Badiou and Theology

The French philosopher Alain Badiou (born 1937), is one of the main representatives of a recent philosophical homage to Saint Paul. Yet, Badiou is not a believer in the traditional sense, let alone a Christian philosopher. On the contrary, he rejects transcendence and pleads for a radical this-worldliness.

This does not mean, however, that his work is of no use to theologians, though a theological engagement with him will necessarily take some time. This book takes the first steps in that direction. It focuses on Badiou's ontology, because his challenge to theology, and more in particular to the doctrine of God, is to be found at this level of his system. The starting point is Badiou's claim that true religion and true faith are no longer possible. This claim is evaluated in three parts: the theological context in which ontology becomes necessary; why we should turn to Badiou as a plausible source for such an ontology; and Badiou's atheist stance and its implications. Depoortere shows that Badiou's atheist ontology can nevertheless be opened towards God.

Dr Frederiek Depoortere is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) at the Faculty of Theology, K.U.Leuven (Belgium) and a member of the research group ’Theology in a Postmodern Context’.