Nationality English Alma mater Oxford University | Name John Milbank Role Professor | |
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Occupation Professor, theologian, philosopher Genre theology, continental philosophy, postmodern philosophy,political philosophy, political theology, social theory Notable works Theology and Social Theory Books Theology and Social Theory, Radical Orthodoxy, The word made strange, The Suspended Middle, Being reconciled Similar People | ||
John milbank the myth of the secular
Alasdair John Milbank (born 1952) is an Anglican Christian theologian and was the Research Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Nottingham, where he also directs the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. Milbank previously taught at the University of Virginia and before that at the University of Cambridge and the University of Lancaster. He is also chairman of the trustees of the ResPublica think tank.
Contents
- John milbank the myth of the secular
- John milbank vs angie hobbs
- Educational background and personal life
- Thought
- References
Milbank is known as the founder of the movement known as Radical Orthodoxy, which has attracted international attention in both religion and politics. His work crosses disciplinary boundaries, integrating subjects such as systematic theology, social theory, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy, political theory and political theology. He first gained recognition after publishing Theology and Social Theory in 1990, which laid the theoretical foundations for the movement which later became known as Radical Orthodoxy. In recent years he has collaborated on three books with philosopher Slavoj Žižek and Creston Davis, entitled Theology and the Political: The New Debate (2005), The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic (2009), and Paul's New Moment: Continental Philosophy and the Future of Christian Theology (2010). Milbank delivered the Stanton Lectures at Cambridge in 2011.
John milbank vs angie hobbs
Educational background and personal life
Milbank was educated in Britain, studying at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. During his time at Cambridge he studied under Rowan Williams. He then received his PhD degree from the University of Birmingham. His dissertation was on the work of Giambattista Vico under the supervision of Leon Pompa. Cambridge University awarded him a senior Doctor of Divinity degree in recognition of published work in 1998. He is married to Alison Milbank, also a lecturer at the University of Nottingham. They have two children.
Thought
A key part of the controversy surrounding Milbank concerns his view of the relationship between theology and the social sciences. He argues that the social sciences are a product of the modern ethos of secularism, which stems from an ontology of violence. Theology, therefore, should not seek to make constructive use of secular social theory, for theology itself offers a peaceable, comprehensive vision of all reality, extending to the social and political without the need for a social theory based on some level of violence. (As Contemporary Authors summarises his thought, "the Christian mythos alone 'is able to rescue virtue from deconstruction into violent, agonistic difference.'") Milbank is sometimes described as a metaphysical theologian in that he is concerned with establishing a Christian trinitarian ontology. He relies heavily on aspects of the thought of Plato and Augustine, in particular the former's modification by the Neoplatonist philosophers.
Milbank, together with Graham Ward and Catherine Pickstock, has helped forge a new trajectory in constructive theology known as "Radical Orthodoxy"—a predominantly Anglo-Catholic approach which is highly critical of modernity.