The Adventure of Weak Theology

Štefan Štofaník

Description

In this distinctive exploration of John D. Caputo's work, Štefan Štofaník traces Caputo's journey of philosophical discovery from his earlier, more conventional academic writings to his later, almost confessional works of weak theology and his deep engagement with Derrida. Štofaník draws upon Caputo's life story to help explain sudden shifts in Caputo's thinking, offers intricate readings of philosophical passages that have all too often been taken for granted, and joins in Caputo's effort to find a theology that can be trusted and that does not rely upon dogmatic and hierarchical authority. At the same time, Štofaník subtly disagrees with aspects of Caputo's view and turns to the work of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as a way to suggest that one cannot take leave of the tradition of theology as easily as Caputo thinks. At times, The Adventure of Weak Theology reads like a letter to Caputo, and Štofaník's own passion for theology, his deep understanding of Caputo's work, and his gift for writing makes this an immensely appealing book for both admirers and critics of Caputo.
Foreword
Lieven Boeve

Editor’s Introduction: Rain without Rain—Štefan Štofaník's The Adventure of Weak Theology
Joeri Schrijvers

Preface
Introduction

1. Adventure

2. Call

3. Brother Paul

4. Transgression

5. Two Loves

6. Freedom

7. Interlude (More than One)

8. Freedom Again

9. Between Heidegger and Derrida

10. Dancing in the Void

11. The Advent of Weak Theology

12. Kingdom (In Place of a Conclusion)

Epilogue: How?

Afterword: An Ear for My Voice
John D. Caputo

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 16 octobre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438471976
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE ADVENTURE OF WEAK THEOLOGY
SUNY series in Theology and Continental Thought
Douglas L. Donkel, editor
THE ADVENTURE OF WEAK THEOLOGY

