Secular Frontier

I think I finally got all the typos in my last blog post, lol! We were thinking about fourfold rubrics of criteria used to teach, assess/evaluate.  In the history of Metaphysics from Plato to Heidegger, you have the basic idea that the really real is not the “present” thing in front of you (me on ... Have a Great and Reflective Summer!

The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord “And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Eccl 4:12) I talked a little the last few times about the threefold cord (I might have misspelled as “chord” a few times, but that’s okay I’m musical, lol), and ... (Part 6) The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord: My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

I keep coming back to the example / exemplar of houseness and threefold appearing “as” (mansion as houseness incarnate, houseness being merely present in the average house, and deficient in the dilapidated shack).  Moreover, there is the twofold deconstructive reversal where the mansion may appear gawdy to the next person, or the shack quaint/rustic.  But ... (Part 5) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

We are trying to determine with Derrida what it means that Cohen was an exemplar of the Jewish-German spirit incarnated in the figure of Kant.  In order to think this let’s go back a little to the Apostle Paul. Debating the dates and authenticity of the Pauline letters is very difficult.  Seven are generally considered ... (Part 4) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

We’ve been thinking with Derrida about examples and exemplars, where traditionally the exemplar is the really real (e.g., true friend), while the example is deficient in relation to it (just a friend).  Thought holistically, the missing third term here is a “bad friend.” The error that Derrida notes is our tendency to see the exemplar/example ... (Part 3) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

I’ve been writing a lot about threes, like how the threefold degrees of houseness (mansion, average house, dilapidated shack) gives us a clear picture of the concept In that vein of threes, we might also see how the “threefold cord” is a metaphor for strength through unity and partnership. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says “And though one ... (Part 2) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

“In order to understand, Heidegger says, one must see phenomenologically. He thus invites us to the first exercise of phenomenological “kindergarten.” To tear apart [zer-reissen] means: to tear into two parts, to separate: to make two out of one. If a sock is torn, then the sock is no longer present-at-hand—but note: precisely not as ... (Part 1) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

1 Philosophy and Mysticism There is a profound connection between Heidegger and Christian mysticism. Heidegger stresses the passivity and receptivity of thought with the “Es gibt.” For example, we may struggle in futility all night when suddenly the solution “comes to us.” Likewise, we may struggle for days trying to remember a favorite song when ... My Thoughts on Derrida’s Des Tours de Babel  (In French, 1980; in English, 1985)

If Heidegger is playful, creating puzzles for his readers such as introducing concepts that are not clarified until hundreds of pages later or in other texts entirely, Derrida is one of the most tangential, deferring writers you will meet.  I imagine the late Derrida reincarnated as a watchdog distracted and chasing a squirrel into a ... My Thoughts on Derrida’s Faith and Knowledge The Two Sources of “Religion” at the Limits of Reason Alone

I’ve done two main blog series on Derrida so far: Landing Page for Posts on Martin Heidegger and Jacques Derrida on the Philosophy of Death and (INDEX) My Blog Series on the Anthology by and About John Caputo: Cross and Khora Now I’m moving on to his anthology “Acts of Religion.” Religious is an interesting ... Announcing New Blog Series: Jacques Derrida’s Acts of Religion

What is Postmodern Philosophy?  Postmodernism is what you get when you deconstruct the modern-Cartesian foundation of truth as certainty, free from doubt, to see it is not absolute but receives its privilege from Christianity from Thomas to Luther, because what had to be certain as free from doubt in that context was the salvation of ... Reflections on my now Completed Caputo Blog Series: Jesus and Postmodern Philosophy

THE POSTS There are many different paths in the Jesus tradition, and so we have Jesus on the cross in Mark begging God to save him but keeping trust in God’s plan and faithfulness. By contrast, in Luke-Acts we have the condemned Jesus and Stephen, not begging God to send a legion of angels to ... (INDEX) My Blog Series on the Anthology by and About John Caputo: Cross and Khora

If we look to the story of the prodigal son, we see both a case against substitutionary atonement, and a case for it.  On the one hand, we have a remorseful prodigal and a father who forgives without punishment, but at the same time we still have the offended protests of the good brother who ... Conclusion: Encountering Caputo’s Cross and Khora

I am coming to the end of the anthology on and by Philosopher John Caputo. The key emphasis seems to be beyond substitutionary atonement to focus on loving widow, orphan. stranger and enemy as more important than self, and so in Luke-Acts Jesus and Stephen not only end their wrongful deaths with prayers for themselves ... Religion and Phenomenology with Buckley and Caputo

We often wonder to what extent punishment is vengeance rather than justice.  Glazebrook suggests Yet punishment cannot undo harm. A jail sentence does not unrape the victim. A better world is not one wherein all crimes are paid for, but one in which harm-generating activities like crime are no longer one’s best option. The impossible, ... Caputo and Glazebrook on Trying to Appease God’s Wrath vs Focus on Love of Undesirables

