supplemental material

If you enjoyed this introduction, I would recommend you get the whole book. Westphal has also written some other excellent books, including a brilliant selection of essays called Overcoming Ontotheology. Don’t let the title put you off, the essays are a little technical at times, but Westphal is a very clear writer, and a book with that title will make you look smart.

reflection

I've already mentioned the historical reason why I have included this little introduction (as a nod to the spark that started AfL), but it is also because it introduces the idea of atheistic critique as a purification process. One that he links with figures within the theological tradition,such as Luther and Barth.

The first AfL practice involved reading the whole book together. There were a few reasons why I moved away from that. Perhaps the main one was that the book primarily dealt with the idea of seeing atheism as a way of purifying theology and religious practice. While this is very interesting, I started to explore how the atheism was also a driving force in the development of theology and religious practice.

Regardless, the book offers a very insightful reading of how Feuerbach, Marx, Freud and Nietzsche can be read as critiques of what, in theology, is called idolatry. It is also offers a good introduction to those figures, if you are new to them.

Another book that does a similar thing to this one, that I would also recommend, is Graven Ideologies by Bruce Benson. It is a slightly more difficult work than Westphal's (dealing with some more difficult thinkers), but it's still very readable.

What I like most about the introduction is the way that Westphal is able to draw out how Instrumental (or Superstitious) Religion lurks within us, and how thinkers like Nietzsche can sound the alarm for us.

Suspicion and Faith

Merold Westphal is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. His research and writing are focused on the philosophy of religion, political philosophy, and aesthetics.

His book, Suspicion and Faith, is what originally inspired me to create Atheism for Lent over 20 years ago. And while the Decentering Practice has changed and developed over the years, this book provided the impetuous.

In this introduction from Suspicion and Faith, Westphal offers a reflection on why people who are involved with Confessional Christianity would want to read the greatest critiques of religion as a Lenten practice. I felt that it was important to include something of his work in this journey. Also, the introduction to his book offers a beautiful reflection on how the religious critique of people like Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud flow together with the theological critiques of individuals like Kierkegaard.