Interpreting God and the Postmodern Self: On Meaning, Manipulation and Promise

Professor Thiselton compares and assesses modern and postmodern interpretations of the self and society on their own terms and in relation to Christian theology. He explores especially claims that appeals to truth constitute no more than disguised bids for power and self-affirmation whether in society or in religion. / Postmodern interpretations perceive the self as trapped within a network of role-performances imposed on it by the power-interests of others. Professor Thiselton accepts the force of this, but argues for a deeper understanding of the self and its destiny. He draws on a Trinitarian theology of promise to trace how 'love without strings' can replace manipulation and reconstitute the self. But this hope is no mere illusory anodyne, like Marx's 'opium', Nietzsche's 'servile mediocrity', or Foucault's 'docility'. The author closely addresses anti-theist arguments from Nietzsche to Cupitt on their own ground, but offers a wider vision of reality and of God.