers that draw on continental figures; philosophical traditions such as deconstruction, feminist philosophy, hermeneutics, and phenomenology; and religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Only complete papers (maximum of 3,000 words) will be accepted. Papers should be prepared for blind review and sent to Trent.J.Koutsoubos@Wheaton.edu as email attachments.

DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15, 2008

The Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology seeks to promote inquiry at the intersection of philosophy and theology. For more information about SCPT, visit http://www.scptonline.org . For further information regarding the conference, contact Bruce.Ellis.Benson@Wheaton.edu.

[Click each book for more info]

Plenary speakers: Sarah Coakley, Terence Cuneo, Reinhard Hütter, Peter Ochs, James K.A. Smith, and Nicholas Wolterstorff.

The renaissance in Christian philosophy has engendered sustained philosophical reflection on a number of key aspects of Christian theology, but there has been a notable paucity of philosophical engagement with a central aspect of Christian practice: worship and liturgy.  This conference brings together leading scholars in philosophy and theology to investigate key themes in worship with the tools of philosophy, with the ultimate goal of informing Christian practice. There is also the reciprocal goal of letting Christian liturgical practice become a fund for philosophical reflection on classic questions and themes.  The conference will thus stage a reciprocal encounter between philosophy and liturgy, with the goal of generating a liturgical philosophy, and a philosophically-informed liturgy.

Call for Papers: We invite scholars (including advanced doctoral students) working at the intersection of philosophy and liturgy to submit their work for possible inclusion in the conference.  We welcome two kinds of submissions: (1) completed papers for presentation; and (2) works to be included in an electronic "poster session" that will also be a topic of discussion at the conference.  Such pieces could include previously published work at the intersection of philosophy and liturgy, or shorter "research notes" (of 3-4 pages) that identify a key question or topic for the field and report on work in progress.  The latter materials will be posted online before the conference.  Both completed papers and works for the poster session should be submitted to seminars@calvin.edu by February 15, 2008.  Those accepted will be notified by March 15, 2008.  For further information and updates, visit www.calvin.edu/scs/philosophyandliturgy.