GOD AFTER THE DEATH OF GOD (PHST-4812)
(01/30/2023-05/19/2023)
Course Memo
In The Gay Science, Nietzsche famously declared (through his literary invention, "the madman") the death (murder!) of God.
This declaration has often been closely link to the presumptive end of metaphysics. How ought and can people of faith respond to such pronouncements? What forms of faith and religious life are possible in a secularized, presumptively post-metaphysical world?This class will explore possible answers to these questions by looking at the writings of great religious thinkers of the last two centuries, including such literary and spiritual giants as St. John Henry Newman, Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, St. Therese of Lisieux, G.K. Chesterton, Gabriel Marcel, Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, and René Girard. Seminar format. Intended audience: M.A., Ph.D., and advanced M.Div. students. [Auditors excluded]