I’m continuing my reading of the Caputo anthology Cross and Khora, which is the first book in the Postmodernism and Ethics series that was left unfinished after David Goicoechea died. The deconstructive reading points to a context without privileging that context vs others.  So, you may read in an “author intention” context, trying to get ... Caputo and Huntington on the Economy of Religion

As I’ve noted previously, traditionally, such as in the Gorgias, the Greeks saw Being as presence, and so we see houseness is “present” with the house.  But Derrida’s point is that presence is not just in itself, but is qualified (e.g., “merely present”).  Moreover, Being is going to presence according to various degrees of Beauty, ... Plato, Aristotle, Heidegger and Derrida with the Postmodernism in Différance

I have been working on this long series of the Caputo postmodern religious anthology Cross and Khora. Today, let’s begin with the holy atheist, Have you ever wondered about all the potential mates you’ve had in your life why they thought you were great but didn’t love you back.  Clearly, you can’t will yourself to ... The Holy Atheist: John Caputo and the Dark Night of the Soul

Kearney notes “The experience of God,” writes Caputo, “is to ‘see’ the hand of God in the course of things . . . to find a loving hand, a providential care where others see chance, so that when things happen they happen as a gift, not fortuitously but gratuitously . . . the gift is ... Caputo with the Experience of God and Science.

Goicoechea (Key passages) The key is to be altruistic toward widow, orphan, stranger, and enemy as more important than yourself. But serving and suffering for each other is fraught with a symmetry that excludes the other: Judas, the Pharisees, and the Romans are not loved until they repent and enter the kingdom of love. But ... (2/2) All Killer No Filler: Caputo Responds to Goicoechea and Hart

Caputo agrees with Sanders that the cross as a message about service no matter what: When Sanders goes on to say so very nicely that “the cross as a sacrifice is Jesus’s determination to live his life in the service of God come hell or high water or, in his case, Roman executioners,” I would ... All Killer No Filler: Caputo Responds to Sanders About the Meaning of Good Friday

The Catholic liturgy held on Good Friday can seem puzzling if not positively repellent. Norms for the liturgy stipulate that during that day’s worship service a cross be displayed and that the priest and congregation “make a simple genuflection or perform some other sign of reverence according to local custom, for example, kissing the cross.” ... (2/2) Analysis of Theresa Sanders’ essay Festivals of Holy Pain: In the Wake of Good Friday

Sanders analyzes Paul’s cross of Christ not as a substitutionary atonement payment but akin to the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. Paul does indeed use the language of the priestly temple sacrifice to explain the meaning of the death of Jesus. And yet I see no sense in his writings that sacrifice has anything ... Analysis of Theresa Sanders’ essay Festivals of Holy Pain: In the Wake of Good Friday

To end this mini-series, I’d like to talk a bit about Jesus and Philosophy. In the previous posts I looked at atonement vs forgiveness with Plato and Aristotle, and here I will think more generally with Jesus as a Philosopher in Mark. If Walsh’s thesis is correct, then the Gospels arose out of networks of ... APPENDIX: The Weakness of God and the Iconic Logic of the Cross by John Caputo – Jesus as Ancient Philosopher

Last Time: (1/2) Analysis: The Weakness of God and the Iconic Logic of the Cross by John Caputo I practice astrology; voodoo; am a Pentecostal snake handler; an evangelical fundamentalist; Baptist; Catholic; etc.  As baffling as it may seem, many people treat their pet superstitions as a badge of courage and normalcy, just look at ... (2/2) Analysis: The Weakness of God and the Iconic Logic of the Cross by John Caputo

LAST TIME: New Blog Series – Cross and Khôra: Deconstruction and Christianity in the Work of John D. Caputo (Postmodern Ethics Book 1) In looking at the first half of Caputo’s opening essay, we are introduced to the idea of a cross that goes beyond substitutionary atonement.  He writes: But, as E. P. Sanders has ... (1/2) Analysis: The Weakness of God and the Iconic Logic of the Cross by John Caputo

From the Blurb: This volume poses the question of the relationship between the two main influences on the thought of John D. Caputo, one of the most well-known philosophers of religion working in North America today: Jacques Derrida and Jesus Christ. Given the seemingly abstract character of Derrida’s account of the messianic, how can one ... New Blog Series – Cross and Khôra: Deconstruction and Christianity in the Work of John D. Caputo (Postmodern Ethics Book 1)

It’s interesting Paul wants a reconciliation of the various factions in 1 Corinthians, and yet singles out the super apostles in 2 Corinthians as teaching another Christ and another Gospel. One solution may be that the various groups in 1 Corinthians were teaching a post cross-resurrection faith, whereas the super apostles were purists who taught ... Cafeteria Christians (2/2)

As I mentioned with the Ehrman/Goicoechea posts, one of the great problems the apostle Paul had was he was not reconciled to the other Christ factions. Paul appeals for unity and reports what he has heard about the quarrels: “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ... Cafeteria Christians