Iconoclastic Theology: Gilles Deleuze and the Secretion of Atheism

This monograph examines how Gilles Deleuze's philosophy contributes to atheistic thought through what Shults terms "iconoclastic theology." The work situates Deleuze within a genealogy of radical thinkers who challenge traditional theological frameworks, arguing that his conceptual innovations provide powerful resources for dismantling theistic belief systems.

Shults traces how Deleuze's metaphysics of immanence fundamentally undermines transcendent conceptions of divinity. The analysis focuses on Deleuze's critique of representation, hierarchy, and identity - philosophical structures that traditionally support theistic worldviews. By advocating for pure immanence, multiplicity, and becoming over being, Deleuze's system leaves no conceptual space for a transcendent God. Shults demonstrates how this philosophical framework "secretes" atheism not through direct negation but through the positive construction of alternative ontological categories.

The work engages significantly with Deleuze's collaborations with Félix Guattari, particularly their concept of assemblages and rhizomatic thinking. Shults argues these ideas dissolve the unified subject that monotheistic traditions require for divine-human relationships. The book examines how Deleuze's reading of Spinoza reinforces this atheistic trajectory, interpreting substance not as divine but as pure immanence without personality or consciousness.

Methodologically, Shults employs both philosophical analysis and theological critique, drawing connections between Deleuze's work and broader traditions of religious criticism. The text engages with contemporary philosophical theology, showing how Deleuze's thought resists recuperation by process theologians or radical orthodox thinkers who might seek to appropriate his concepts for theistic purposes.

The monograph's significance lies in its systematic demonstration of how post-structuralist philosophy generates atheistic implications through its fundamental categories rather than through explicit argumentation against God's existence. Shults reveals how Deleuze's iconoclasm operates at the level of conceptual production itself, making traditional theological discourse impossible rather than merely false. This approach offers atheistic thought new strategies beyond classical arguments, suggesting that dismantling theism requires reconstructing the very terms through which reality is conceived. The work contributes to understanding how contemporary Continental philosophy secretes atheism through its basic philosophical commitments rather than through direct theological debate.