A few good reads
Interested in getting a head start on the “Subverting the Norm” conference? Here are some great books by a few conference presenters that will make you want October to arrive all the quicker:
Theology:
Peter Rollins and John Caputo are both known for engaging continental philosophy. Rollins’ most recent work is heavily influenced by Slavoj Zizek, while Caputo usually highlights the thought of Jacques Derrida.
A nice introduction to Rollins’ theology can be found in his books The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief and The Orthodox Heretic. If you are interested in learning more about Zizek in general, and thus understand the background from which Rollins works, you might wish to check out Adam Kotsko’s Zizek and Theology.
The best introduction to Caputo’s thought can be found in his What Would Jesus Deconstruct? The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church and On Religion. If you would like a more in-depth perspective of his work, then you might want to check out his groundbreaking books The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida and The Weakness of God.
A great overall introduction to radical theology can be found in a book that Jeffrey Robbins edited entitled After the Death of God.
Practice:
Those who are interested in emerging approaches to worship and ecclesiology will especially want to read the second half of Rollins’ How (Not) to Speak of God, and perhaps also Toward a Hopeful Future: Why the Emergent Church is Good News for Mainline Congregations, by Emily Bowen and Phil Snider.
If you can think of other books that people interested in “Subverting the Norm” might want to read, please pass along your recommendations in the comments section!
I’d recommend the chapter on Zizek in Frederiek Depoortere’s Christ in Postmodern Philosophy: Gianni Vattimo, Rene Girard and Slavoj Zizek, particularly for Pete Rollins’ presentation on Zizek’s Christology.