Hermeneutics · Religion · Hope

Author: Tracy (USA)
Translator: Feng Chuan
Editor-in-Chief: Liu Xiaofeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-05-01
Features: Christian culture is not only a traditional part of Western and European intellectual culture and remains a fundamental structural element to this day, but it has also become a component of Chinese culture. From a modern academic perspective, studying the history and reality of Christian thought and society is a task for Chinese academia. This series is dedicated to building an academic field for the study of Christian culture, primarily reviewing influential works on Christian culture in modern Western and European academia, and also publishing relevant academic research by Chinese scholars, thereby contributing to the development of Chinese humanities, social sciences, and intellectual culture.
Excerpt: In the overall dialectical framework of this book, Chapter 5 reorganizes the religious question (i.e., the question of hope). From this interpretation, postmodern hermeneutics serves as a test for all interpretive activities concerning religion; at the same time, religion, as highly pluralistic, highly ambiguous, and highly significant, poses a great challenge to any interpretive theory and thus provides a good test. This is the fundamental requirement put forward in this book. Only the book as a whole, along with the critical dialogue it may inspire—not any preface—can support this requirement. In the days to come, I hope to write a more purely theological work as a companion to this one. In that book, I will evaluate the implications of these reflections on pluralism and ambiguity for the interpretation of the Christian tradition to which I belong. Christians must first seriously and earnestly acknowledge the pluralism within their own tradition, secondly, acknowledge the importance of many other religious traditions in the process of Christian self-understanding, and thirdly, acknowledge that the inherent depth, cognitive, moral, and religious ambiguity of Christianity is an extremely difficult issue. Only after this can we discuss the possible meaning of "the essence of Christianity"—yet, this is undoubtedly another task for another time, and a task that can only be properly analyzed in a standalone work. A book primarily modeled on dialogue should be grounded in many dialogues in practice. For myself, the satisfaction of rereading the final draft (indeed, there have been many preliminary drafts) lies in the recollections of many past dialogues evoked by the text. In fact, no valuable insight in this book is not the fruit of these dialogues, though it has since been refined through solitary contemplation, which, as Plato believed, is another form of dialogue. The location of dialogue is also important, whether geographical or the topoi (argumentative points) as Aristotle called them—the places where insights, thoughts, and discussions occur. I have been fortunate to have spent time in several such places. First is my academic home, the University of Chicago. There, serious and earnest dialogue often resembled a way of life. In the classrooms and seminars of the Divinity School, in the Committee on the Analysis of Ideas and Methods, and in many other settings, my many friends and colleagues (including, of course, my students) can find their reflections on that time and place in this book. I remain deeply grateful to all the people of that period, to the shared space for serious dialogue that was the University of Chicago. I attempted to revise several chapters of this book and extend this dialogue through lectures in other settings. I am therefore deeply grateful to many universities, colleges, and institutions for the lecture chairs and opportunities they have given me. These geographical locations have become vibrant spaces for lively dialogue. In all these places, I have been fortunate to discuss some of the ideas and concepts in this book in various forms or forums. In fact, some parts of this book have appeared in other publications in different forms: the Annual Report of the American Catholic Theological Society, the Annual Report of the International Hermeneutics Seminar at the University of Rome, and the papers of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s "American Religion and Intellectual Life" seminar. I am deeply and enduringly grateful for these. Many friends and colleagues have generously shared their thoughts on various parts of the preliminary draft of this book. Without a doubt, because of their contributions, I am confident that this book is a better text. Equally without doubt: if I had listened more carefully to their comments, this book could have been an even better text. While it is inevitable that some may be forgotten, I still wish to recall here those from whom I have benefited greatly (the names of whom are omitted). One of the central themes of this book is remembrance. This theme has made me recall with a heavy heart and deep gratitude my two great mentors—Mircea Eliade and Bernard Lonergan. Their characters and writings have greatly enriched my life, and I hope that readers of this small book will find the courage and encouragement to read Eliade and Lonergan’s monumental works.