READING THE WORK OF JOHN D. CAPUTO THROUGH BIOGRAPHIES AND EVENTS
ŠTEFAN ŠTOFANÍK
Cover image, Autumn, by Sarah Mina C.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2018 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stofanik, Stefan, author. | Schrijvers, Joeri, editor.
Title: The adventure of weak theology : reading the work of John D. Caputo through biographies and events / Stefan Stofanik ; edited by Joeri Schrijvers.
Description: Albany : State University of New York, 2018. | Series: SUNY series in theology and Continental thought | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017058940| ISBN 9781438471952 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438471976 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Caputo, John D. | Postmodernism—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Philosophical theology.
Classification: LCC B945.C144 S76 2018 | DDC 191—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058940
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For Riba
Contents
FOREWORD
Lieven Boeve
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Rain without Rain— Štefan Štofaník’s The Adventure of Weak Theology
Joeri Schrijvers
PREFACE
Introduction
1 Adventure
2 Call
3 Brother Paul
4 Transgression
5 Two Loves
6 Freedom
7 Interlude (More than One)
8 Freedom Again
9 Between Heidegger and Derrida
10 Dancing in the Void
11 The Advent of Weak Theology
12 Kingdom (In Place of a Conclusion)
Epilogue: How?
AFTERWORD: AN EAR FOR MY VOICE
John D. Caputo
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Foreword
T here are two good reasons for this book to be published. First of all, of course, because it is a fine academic work on a contemporary continental philosopher who has a lot to say and about whom there is a lot to say. The second reason is that its author was never able to publish this book himself, having died in a car accident in May 2014. It should be clear, though, that the first reason is the one that is most important for publishing and reading this book.
The author, Štefan Štofaník, born in Košice (then still in Czechoslovakia) in 1976, arrived in Leuven in 2005 at the age of twenty-nine to study theology. As a young man of eighteen or nineteen years old, he spent a few years in what he characterized as a very traditional seminary in Slovakia, Spišska Kapitula-Spišske Pohradi, affiliated with the Faculty of Theology at the University of Bratislava, in order to become a priest. His grades were excellent, as we learn from the transcripts, and this allowed him to continue his studies in the St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). However, before being ordained, he left the seminary and came to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, initially in 2000, in order to enroll in the master’s in European studies program, a degree he obtained magna cum laude in 2001. He then returned to Slovakia and started working as a journalist. In the meantime, he had married and became the father of two children. When the magazine for which he wrote collapsed in 2004, and with the European labor market now open, he decided to leave for the UK, in order to earn more money for his family. He worked there first as a waiter and after a few months as an office manager of a construction company. But the call of theology sounded and resounded, until he finally gave in. He applied to Leuven again, this time for the theology and religious studies program, which eventually gave him access to the doctoral program. At the same time, due to his excellent results, he was able to acquire a research fellowship at KU Leuven. Under my supervision, he was promoted to a doctorate in theology in 2013 with a dissertation on John D. Caputo and his work. And it is this doctoral research that constitutes the basis for this current book.
Over all these years, I came to know Štefan as very creative and determined but also at times a very shy and unsure scholar. In him, I would even dare to say, I sensed at least a bit of the depth of what might be called (if you will excuse the cliché) the “Slavonic soul,” characterized on the one hand by deep melancholia and being burdened by the weight of time and history, and, on the other, by exuberant attempts to free oneself, at least temporarily, of this fate, in feasting, laughter, and event.
These biographical details are important for understanding Štefan Štofaník’s book. To shed light on the work and achievement of John Caputo, it was not only Caputo’s biography and writings that served Štefan in writing this work, and not only the biographically inspired writing of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whom he cites, but also his own biography, coming from a very rural and traditional Catholic atmosphere, and being challenged by the many ideas and events found outside that atmosphere. He wanted to do something significant with his life, and he did so by following the call of theology wherever it might lead him—and then assumed the task of making sense of religion and Christian faith today by entering into a deep dialogue with John Caputo. Indeed, in a very personal but consistent way, our author analyzes the work of one of the most prominent North American philosophers of religion and also deals with the turn to religion in contemporary continental philosophy, in particular its reception in phenomenology and deconstruction. Štofaník’s study is a very daring and creative enterprise, which now and then seems to take the shape of a “study without study,” and in this regard echoes the style of an author under scrutiny himself. Benevolent readers, however, will be charmed by the surprising and engaging way that the author leads them through his work. Less benevolent readers might let themselves be challenged by the methodological introduction and conclusion, which make an argument pro domo on behalf of our author and the way he chose to write this book.
Our author creatively employs several techniques that serve his cause but at the same time flirt with the limits of high academic formal writing. He follows a bio-bibliographical method, with the intention of showing how it came to pass that Caputo has developed the particular philosophical-theological career that he did, thus bearing witness to Johann Baptist Metz’s adage that theology is always also biography. At the same time Štofaník engages in a conceptual archeology in relation to his biographical account, in which the internal development of some of the main concepts of Caputo’s “weak theology” are displayed and commented upon. While doing so, Štofaník is not afraid to develop his own narrative line within the book, which leaves readers sometimes with the impression that they are reading a novel rather than an academic study. He very consistently and very aptly illustrates his analysis with excepts from the work of Saint-Exupéry, which for Štofaník not only makes the link to his own biography but also helps the reader to see more clearly the points made in the exposition in the chapters.
The way in which Štofaník proceeds makes reading this book an event: an event about an event; an event to try to understand an event, the event of the theology of the event. It leaves readers sometimes a bit puzzled, because this way of proceeding takes them by the hand, so to speak, that they become part of the story in the same way that the author himself has become part of it. A quite strange experience it must be for readers, then, and I would be very keen to know what this experience has meant for them.
Apart from this, however, there can hardly be any doubt that the argument of the book is consistent, both at the level of contents and of method. The author makes this clear along the road, and yet again in the chapter “Kingdom.” As a matter of fact, in this book our author not only presents us with a creatively written analysis of Caputo’s career, but also with a candid criticism and a proposal to think with, against, and at the same time beyond Caputo. At times, one might have wished that the author was even more critical of Caputo, but from the book itself it becomes clear why this is not so. In the end, despite all criticism, Caputo remains Štefan’s hero.
In sum: both the analysis and the criticism are insightful and present the reader with a very nuanced picture of Caputo, the development of his work, and the “weak theology” he has come to argue for today. This book was definitely not meant to be the end of the trajectory, as it has no proper end. But it leads us to understand why a theology of the event, and its specific features, speaks to so many contemporaries who want to make sense of religion today and fear being encapsulated in closed narratives and rigid institutions. This book therefore offers an important and challenging lesson for all those who intend, from within the narrative and institution, to work on a theology that allows for the freedom to open oneself up for the event of God, and to bear witness to this event in the praxis of everyday life.
—L IEVEN B OEVE
Editor’s Introduction
Rain without Rain: Štefan Štofaník’s
The Adventure of Weak Theology

Š tefan Štofaník. Friend. Colleague. Former seminarian. Father of two. These things don’t even begin to describe him. Stef was a bit of a “character,” as they say. I remember the days (and nights) we spent as members of t