Toward a Theology of Eros: Transfiguring Passion at the Limits of Discipline

About the Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquia

T R A N S D I S C I P L I N A R Y T H E O L O G I C A L C O L L O Q U I A Theology has hovered for two millennia between scriptural metaphor and philosophical thinking; it takes flesh in its symbolic, communal, and ethical practices. With the gift of this history and in the spirit of its unrealized potential, the Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquia intensify movement between and beyond the fields of religion. A multivocal discourse of theology takes place in the interstices, at once self-deconstructive in its pluralism and constructive in its affirmations. Hosted annually by Drew University’s Theological School, the colloquia provide a matrix for such conversations, while Fordham University Press serves as the midwife for their publication. Committed to the slow transformation of religio-cultural symbolism, the colloquia continue Drew’s long history of engaging historical, biblical, and philosphical hermeneutics , practices of social justice, and experiments in theopoetics. S T E E R I N G C O M M I T T E E : Catherine Keller, Director Virginia Burrus Stephen Moore TOWA R D A TH EO LOGY O F E ROS Transfiguring Passion at the Limits of Discipline E D I T E D B Y V I R G I N I A B U R R U S A N D C A T H E R I N E K E L L E R ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀  Copyright 䉷 2006 Fordham University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Toward a theology of Eros : transfiguring passion at the limits of discipline / edited by Virginia Burrus and Catherine Keller. p. cm.— (Transdisciplinary theological colloquia) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8232-2635-1 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8232-2635-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-8232-2636-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8232-2636-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Sex—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Love—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Sex. 4. Love. I. Burrus, Virginia. II. Keller, Catherine, 1953– BT708.T69 2006 128⬘.46—dc22 2006028869 Printed in the United States of America 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1 ...