A key part of the controversy surrounding Milbank concerns his view of the relationship between theology and the
social sciences. He argues that the social sciences are a product of the modern ethos of
secularism, which stems from an
ontology of violence. At the same time Milbank seeks to show, genealogically, that much secular thought is actually composed of distorted and partial theologies, rendering its claims thereby not beyond the reach of orthodox theological assessment.Theology, therefore, should not seek to make constructive use of secular
social theory, for theology itself offers a peaceable, comprehensive vision of all reality, extending to the social and political without the need for a social theory based on some level of violence. (As
Contemporary Authors summarises his thought, "the Christian mythos alone 'is able to rescue virtue from
deconstruction into violent,
agonistic
difference.'") Milbank is sometimes described as a
metaphysical theologian in that he is concerned with establishing a Christian
trinitarian ontology. He relies heavily on aspects of the thought of
Plato and
Augustine, in particular the former's modification by the
Neoplatonist philosophers. He is much influenced by
Origen,
Eriugena,
Nicholas of Cusa,
John Ruskin,
Sergei Bulgakov and more recently,
F. W. J. Schelling. Milbank, together with
Graham Ward and
Catherine Pickstock, has helped forge a new trajectory in constructive theology known as
radical orthodoxy – an ecumenically Catholic approach which is highly critical of
existing modernity, but which seeks to disinter and develop a different, Renaissance and Romantic-based, Christian Platonic modernity. In his Cambridge Stanton lecture series, "Philosophy: A Theological Critique", he sought to extend his genealogical and critical approach to the social sciences to Philosophy as such. Characteristically, radical orthodoxy does not seek to restore foundational humanism questioned by postmodernism, but to argue that the postmodernist reading of ontological flux as uncertainty and nihilism is arbitrary. Instead radical orthodoxy reads flux in a revised Platonic way, as evidence of a stuttering, symbolic or linguistic participation of the finite in the Absolute. More recently, Milbank has accentuated his kinship with a
post-postmodern speculative turn, while sympathising with spiritualists rather than materialists. This was already exemplified in his debates with philosopher
Slavoj Žižek, and in collaborations in three books (also with Creston Davis), entitled
Theology and the Political: The New Debate (2005),
The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic (2009), and ''Paul's New Moment: Continental Philosophy and the Future of Christian Theology'' (2010). Milbank delivered the Stanton Lectures at Cambridge in 2011. Milbank's friendship and substantial intellectual common ground with
David Bentley Hart has been noted several times by both thinkers. Milbank has also been a major influence on the formation of
postliberal thought in contemporary politics, and especially upon the
Blue Labour political faction. This aspect of his work is much linked to his philosophical reflections upon gift-exchange.
Reception Theology and Social Theory is generally viewed as having brought about a paradigm shift in Anglo-Saxon theology towards a much more confidently
Christian approach. While it was initially seen as extreme, this perception has faded over the years and Milbank's global influence has continued to increase. Milbank's work has attracted both strong support and criticism. Supporters argue that his
project of
Radical Orthodoxy offers a compelling theological alternative to secular social theory. ==See also==