WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? THE HERMENEUTICS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: A PROPHETIC CALL, A CRITIC, AND AN ACTION AGAINST HUMAN SUFFERING USING JOHN CAPUTO’S DECONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Philosophical hermeneutics disregards the meaning of the text and the What would Jesus do?  This question serves as a pressing challenge to the prevailing attitude of Christianity over public domain. Contemporary thinkers explore the role of religion in addressing global trends and challenges, such as global injustices, poverty, war, refugee crisis, and climate change. Hermeneutical philosophical-theological thinking wants to carry on with these issues, however, the relevant question is, what would your faith tradition do? John D. Caputo, an American continental philosopher, offers an alternative hermeneutical theory to deal with this problem. Caputo suggests that the derridean deconstruction gives us key to fully understanding our prophetic role in the twilight of modernity.  This propulsion necessitates us to deconstruct our faith traditions that marginalizes other sectors and re-affirmed the prophetic spirit of what the gospel aims to convey - semper reformanda est ---forced to reform and reconfigure. This article is divided into three parts. The first part, provides an overview of Caputo’s award winning book entitled What Would Jesus Deconstruct? The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church (2007). The second part, I argued that Caputo’s notion of deconstruction as a hermeneutics of the Kingdom of God can be divided into three challenges: deconstructing oneself, deconstructing the church, and deconstructing society. In the last part, I provide a short conclusion.