Choong Bum Lee

Breakthrough God: a Poststructural Reading of Medieval Mysticism of Mechthild Von Magdeburg and Meister Eckhart Choong Bum Lee

An exciting adventure both in historical and in philosophical theology, this book is one of the very first to explore the potential of the "nomadic" method of Gilles Deleuze for the interpretation of medieval Christian mysticism. Contemplating both the lineage of radical negativity in Eckhart and the "inebriated nomadic self" of Mechthild, Lee examines questions of apophasis, gender, and union with the Godhead in a startling new light. Deleuzian notions of "molecular becoming", "deterritorialization" the "line of flight" and sadomasochism let him probe the body of mysticism with a disruptive and disclosive intensity. The creativity of this text, in its historical erudition and postmodern intensity, will be indispensable to those across the disciplines discovering the work of Deleuze. But it is also a must-read for scholars fascinated by the recent rediscoveries of the apophatic tradition as a resource of deconstruction, and for the feminist recovery of the affective and sensuous imaginaries of the women mystics. This edgy and sophisticated meditation is poised to be a leader in the becoming-theology of the new millennium. - Catherine Keller (Drew University)