Beyond Theodicy: Jewish and Christian Continental Thinkers Respond to the Holocaust

Preface

xi Preface Dissatisfaction with theodicy is the passion driving the production of this book. In contemporary Jewish and Christian thought, the rejection of theodicy and the development of post-Holocaust theology are closely intertwined . The image of Auschwitz represents a drastic rupture in historical consciousness and philosophical methodology in response to evil. After Auschwitz, theodicy is exposed as perpetrating amoral justifications of evil and rationalistic caricatures of practical faith struggles. In charting objections to theodicy, the discussions of major authors have been streamlined for the sake of my argument and that of my intended audience , which includes religion students and nonspecialists as well as colleagues in the fields of religious studies, philosophy, and theology. The broad scope of the book makes it inevitable that the relevant figures, issues, and implications cannot be exhaustively explored or developed. I look forward to future conversations and correspondences about these matters with my readers, and to further publications on the subject. During work on the manuscript, I was privileged to live the writing life while in residence at Yale University, the University of Hamburg, California State University at Chico, and Trinity University in San Antonio. For four years of generous financial support, I would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) doctoral fellowship program. I am grateful to the German Academic Exchange (DAAD) for offering me a fellowship for a full academic year spent in Hamburg, 1997–1998. In addition, I appreciate the summer research stipend that I received from Trinity University during the completion of the manuscript. This book began as a dissertation in the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University under the direction of Marilyn McCord Adams. For his help and encouragement, Cyril O’Regan deserves special mention. I also wish to acknowledge the Yale faculty members, past and present, who were variously involved in the development and completion of this project: Serene Jones, Kathryn Tanner, Louis Dupré, Jim Dittes, and David Kelsey. While living in Hamburg, I benefited from conversations with Helmut xii PREFACE Peukert, Dorothee Soelle, and Jörg Dierken on existentialist, political, and feminist theology. I extend gratitude to Gérard Vallée, John Robertson, Eileen Schuler, and Travis Kroeker of McMaster University who have encouraged my academic pursuits since my undergraduate days in Canada. Warm thanks go to my parents, Dorothy and Clark, who kindled my interest in religious reflection and have always provided unconditional support. I dedicate this book to my husband, Nial Eastman. It is hard to avoid clichés in so doing, but I cannot resist publishing the fact that he is of infinite value to me. His intelligence, creativity, patience, and loyalty have contributed very directly and substantially to the completion of the book and the fulfillment of its author. ...