Hoping Against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim

by John D. Caputo, Peter Rollins (Foreword by)

Overview

John D. Caputo has a long career as one of the preeminent postmodern philosophers in America. The author of such books as Radical Hermeneutics, The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida, and The Weakness of God, Caputo now reflects on his spiritual journey from a Catholic altar boy in 1950s Philadelphia to a philosopher after the death of God. Part spiritual autobiography, part homily on what he calls the nihilism of grace, Hoping Against Hope calls believers and nonbelievers alike to participate in the praxis of the kingdom of God, which Caputo says we must pursue without why.

Caputos conversation partners in this volume include Lyotard, Derrida, and Hegel, but also earlier versions of himself: Jackie, a young altar boy, and Brother Paul, a novice in a religious order. Caputo traces his own journey from faith through skepticism to hope after the death of God. In the end, Caputo doesnt want to do away with religion; he wants to redeem religion and to reinvent religion for a postmodern time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451499155
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	10/01/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

John D. Caputo is the David R. Cook Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at Villanova University and the Thomas J. Watson Professor Emeritus of Religion at Syracuse University, a hybrid philosopher/theologian working in the area of radical theology, and the author ofThe Weakness of God(2006), an AAR Book Award winner, andWhat Would Jesus Deconstruct?(2007).

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Chapter 1 Nihilism and the Smile on the Face of Matter 1

Jackie and Me 1

The Inhuman 4

Does Religion Offer Any Hope? 10

A Past That Was Never Present 15

Itinerary 21

Chapter 2 A Taste for the Mystics 23

The Rose Is without Why 24

The Conditional and the Unconditional 31

Where the Believers Are 40

Chapter 3 How Not to Give a Gift 45

Giving without Return 47

A Hitherto Lost Scroll 53

Mercy without Mercenaries 56

Chapter 4 Goodbye Heaven: The Religion of Marguerite and the Big Church 63

The Big Church and the Little Church 65

Quiet without Quietism 72

Chapter 5 Hello, Jesus: The Religion of Martha and the Working Church 81

Hospitality 85

Welcoming Congregations 86

Inter-Faith Dialogue 91

Faith without Beliefs, Hope without Assurance 96

Chapter 6 Adieu to God: Praying God to Rid Us of God 103

The Evidence of the Rose 106

God Does Not Exist, God Insists 114

Giving God a Chance 123

Interlude: A Short Nocturnal Seminar 130

Chapter 7 Guarding the Way to the Tree of Life: From Angelology to Technology 135

The Technological Option and the Tree of Life 137

Angels, Smart Phones, and the Future 141

Border Breakdowns and the Advent of the Inhuman 145

Monsters 150

Nowhere to Run 153

Chapter 8 Do We All Die? Everyone? Life before Death 155

Life before Death: Eschatology in a New Key 157

In What Can We Hope ? 161

Chapter 9 A Short Catechism on the Nihilism of Grace 169

Chapter 10 Conclusion: Dreaming, Praying, Hoping, Smiling 183

Dreaming 184

Praying 190

Hoping 197

Smiling 199

The End 200

Editorial Reviews

10/19/2015
Philosopher Caputo (The Weakness of God) fulfills his duties as a self-appointed benevolent iconoclast by challenging believers about their images of God. Utilizing an interesting rhetorical device whereby he consults versions of his past life (known as Jackie and Brother Paul) Caputo attempts to save religion from itself by inviting the faithful to allow mystery to remain mysterious. Attempts to explain or anthropomorphize God have led some to a destructive theology whereby good deeds and avoiding sins are the only ways to achieve a relationship with the divine. Hospitality and love, he demands, are offered as pure gift; there is no why. These are not earned, nor are they dangled in front of us like a carrot for good behavior. The "nihilism of grace" is a phrase he uses to describe a postmodern sense of the utter gratuity of this gift. Caputo draws upon Christian mystics, such as Meister Eckhart, to aid his argument, and he does so convincingly, utilizing the wisdom of this spiritual tradition to forge new paths. For those not afraid to pause and take stock of their assumptions about religion and God's role in it, this work will greatly satisfy. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly