Process Studies

Volume 43, Issue 2, Fall/Winter 2014

The Return of Radical Theology: A Critical Examination of Peterson and Zbaraschuk, eds., Resurrecting the Death of God

This review article critically examines the anthology Resurrecting the Death of God: The Origins, Influence, and Return of Radical Theology, edited by Daniel Peterson and G. Michael Zbaraschuk (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014). After making brief but largely appreciative summary comments on a number of essays, the article focuses attention on contributions by John Cobb on the theology of Altizer, John Roth on Levinas, and J. W. Robbins on the politics of de Tocqueville's concept of God. Suggestions are provided for inclusion of a wider swath of theologies that might be considered "radical," and the argument is made for more "dialectical exchange," including a revisitation of the basic rationale behind Tillich's notion of the "power of being" and the provision of outlines of a cumulative or "global" abductive argument for the existence of cosmic mind that is informed by recent arguments of Thomas Nagel as well as historical forms of process natural theology, especially as propounded by Hartshorne.