1. “Are you there, Lord?” A philosophical exploration of God in history
Week 5: God in Post-modernity

2. On Knowing God… “The body is the house of God. So know thyself!”
– Ancient Egyptian proverb
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
“Nearly all wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves” – John Calvin, Institutes, I.1.i

3. The Return of God in Contemporary Theology
Recently, a way has opened back up to reflection on God. Theologians have begun drawing from…
the mystical tradition to reflect on the mystery of God
Trinitarian theology to reflect on community in God
the “way of the cross” to reflect on the suffering of God
the prophetic tradition to reflect on the otherness of God
the creative power of God to reflect on “God in all things”

4. The “Masters of Suspicion”

5. The “Masters of Suspicion”
Karl Marx ( )
Power is economic.
Sigmund Freud ( )
Power is psychological.
Friedrich Nietzsche ( )
Power is moral.

6. Postmodernism and Descartes “cogito”
Fragmentation and plurality
Social and historical relativity
The Linguistic Turn
Otherness
Ambiguity

7. Theology after truth
“What is truth?”

8. How can theologians continue to do the work of theology in an era where truth is no longer possible?

9. David Tracy: Theology after truth
Roman Catholic
Twentieth-century
Integrates contemporary philosophy with the theological task.
Key influencers
St. Augustine
Soren Kierkegaard
Hans-Georg Gadamer
Bernard Lonergan
Paul Ricoeur
Hermeneutical Philosophy

10. David Tracy: Theology after truth
What is truth?
Common ground
An experience
How does one risk making true claims in an era of plurality?
Find common ground
Locate your claim to truth in
shared experience

11. David Tracy: Theology after truth
Finding common ground
Phenomenology: Reflection on experience
Hermeneutics: An awareness of interpretation
“The Public” and “publics”

12. David Tracy: Theology after truth
Christian tradition as collection of classics
Religious classics
Christ as classic
Fragment
Revisionist theology
Decentering power
Classic as interruptive / disruptive
Fragment as prophecy