Theological Analysis and Critique of the Postmodernism Debate Mapping the Labyrinth

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Pages:376
ISBN:0-7734-2246-3
978-0-7734-2246-9
Price:$239.95 + shipping
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This work is an in-depth look at contemporary postmodern trends in art, philosophy, and theology. It surveys and analyzes many of the main trends and ideas that have been gaining influence in academic and intellectual discourse over the past several decades, to determine just what postmodernism is and what type of response to the phenomenon should be made by Christian theology. This thorough, accurate, and fair assessment on postmodernism will be of enormous value to students and professors of religious, theology, and current trends in the arts and philosophy.

Reviews

"Michael Nicholson seeks to provide an analysis of the contours and streams which have contributed to this new (anti)philosophical mood which is dominating the intellectual marketplace. . . . Saussure, Derrida, Foucault, Wittgenstein, Rorty, Nietzsche, Taylor, Whitehead, Hartshorne, Cobb, Griffin, and Lindbeck are all descriptively analyzed. Allen and Oden are brought into the discussion as representative voices of postmodern evangelicalism. Nicholson's investigation is detailed and insightful as he examines these major personalities and the schools of thought which they have spawned. The breadth of his study is impressive, and his critiques are balanced and even handed.. . . . anyone who is trying to get a handle on, or an overview of, postmodernism's multifaceted dimensions will benefit significantly from Nicholson's treatment." - Daniel L. Akin

"This book offers a superb bibliography and a helpful guide to postmodernism. . . . In well researched and clearly stated chapters Nicholson describes the rise, the literature, and the characteristics of post-modernism in each of the three arenas where this new, pervasive, catch-all term is used. His description of post-modernism in the arts (literature, architecture, the visual arts) is especially well drawn. . . . The primary contribution of the book is an encyclopedic description of how American theologians have mapped, followed, and gotten bogged down in the elusive term that is on everyone's lips but seems to have no firm terrain in the understanding. If you want an introduction and critique of the latest academic wave, namely post-modernism, Nicholson's book is an excellent resource." - William L. Hendricks

"Through this tangled web we are guided by the able, well-researched, and carefully written volume by Michael Nicholson. If this is your first attempt as a reader to wrestle with these significant intellectual movements you will be especially helped by Nicholson's careful descriptions and analyses. For those who have wrestled with this material before, Nicholson's work will serve as a very helpful guide and review. . . We gladly commend this volume to the growing spectrum of works dealing with the challenges of postmodernism." - from the Preface by David S. Dockery

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