James G. Hart

Bio: James G. Hart is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Postmodern music & Postmodernism. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1 citations.

The Postmodern Guise of Christ

Abstract: Our focus here is the Christological themes in two recent works, one by Frederiek Depoortere, and the other an exchange between Slavoj Žižek and John Milbank. Because the scope of the works extends far beyond Christology, e.g., Depoortere’s discussion of the scientific aspects of mimesis and Žižek’s scintillating roman-candle-like excursi and interpretations of literature, political theory, popular culture, history, ethics, etc., much will be neglected. Although Depoortere’s excellent book Christ in Postmodern Philosophy begins with a brief study of Gianni Vattimo, which he characterizes as a return to Thomas Altizer’s “Death of God” theology, for sheer practical reasons, we will omit this discussion.

The Image and Likeness of God

Abstract: This chapter examines the subject of humanity as created in the image and likeness of God, a central theme in the Christian mystical tradition. Indeed, the imago Dei forms the foundation of much if not all Christian theological anthropology, and questions of the ‘nature’ and ‘structure’ of the human person are evidently central to questions of the mystical encounter between human persons and God. This chapter first surveys the scriptural background of the imago Dei in both Genesis and the New Testament and then provides a brief survey of current systematic-theological and historical-theological approaches. After providing some background to patristic imago Dei theologies in both the East and West, the chapter focuses in-depth on three lesser-known medieval authors: John of Fécamp, William of St Thierry, and John of Ruusbroec, in an attempt to highlight the rich variation and theological sophistication of their mystical anthropologies.