This sparkling collection of essays invites readers to join a seasoned scholar on his journey to catch "radical theology" in action, both in the Church and our culture at large. Capturing a career's worth of thought and erudition, this rich volume treats readers to creative thought, careful argumentation, and sophisticated analysis transmitted through the lucid, accessible prose that has earned the author a wide readership of academics and non-academics alike. In tackling "radical theology," John D. Caputo has in mind the deeper stream that courses its way through various historical and confessional theologies, upon which these theologies draw even while it disturbs them from within. They are well served by this disturbance because it keeps them on their toes. When we read about professional theologians' losing their jobs in confessional institutions, the chances are that, by earnestly digging into what is going on in their tradition, they have hit upon radical theological rock. Unlike modernist dismissals of religion, radical theology does not debunk but re-invents the theological tradition. Radical theology, Caputo says, is a double deconstruction-of supernatural theology on the one hand and of transcendental reason on the other, and therefore of the settled distinctions between the religious and the secular. Caputo also addresses the challenge for radical theology to earn a spot in the curriculum, given that the "radical" makes it suspect among the confessional seminaries while the "theology" renders it suspect among university seminars. Journeying from the academy to contemporary American culture, In Search of Radical Theology includes a captivating presentation of radical political theology for the time of Trump. This utterly unique volume not only brings readers on an enlightening tour of Caputo's thought but also invites us to accompany the author as he travels into intriguing new territories.
John D. Caputo is Thomas J. Watson Professor Emeritus of Religion at Syracuse University and David R. Cook Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Villanova University. His many books include most recently Cross and Cosmos: A Theology of Difficult Glory (Indiana, 2019); Hermeneutics: Facts and Interpretation in the Age of Information (Penguin UK, 2018); Hoping against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim (Fortress, 2015); and The Folly of God: A Theology of the Unconditional (Polebridge, 2015).
Preface xi Introduction: What Is Radical Theology? 1 1 Tradition and Event: Radicalizing the Catholic Principle 29 2 Proclaiming the Year of the Jubilee: Thoughts on a Spectral Life 45 3 Derrida and the Trace of Religion 77 4 Augustine and Postmodernism 94 5 On Not Settling for an Abridged Edition of Postmodernism: Radical Hermeneutics as Radical Theology 109 6 Unprotected Religion: Radical Theology, Radical Atheism, and the Return of Anti-Religion 125 7 Forget Rationality-Is There Religious Truth? 151 8 Radical Theologians, Knights of Faith, and the Future of the Philosophy of Religion 165 9 Theology in Trumptime: The Insistence of America 185 10 Hoping against Hope: The Possibility of the Impossible 189 Like a Devilish Knight of Faith: A Concluding Quasi-Theological Postscript 203 Acknowledgments 207 Notes 209 Index 241
Caputo's book is a call for change and a message of hope.-- "Choice" The radical theology of the distinguished visionary thinker John Caputo is a great breath of fresh air in our claustrophobic and catastrophic time. He goes to the deep roots--the inner disturbance and generative inflection--of our existential crisis and political lockjaw. Caputo's powerful prophetic call flows from his philosophical subtleties and deep respect for religious traditions. His courageous voice is timely for us all!---Cornel West
