Lost ground: Jim Hanson’s “neo-ontotheology” in dialogue with Merold Westphal

In his article, “Ontos and Theos: A Case for Neo-Ontotheology,” Jim Hanson argues for a re-examination of onto-theology and its importance to theology. This article responds critically to his understanding of what onto-theology is and is not through exploring the concept of onto-theology and giving a case study of postmodern thought’s overcoming of this metaphysical problem. The goal of this exercise is to show that, while Jim Hanson is correct that we need some form of understanding God, his case for neo-onto-theology does not eschew any of the problems/critiques that postmodern scholarship has against a metaphysics staked in the ground of onto-theology.