Godhead and the Nothing - Softcover

Altizer, Thomas J. J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791457966 ISBN 13: 9780791457962

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2003

Synopsis

An eminent theologian argues that nothingness is necessary in order to fully actualize the Godhead.

Eminent theologian Thomas J. J. Altizer breaks new ground by exploring the ultimate transfiguration of the Godhead as a question of the Nihil or nothingness and God. The Nihil is essential to the full actualization of the Godhead in that it fully occurs in both a primordial and an apocalyptic sacrifice of the Godhead. Virtually unexplored by philosophical and theological thinking, the Nihil is luminously enacted in the deepest expressions of the imagination, and most clearly and decisively so in the Christian epic tradition. Altizer looks at the works of philosophers and theologians such as Spinoza, Barth, Hegel, Nietzsche, and epic writers such as Dante, Milton, and Blake to ultimately posit a God that is necessarily a dichotomous God.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas J. J. Altizer is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. His many books include The Call to Radical Theology (edited by Lissa McCullough); Living the Death of God: A Theological Memoir; Godhead and the Nothing; The Contemporary Jesus; and History as Apocalypse, all published by SUNY Press.

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0791457966
• ISBN 13: 9780791457962
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 182