Description: Christian thinkers and writers who address Jacques Derrida's philosophy face two potential pitfalls. One is to recast Christianity in an ill-fitting Derridean mold; the other is to ascribe to Derrida objectionable positions that bear little relation to his writing. To avoid these hazards, Christopher Watkin, a scholar of French literature and philosophy, walks in Derrida's shoes through the landscape of recent thought and culture, seeking to understand the rationale for Derrida's philosophical moves in light of his assumptions and commitments in philosophy, literature, ethics, and politics. He then sets these assumptions in the wider context of God's nature and purposes in history, providing biblical critique. Learn why Derrida says what he does and how Christians can receive and respond to his writing in a balanced, biblical way that is truly beneficial.
Brief description: Christopher Watkin (MPhil, PhD, Jesus College, Cambridge) researches and writes on modern and contemporary French thought, atheism, and religion. Currently, he is a senior lecturer in French studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He blogs at christopherwatkin.com, and you can find him on Twitter @DrChrisWatkin.
Review Quotes: "Chris Watkin has done what I thought was impossible. He has explained Derrida's deconstruction with lucidity, brevity, and charity. Not only that: he has imagined what it would be like for Cornelius Van Til to go toe-to-toe with Derrida in a discussion about language, logic, and the Logos made flesh, all of which figure prominently in John 1:1-18. And if that were not enough, he has done it in just over a hundred pages. Readers who want to know what all the fuss over postmodernity is about would do well to consult this book. It is an excellent beginning to this new Great Thinkers series."--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School