The terms “postmodernism” and “deconstruction” are popular buzzwords these days. For some in the church they represent the evil that is trying to undermine the truth of the gospel. For others they convey a freedom to question and criticize religious traditions they no longer accept. And, of course, for others they are utterly meaningless ideas that they wish would just disappear. Yet John Caputo in his latest book, What Would Jesus Deconstruct? (Baker Academic, 2007), attempts to cut through all the confusion as he explores the philosophical roots of deconstruction and why he believes it can offer good news to the church.
In posing the question “what would Jesus deconstruct?” Caputo deliberately evokes the popular WWJD campaign. He questions the assumptions of moral authority that movement often conveys and seeks instead to place the phrase into its original historical context – Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps. Sheldon’s use of the phrase dealt mainly with issues of social justice – issues which Caputo accuses the contemporary conservative church of largely ignoring. He proposes that a philosophical deconstruction of the church is therefore necessary in order to promote justice and the Kingdom of God.
What follows next is a whirlwind introduction to the postmodern philosophy of Derrida and Caputo’s argument as to why deconstruction can serve as the “hermeneutics of the kingdom of God” (26). Deconstruction is not, as many believe, an act at destruction, but instead an attempt at understanding – an understanding that seeks ultimately love and justice for the Other. Laws and systems can be created to promote justice, but believers must always be ready to question them at every step as to whether or not they serve the kingdom of God. There are no concrete answers defining such things in this journey of faith so believers must continually seek to deconstruct and understand everything they encounter as culture and context shift around them. It can be an unsettling process, but one that promotes faith and a continual returning to examine the message of Jesus.
From this philosophical basis Caputo then explores the practical outcomes of asking the question “what would Jesus deconstruct?” In following the tradition of the WWJD movement, he focuses mainly on the areas of ethics and politics. Keeping in mind Jesus’ call to love others and the upside-down values of the Kingdom, Caputo addresses the controversial issues of economic justice, militarism, patriarchy, abortion, and homosexuality. In examining these issues he challenges the assumptions of both the left and the right and demonstrates the need for everyone to question sacred cows before they become idols. As he puts it, “it is time to let a few theological feathers fly.” (90). Even so, Caputo remains fair and deals honestly with the complexities of all those issues. He doesn’t propose any easy solutions, and his ideas about how to apply the call to love the Other to these issues will challenge most readers’ preconceived opinions (a significant reason to read the book in my opinion).
In the book’s final section, Caputo provides the reader with two examples of communities which have attempted to deconstruct ideas and assumptions about church. From an urban Catholic priest who faces the traditions of hierarchy and bureaucracy as he seeks to serve the broken, the addicted, and the poor to an emerging community in Ireland that is rethinking the structure of church gatherings altogether, one sees the effects of a church being able to question how best to serve the Kingdom in its particular context. Caputo is not proposing that tradition be abolished, just that one should always retain the ability to question and deconstruct any structure.
With this book Caputo succeeds in demonstrating the benefits of postmodernism and deconstruction to the church. It is in many ways a necessary text for any Christian seeking familiarity with those concepts. And the philosophically uninitiated shouldn’t fear, Caputo translates these ideas into accessible language and illustrates his points with examples pulled from the daily news and popular television. This is an offering from which the church can benefit greatly. The question of “what would Jesus deconstruct?” deserves ongoing engagement, and Caputo has thankfully paved the way for its reception in the church.