The main approach of my research is to confront classic Christian sources with recent currents of thought in order to suggest new prospects for theology today. In the conviction that fidelity to a tradition involves pressing against its boundaries, I attempt to develop constructive theological positions through creative interpretation. Although this approach is often abstract, it is motivated by my desire to promote the practice of dialogue, both among conflicting Christian voices and between Christians and those of other faiths (or none), and by my hope that careful reading can uncover neglected resources in both ancient and modern sources.
My current project examines the eschatological limits of theology in order to illuminate the inherent instability of theological discourse. I believe Denys the Areopagite is right to argue that, since God transcends human categories, all knowledge of God must be denied, and yet this radical negativity cannot be reconciled with Denys's suggestion that human practice can ensure union with God. However, Jacques Derrida also stands in a paradoxical tension between the indeterminacy demanded by the future and the need for concrete affirmativity here and now - the two authors can thus be seen to share a certain eschatological apophaticism.
Both Derrida and Denys (in some of their voices) suggest that their eschatological hope must be rigorously distinguished from knowledge, and yet their discourse continues while straining towards a certain silence. Theological discourse is thus placed in the impossible situation of an unavoidable responsibility, and it is precisely this aporia that allows theology to continue while remaining always in motion.
