Filed under: Christian Thought | Tags: Deconstruction, Fundamentalism, Jesus, Postmodernism, WWJD
The following is reflection based on the book, What Would Jesus Deconstruct by John D. Caputo.
It is a very difficult endeavor to truly ask the question of what would Jesus do, or deconstruct, in the world that we live in. John D. Caputo tries to make some very definitive claims as to what he supposes Jesus would say and do if he were to come back today and see what Christians are doing in His name. My initial reaction to his book What Would Jesus Deconstruct is a slight mild offensiveness (which I am sure he would hope would be the case). There are things that he brings to the argument which I do believe are of critical importance to the future of Christianity in the post-modern era, but there are also claims that seem to overshadow his own theories that I will discuss below. In the spirit of any good critique or reflection it is important to realize what you agree with to engage in a mutual dialogue and to branch out to the differences in hopes of expanding and or reaffirming personal views.
The book has a few layers that all interwoven together to build an argument that basically states that the established[1] church in the west has made claims in Jesus name that would cause Jesus himself to be disgusted. His method of reaching these conclusions is to deconstruct things in the manner of Jacques Derrida by way of Sheldon’s classic, In His Steps. Deconstruction is often a term that is shunned or looked down upon in evangelical Christianity because it is often misunderstood. The idea proposed is that there is an “event” or a thing that happens that causes everything we know to be re-evaluated in light of something that cannot be evaluated. His example of justice is a wonderful illustration. Justice is something that emits a call of sorts to live by and to seek. Justice cannot be broken down into any one thing. Rather, laws are made in a context to uphold some sort of justice, but they are only able to scratch the surface of individual events in a context of space and time. Caputo believes that laws are subjective to the individual circumstances in which they are made and followed in relation to the call of justice. This means that we can deconstruct laws but not justice itself. This also means for Caputo, that we can deconstruct the Bible and what Jesus does and says as a model for Christianity because the bible itself is not God, it just an archive and not the arche (110). This has very complex consequences depending on how much weight the Bible holds in a person’s presupposition.
While I can go as far as saying we do need to re-evaluate what we are doing as followers of Jesus in his name, I don’t think scripture can be just a mere text that becomes a scientific endeavor. I hold that biblical studies and therefore biblical praxis, requires an element of faith in revelation. This is where my differences with Caputo start to show themselves. He seems to focus so intently on Jesus without a context to the whole of scripture and the meta-narrative of the redemption story in action. There is no reference to the point of laws in the OT leading to righteousness and holiness as a city on a hill nor does he take into consideration the idea that Jesus comes to fulfill the law. On the surface it seems that in deconstructing Jesus’ words, thoughts, and desires for our future, Caputo forgets what Jesus came to deconstruct in the first place.[2] Caputo seems to be making the work and words of Jesus about public political policy, or proposing Jesus always sides with the belief that is unorthodox.[3] This shows in the untactful stabs at the “Christian Right” and the Bush administration. The context could be suggested if this book were written today rather than 2007, that the same claims could be made about the Obama administration and the Afghanistan war, the killing of Osama Bin Ladin, and the Libya conflict. My point in bringing this up is that either side of the political spectrum can and always will believe the other side is not acting in the proper footsteps of Jesus. Public policy always has to start with individual policy first. It is not for a good Christian to be governed if he is a good Christian because he would not need to be governed, rather the policy of government is for those who live in the darkness of individual greed and their need to be policed from harming humanity.
In light of really living and being deconstructed by Jesus, it is true that our policy is often not in line with what Jesus says and does and we are in need of general reform to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a world in need of love and justice. But who holds the key to the question of what Jesus would do or say? If there really is nothing outside of the text and the protocol of finding the truth by breaking it down to the event of what Jesus does, what text do we choose? Did Jesus write it down for us? The gospel of John says the Word is made flesh in Jesus. Do we suppose that means all of the Word as we have it today? The cycle quickly spirals to uncontrollable and subjective interpretations.
I think (perhaps boldly) that the key to true deconstruction and the coming of the event and incalculable surprise lies in the Holy Spirit.[4] Jesus leaves the disciples and sends the Paraclete to be the helper and the one who gives authority to go and bring forth the kingdom of God. Just as Jesus sought justice and mercy for the helpless, he was redeeming the world at the same time. We are to be Jesus through the Spirit who guides and directs our paths to live in the realm of the already, not yet[5] Kingdom of God. We should seek justice, mercy and policy that is good for all of humanity, but that starts with the individual and the duty to him/herself, their family, friends, coworkers and so forth. The Holy Spirit is the guide to the how of living like Jesus. The Holy Spirit enables us to read the scriptures as current and relevant to today and tomorrow. While the Bible is not God[6], it is his continued Word to us. We do need to be like Jesus but that requires knowing what Jesus came to deconstruct on the cross. Before we can deconstruct the church and how to live like Jesus and be Jesus to the world, we must deconstruct ourselves and seek the event in Christ that addresses our sin and then allows for us to take his namesake to the injustices of the world.
[1] Established meaning American and European Protestantism and Catholicism but more specifically what Caputo calls the “fundamentalist” or “right wing conservative.”
[2] A fallen creation in need of redemption and intervention in such a way only God the creator can fix.
[3] Marginalized, liberal, oppressed, grassroots etc.
[4] Caputo does make reference to the role of the spirit, but without understanding the role of the spirit in interpretation, my claim seems bolder and less subjective to individual interpretations of the Holy Spirit.
[5] Notable in Romans and the example of Fr. McNamee in Philadelphia.
[6] This could be debated based on John 1 and our definition of Word and inspired context to Trinitarian relationship if Jesus is the Word made Flesh. I put more emphasis on the weight of scripture as an inspired revelatory and continuing word then Caputo seems to in this book.
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