Awaiting the Impossible
A Dialogue with Derrida, Deconstruction, and the Endless Wait for Messiah
- Philosophy
- Theology
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2022
FritzSearch.com earns a commission on purchases made through Bookshop.org links.
Publisher's Description
This book dialogues with deconstruction's "religion without religion" and its implications for theology. In the view of many, deconstruction is a purely nihilistic force bent on the wanton destruction of long-held philosophical, religious, and moral traditions. However, this perspective ignores the fact that deconstruction--in the hands of its standard bearers like Jacques Derrida, John Caputo, and others--has all along been a religious exercise in demythologization. Furnishing a Christian rejoinder to deconstruction's claims about and objections to orthodox religion (and particularly to Christianity), the book addresses the following questions: How can deconstruction open a space for an affirmative faith to occur and be professed? Can deconstruction ever be hospitable toward Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah for which it waits?
Endorsements (3)
“Awaiting the Impossible is an engaging discussion of the philosophy of Jacques Derrida from the standpoint of the Christian faith. Through his rigorous and attentive study of the seminal works of the French thinker, Professor Tan has provided a penetrating analysis and critique of deconstruction. The book has much to contribute to the current discussion on the relationship between Derrida and religion and repays careful study.”
“Awaiting the Impossible is a deep and charitable engagement with the work of Jacques Derrida. Seng Tan skillfully explores the religious undertones of Derrida’s project. Derrida waits for a messiah who never appears—who never can appear. The Christian story of a real, concrete Messiah who does come and who reveals God to finite creatures provides the hope that Derrida’s thought lacks. Followers of Derrida and thoughtful Christians will benefit greatly from this work of scholarship.”
See something wrong on this page? Report a problem