Abstract
How
to
speak
about
transcendence
today?
How
to
represent
the
transcendent
in
a
context
in
which
God
seems
to
have
no
place
anymore?
No
philosopher
of
religion
or
theologian
can
avoid
this
fundamental
question.
And
not
a
few
of
them
end
up
being
paralysed
by
its
enormous
weight.
However
,
do
we
really
understand
what
is
at
stake
in
this
all
too
familiar
question?
In
his
Postmodernity’s
Transcending:
Devaluing
God
(London:
SCM
Press,
and
Notre
Dame:
Notre
Dame
University
Press,
2005
)
Laurence
Paul
Hemming
seeks
to
lay
bare
the
foundations
from
which
this
kind
of
questioning
arises.
His
en-deavour
involves
an
investigation
into
the
topic
of
the
sublime,
using
this
term
to
unlock
the
question
of
the
place
of
God,
or,
better,
the
displacement
of
God.
The
book
could
be
considered
as
a
philosophical
genealogy
of
the
concept
of
the
aesthetic
sublime.
At
the
same
time
it
is
an
exploration
of
the
nature
and
limits
of
theological
thinking.
Hemming
confronts
the
reader
with
the
God
and
gods
to
be
found
in
the
writings
of
Protagoras,
Plato,
Aristotle,
Aquinas,
Hegel,
Nietzsche,
Heidegger,
and
Derrida.
Throughout
this
exciting
journey
Hemming
provocatively
suggests
that
contemporary
at
tempts
to
speak
of
God
often
are
un-knowingly
out
of
place.
Much
theology
and
philosophy
turn
out
to
remain
built
upon
modern
presuppositions
about
subjectivity
and
transcendence
which
rule
out
a
genuine
approach
of
God
from
the
very
outset.
God
out
of
Place?
is
to
be
read
as
a
first
response
to
the
challenges
Hemming
raises:
it
contains
the
proceedings
of
a
book
symposium,
on
the
12th
of
October
2004,
organised
by
the
Research
Group
Theology
in
a
Postmodern
Context
at
the
Faculty
of
Theology,
Catholic
University
of
Leuven
(Belgium).
On
this
occasion
Hemming
presented
the
manuscript
of
the
book,
which
arose
from
an
extended
period
as
guest
professor
and
research
fellow
in
Leuven
(2002
–
2004
),
to
critical
responses
by
experts
from
different
backgrounds.
Kevin
Hart
(Notre
Dame,
USA)
situates
Hemming’s
book
within
postmodern
thinking,
especially
pointing
to
the
writings
of
Maurice
Blanchot.
Further
Hart
constructively
elaborates
on
the
theological
consequences
of
Hemming’s
perspective:
a
genuine
understanding
of
transcendence
and
the
rediscovery
of
what
it
means
to
speak
‘
coram
Deo
’.
Stuart
Elden
(Durham,
UK)
reads
Hemming
in
the
light
of
Heidegger
’s
view
on
‘place’
and
the
impact
of
the
modern
mathematical
paradigm
on
our
understanding
of
the
world.
At
the
end,
Elden
raises
the
question
of
the
political,
which
he
finds
underdeveloped
in
Hemming’s
approach.
Being
a
scholar
in
the
History
of
Modern
Philosophy
,
Peter
Jonkers
(Utrecht, The
Netherlands)
disagrees
with
Hemming’s
negative
assessment
of
Kant.
After
a
re-reading
of
Heidegger
,
Jonkers
suggests
an
alternative
position,
defending
the
lasting
merits
of
modern
thinking
on
the
question
of
transcendence.
Yves
De
Maeseneer
(Leuven)
confronts
Hemming’s
analysis
of
modern
aesthetics
in
terms
of
the
(re)production
of
a
strong
self
with
Adorno’s
interpretation
of
the
sublime,
which,
on
the
contrary
,
emphasises
the
self-destructive.
In
a
final
remark
De
Maeseneer
raises
the
suspicion
whether
Hemming’s
philosophical
radicalism
is
not
surreptitiously
underpinned
by
a
theological
refuge
into
the
realm
of
liturgy
.
For
the
purpose
of
these
proceedings
Joeri
Schrijvers
(Leuven)
gives
an
extensive
and
erudite
introduction
to
Hemming’s
book,
adding
critical
remarks
stemming
from
his
own
research
in
the
field
of
theology
and
phenomenology
.
Every
contribution
is
followed
by
a
reply
by
Hemming.
The
text
‘A
Singular
Question’,
which
consists
in
the
opening
paper
Hemming
presented
at
the
symposium
itself,
is
to
be
taken
as
a
reply
to
both
Hart
and
Elden.
The
contributions
to
God
out
of
Place?
are
not
merely
commentaries
or
reactions
to
Hemming’s
Postmodernity’s
Transcending
,
but
offer
essays
of
contemporary
thinkers
dealing
with
the
question
of
transcendence
in
their
own
right,
reflecting
on
the
places
of
God,
self
and
world.
And
they
elicit in
their
turn
often
vivid
and
sharp
replies
from
Hemming.
In
conclusion,
we
would
like
to
express
our
gratefulness
to
Lieven
Boeve,
whose
initiative
it
was,
as
co-ordinator
of
the
Research
Group
Theology
in
a
Postmodern
Context,
to
organise
this
book
symposium,
and
to
all
the
research
fellows
active
in
this
Research
Group
(for
more
information,
see
http://www.theo.kuleuven.be/ogtpc/
).
Further
we
thank
wholeheartedly
Laurence
Paul
Hemming
and
all
the
contributors
to
the
book
for
the
fine
spirit
of
cooperation,
and
Marcel
Sarot,
Michael
Scott
and
Maarten
Wisse,
editors
of
the
Ars
Disputandi
Supplement
Series,
for
their
critical
feedback
and
excellent
editing
of
this
volume.
