A Theology of Perhaps by John Caputo Indiana University Press (Bloomington, IN, 2013) 307 pages. £19.99.
John Caputo’s recent work The Insistence of God has answered questions which have haunted my mind for years. Those who regard God as a human invention recognise an enduring presence in the collective consciousness of vast numbers of human beings.
Thanks to Caputo I now understand that that presence is not a passive thing, like a tool which I have in my garage which I bring out from time to time to do some job and then put away again. Rather it is a living presence, one part of the collective mind in conversation with another, the idea of God in relation to the realities of human experience. A presence which makes itself felt in all sorts of ways and in unexpected times.1 Caputo draws heavily on the writings of Derrida, Zizek, and other post-modernists and he introduces us to characteristics of God in a new language:2 Perhaps: Professional theologians and traditionally minded Christians dislike this word. They look for certainty and authority. Caputo tells us that God confronts us with uncertainty and radical doubt best expressed by the frequent emergence of ‘perhaps’ in our thinking. God is present as an event, or the promise of change, God, perhaps.
Insistence: We exist, the world exists, but God does not exist, rather he insists, he erupts into the human mind by challenging us to take him into account.
Hospitality: We are called by God to give him hospitality. Caputo uses the story of Mary and Martha to illustrate this imperative call to serve others as our response to God’s call. Interestingly he regards Martha as having ‘chosen the better part’.
Theopoetics: The second part of the book describes the radical theology which Caputo sees as the consequence of his approach to the knowledge of the God who does not exist and yet insists that we answer his call to confront the perhaps in all our judgements.
Many who are struggling with the Grand Narrative of JudeoChristian revelation will be grateful to Caputo for this way of understanding the presence of God from a post-modernist point of view. However it seems that he cannot altogether escape from his Christian background. The cover picture is of Jesus at Bethany and the text itself refers to this event in the Gospel and also to the parable of the Good Samaritan. Don Cupitt has spent half a lifetime writing books which attempt to show us how to come to terms with the challenges of life when the traditional doctrines of Christianity have become incredible. In his book A New Great Story3 he re-iterates this rejection but recognises the enduring value of ‘Jesus in Galilee’, the central core of his Gospel preaching. These are examples of what we might call the ‘insistence of the Gospel’.
Any philosophical system which purposes to deal with the realities of human existence may find itself remembering and quoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because of its inescapable insights into human nature and existence, which form part of the content of most religions.
The second part of this book is a difficult read, but those who persevere will be rewarded with vigorous and fresh insights into the thoughts and acts of the God who exists only in the collective and individual human mind.
NOTES 1. In a previous article in Sofia (No. 98, December 2010), called The Spyglass, I describe my approach to the subject from the perspective of theological non-realism. 2. Those of us who have read Caputo’s other work, especially his On Religion (2001) may be expecting an easy read. However this book requires some hard work by the reader and a knowledge of French to understand some of the references. 3. A New Great Story by Don Cupitt published in the USA by Polebridge Press in 2010.