Date
3-9-2009
Department
Seminary
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Chair
Ed N Martin
Primary Subject Area
Philosophy; Theology
Keywords
Divine Love, God's love, John Milbank, Love, Phenomenology, Radical Orthodoxy
Recommended Citation
Alvis, Jason Wesley, "A Radical Phenomenology of Love: Divine Love as Understood by the Radically Orthodox John Milbank" (2009). Masters Theses. 74.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/74
Abstract
The topic of Divine love is no longer taken seriously. In some sense it is difficult for one to even utter the words "God is love" without an accompanying mawkish sentimentality. One's concept of love in general, and Divine love in particular, is a linchpin to all other theological, ethical and social spheres of life. This thesis considers how John Milbank, the "father" of Radical Orthodoxy, understands Divine love, and some ways in which his work may be positively situated in the Ecclesial Community and lead individuals into deeper experiences of such love. Since Milbank has very few explicit words concerning Divine love, his consideration of such will primarily be drawn out of his most prominent theological and philosophical understandings. That is, this paper will, in some sense, extract Milbank's understanding of God's love from his most significant and over-arching structures of thought (e.g. his participatory ontology, considerations of "the gift," and his Doctrine of Divine Simplicity).
