Resurrecting the Death of God

Book excerpt: Considers the legacy and future of radical theology. In 1966, an infamous Time magazine cover asked “Is God Dead?” and brought the ideas of theologians William Hamilton and Thomas J. J. Altizer to the wider public. In the years that followed, both men suffered professionally and there was no notable increase to the small number of thinkers considered death of God theologians. Meanwhile, Christian fundamentalism staged a striking comeback in the United States. Yet, death of God, or radical, theology has had an ongoing influence on contemporary theology and philosophy. Contributors to this book explore the origins, influence, and legacy of radical theology and go on to take it in new directions. In a time when fundamentalism is the greatest religious temptation, this volume makes the case for the necessity of resurrecting the death of God. “Resurrecting the Death of God shows why Altizer continues to ride the stream of contemporary conversations in academic theology and continental philosophy without ever losing his luster.” — Carl A. Raschke, author of Postmodernism and the Revolution in Religious Theory: Toward a Semiotics of the Event