God, the Gift, and Postmodernism: (Philosophy of Religion)

Pushing past the constraints of postmodernism which cast "reason" and"religion" in opposition, God, the Gift, and Postmodernism, seizes the opportunity to question the authority of "the modern" and open the limits of possible experience, including the call to religious experience, as a new millennium approaches. Jacques Derrida, the father of deconstruction, engages with Jean-Luc Marion and other religious philosophers to entertain questions about intention, givenness, and possibility which reveal the extent to which deconstruction is structured like religion. New interpretations of Kant, Heidegger, Husserl, and Derrida emerge from essays and discussions with distinguished philosophers and theologians from the United States and Europe. The result is that God, the Gift, and Postmodernism elaborates a radical phenomenology that stretches the limits of its possibility and explores areas where philosophy and religion have become increasingly and surprisingly convergent. Contributors include: John D. Caputo, John Dominic Crossan, Jacques Derrida, Robert Dodaro, Richard Kearney, Jean-Luc Marion, Frangoise Meltzer, Michael J. Scanlon, Mark C. Taylor, David Tracy, Merold Westphal and Edith Wyschogrod.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction: Apology for the Impossible: Religion and Postmodernism John D. Caputo and Michael J. Scanlon 1. In the Name: How to Avoid Speaking of 'Negative Theology' Jean-Luc Marion Response by Jacques Derrida 2. On the Gift: A Discussion between Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion Moderated by Richard Kearney 3. Loose Canons: Augustine and Derrida on Their Selves Robert Dodaro Discussion 4. Desire of God Richard Kearney Discussion 5. Overcoming Onto-theology Merold Westphal Discussion 6. Fragments: The Spiritual Situation of Our Times David Tracy Discussion 7. Apostles of the Impossible: On God and the Gift in Derrida and Marion John D. Caputo 8. A Deconstruction of Religion: On Derrida and Rahner Michael J. Scanlon 9. Betting on Vegas Mark C. Taylor Discussion 10. Eating the Text, Defiling the Hands: Specters in Arnold Schoenberg's Opera Moses and Aron Edith Wyschogrod 11. Revisiting the Body: Virginity Secularized Frangoise Meltzer 12. Our Own Faces in Deep Wells: A Future for Historical Jesus Research John Dominic Crossan Contributors Index

About the Author :
John D. Caputo is David R. Cook Chair of Philosophy at Villanova University. He is author of The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida, Against Ethics, and Demythologizing Heidegger. Michael J. Scanlon is Josephine C. Connelly Chair of Theology at Villanova University.