Karen Kilby

Contact

• workRoom C29 Humanities Building Department of Theology and Religious Studies
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 951 5851
• fax0115 951 5887
• karen.kilby@nottingham.ac.uk

Expertise Summary

Modern Theology Christology and Atonement Faith and Reason Feminist and Liberation Theologies Postgraduate supervision: I would particularly welcome students who would like to work on the the doctrine of the Trinity or on the thought of Karl Rahner, but I have also supervised widely in systematic and philosophical theology, including work on Newman and Lonergan, on Gadamer and Lonergan, on Balthasar and Barth, and on Reformed Epistemology.

Research Summary

My doctoral work led on to a number of publications on Rahner, including a brief introduction to Rahner in HarperCollins Fount Christian Thinkers series, and a more substantial book with Routledge on… read more

Recent Publications

• KILBY, K.E., 2005. Aquinas, the Trinity and the Limits of Understanding International Journal of Systematic Theology. 7(4), 414-427
• KILBY, K.E., 2005. Karl Rahner. In: FORD, D.F. and MUERS, R., eds., The Modern Theologians: An introduction to Christian theology since 1918 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell. 92-105
• KILBY, K.E., 2004. Karl Rahner. theology and philosophy London: Routledge.
• KILBY, K.E., 2004. Balthasar and Karl Rahner. In: OAKES, E.T. and MOSS, D., eds., The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 256-268

• View all publications

Current Research

My doctoral work led on to a number of publications on Rahner, including a brief introduction to Rahner in HarperCollins Fount Christian Thinkers series, and a more substantial book with Routledge on the relation of philosophy to theology in Rahner's thought, in which I argue for the possibility of a nonfoundationalist reading of his theology. Recently I have begun to write on the relation of Rahner to Hans Urs von Balthasar. I have also, however, moved in new directions, writing for instance on evil and on the doctrine of the Trinity, on certainty and on universalism. I expect my next book to explore in a number of ways the limits of Christian theology, and to be entitled The Trinity and Negative Theology: the Logic of Mystery in Christian Theology.

Past Research

I did my PhD in the theology program of the Religious Studies Department. Here a couple of years of coursework led to comprehensive exams in historical theology, philosophical theology and systematic theology. Yale had at the time a distinctive kind of theology, of which I was initially critical, but by which I later found I had been shaped. George Lindbeck and Kathryn Tanner were the most significant influences for me, though I also learned a good deal from David Kelsey and Nicholas Wolterstorff. I completed a PhD thesis in 1994 on the Vorgriff auf esse in the thought of Karl Rahner. In 1994 I took up a postdoctoral research post at the University of St Andrews for two years. After a further couple of years at home with small children, I began teaching systematic theology full time at the University of Birmingham, and since 2001 have been very happily settled at Nottingham.

• KILBY, K.E., 2005. Aquinas, the Trinity and the Limits of Understanding International Journal of Systematic Theology. 7(4), 414-427
• KILBY, K.E., 2005. Karl Rahner. In: FORD, D.F. and MUERS, R., eds., The Modern Theologians: An introduction to Christian theology since 1918 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell. 92-105
• KILBY, K.E., 2004. Karl Rahner. theology and philosophy London: Routledge.
• KILBY, K.E., 2004. Balthasar and Karl Rahner. In: OAKES, E.T. and MOSS, D., eds., The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 256-268
• KILBY, K.E., 2004. Rahner. In: JONES, G., ed., The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology Oxford: Blackwell. 343-356
• KILBY, K.E., 2003. Evil and the limits of theology New Blackfriars. 84(983), 13-29
• KILBY, K., 2002. Philosophy, theology and foundationalism in the thought of Karl Rahner Scottish Journal of Theology. VOL 55(PART 2), 127-140
• KILBY, K.E., 2000. Perichoresis and Projection: Problems with Social Doctrines of the Trinity New Blackfriars. 81(956), 432-445
• KILBY, K.E., 2000. De l'exc?s de pertinence: quelques inqi?tudes ? props des th?ories sociales do la Trinit? Transversalités: revue de l'Institut Catholique de Paris. 76(December),
• KILBY, K.E., 2000. Karl Rahner. In: Oxford Companion to Christian Thought Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• KILBY, K.E., 2000. 'The Trinity: A new wave?' Review article Reviews in Religion and Theology. 7(4), 378-381
• KILBY, K.E., 1997. Karl Rahner Fount (HarperCollins Publishers).