The Experience of God: A Postmodern Response

Introduction

Introduction K E V I N H A R T 1 Merely utter the simple expression ‘‘the experience of God’’ and you will divide a room, especially if it happens to be filled with philosophers and theologians. There will always be a group that strenuously objects that the expression makes no sense at all—or, if it does, then it is downright dangerous. ‘‘It is the very nature of God not to be experienced by finite beings,’’ someone will offer as a first comment. ‘‘And if we do encounter anything that appears divine it would be, at best or worst, an idol.’’ Chances are that another member of this group will quickly add, ‘‘You need to realize that ‘experience’ as you use it is a relatively modern notion, especially when it comes to religion , and besides to yoke ‘experience’ and ‘God’ together is to presume the rightness of reducing theology to anthropology.’’ She takes a breath and steadily looks around. ‘‘I know that Karl Rahner often talks about experiencing God, and maybe you are quoting him. Let me say that I think that his work is very effective pastoral theology, but his emphasis on turning all theology into theological anthropology can have harmful effects. To speculate theologically on the basis of a philosophical anthropology is to produce at best a stunted doctrine of God and, in the end, a truncated understanding of being human.’’ She stops, but we have not yet finished hearing from this group. 1 ‘‘I don’t disagree with what was just said,’’ another person might say, ‘‘but there’s something else that bothers me.’’ We are all ears. ‘‘To view God through the lens of ‘experience’ is to remain naively within the epoch of the subject; and haven’t Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Jean-Luc Marion shown us in convincing detail that the modern subject is metaphysical through and through? If you want to avoid perpetuating a metaphysical theology, then rejecting the old causa sui, for instance, would be dealing with only the objective dimension of the problem. You also need to examine the subjective dimension, and ensure that you are not erecting a metaphysics there by affirming ‘experience’ at the heart of your new theology.’’ ‘‘Not only that,’’ yet another voice adds, ‘‘but the category of experience tends to prize the individual, especially the modern individual, over the entire complex tradition of Christianity. What is important for the believer is to conform to the narratives of faith, hope, and charity that are related in the Bible, which are authoritative archetypes of Christian experience, not to validate what the Bible teaches by reference to events in our own lives.’’ ‘‘Might I read some scripture?’’ a woman in the other camp asks. She opens a pocket gospel to the twentieth chapter of the fourth gospel . ‘‘You all know the context,’’ she says, ‘‘the risen Christ has spoken with the disciples who had gathered together for fear of the Jews. The only one of the disciples not there is Thomas. Christ comes into their midst and shows them his hands and his side and then leaves them.’’ She looks about her, testing with her eyes that everyone in the room is taking in the story. ‘‘Then Thomas returns and is told what has happened. He says, ‘Except I see in his hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe’ (John 20:25). Eight days later the resurrected Jesus returns to the disciples, and this time Thomas is with them. Christ invites Thomas to do exactly what he had boasted he would do, and the skeptical disciple responds by saying, ‘My Lord and my God’ (John 20:28).’’ She snaps the little book shut. ‘‘Now I don’t want to get into the details of whether those words are authentic or even how historically reliable the fourth gospel is, I just want to point out that it did not strike the Johannine community as inappropriate to talk about experiencing God.’’ A hush falls over the room for a moment or two, and then a young man begins to talk. ‘‘Those are powerful words, but I want to suggest something quite different,’’ he says. ‘‘I want to point out that if we don’t have experience of God in some sense then all those beautiful 2 The Experience of God [3.138.114.38] Project MUSE (2024-04-26...