Speaking Of God

D. Stephen Long here addresses a key question in current theological debate: the conditions of the possibility of “God-talk,” along with attending questions about natural theology, fideism, and theological truth-claims. He engages not only the most significant contemporary theologians and philosophers on this score (Denys Turner, Bruce Marshall, John Milbank, Charles Taylor, Fergus Kerr) but also the legacy of twentieth-century theology (Barth, von Balthasar) and the analytic philosophical tradition from Wittgenstein to Davidson. Throughout, Long sustains a careful exegetical engagement with Aquinas, showing that what’s at stake in contemporary theology is just how we inherit St. Thomas.

In joining all of these voices into one conversation, Long does a remarkable job of surveying the current theological scene with respect to issues of language and truth, arguing for the need to deal head-on with classical questions of metaphysics. Central to his project is averting the charge of “fideism” so often laid at the feet of “postliberal” approaches (like Long’s). To that end Long argues for a (chastened) natural theology, while challenging any simple distinction between “natural” and “confessional” theology.