Words of Life is the sequel and companion to Phenomenology and the Theological Turn edited by Dominique Janicaud Jean Francois Courtine Jean Louis Chretien Michel Henry Jean Luc Marion and Paul Ricoeur In that volume Janicaud accuses Levinas Henry Marion and Chretien of veering from phenomenological neutrality to a theologically inflected phenomenology By contrast the contributors to this collection interrogate whether phenomenology s proper starting point is agnostic or atheistic Many hold the view that phenomenology after the theological turn may very well be true both to itself and to the phenomenological things themselves In one way or another all of these essays contend with the limits and expectations of phenomenology As such they are all concerned with what counts as proper phenomenology and even the very structure of phenomenology None of them however is limited to such questions Indeed the rich tapestry that they weave tells us much about human experience Themes such as faith hope love grace the gift the sacraments the words of Christ suffering joy life the call touch listening wounding and humility are woven throughout the various meditations in this volume The contributors use striking examples to illuminate the structure and limits of phenomenology and in turn phenomenology serves to clarify those very examples Thus practice clarifies theory and theory clarifies practice resulting in new theological turns and new life for phenomenology The volume showcases the work of both senior and junior scholars including Jean Luc Marion Jean Yves Lacoste Kevin Hart Anthony J Steinbock Jeffrey Bloechl Jeffrey L Kosky Clayton Crockett Brian Treanor and Christina Gschwandtner as well as the editors themselves