Edited by Santiago Zabala
This book, comprised of one essay each by Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo plus a mediated dialogue between the two, is essentially a bridge-building exercise between a secularist (Rorty) and a theologian (Vattimo). The title is somewhat misleading since the book focusses solely on Christianity in Western society. The scope of the book is also limited in the sense that the conclusions the two reach are made obvious from the very beginning. The book promotes a particular view of religion with two separate (but intertwining) arguments made on behalf of this view. despite the limitations, it is a fascinating argument, nonetheless.
What is the argument being made? In a nutshell: love will conquer all.
Seriously, that's it. So why should you have to read a somewhat egg-headed philosophical discussion to reach this conclusion? Well, obviously, you don't have to. What makes this book more interesting is how the two philosophers reach the same conclusions while arguing from almost completely opposite backgrounds.
Rorty, for example, acknowledges the value of religion and spirituality. He disavows his earlier embrace of atheism, now preferring the term "anti-clericalism." While a personal spiritual belief is not for him, he acknowledges that individual religious belief can be a force for good. It is only dogmatic religion that he objects to. With the same logic that he uses to attack foundationalist philosophies, Rorty argues that strict atheism is a philosophical dead-end. The atheist's outright denial of God's existence is just as detrimental to fruitful conversation as the evangelist's insistence on a literal interpretation of Genesis.
Meanwhile, Vattimo, a devout Catholic, argues that the the true value of the Church lies not in its protection of religion and the codification of behavior, but in the freedom it allows for personal religious discovery. He argues, somewhat astonishingly, that Christ's message of charity and humility provides the basis for modern secular life. It is a nihilistic, some would say relativistic, modern secular society that is actually the culmination of Christianity. Arguing that it is a uniquely Christian message of interpretation and understanding that has so permeated Western society, Vattimo states,
But must we really believe in Jesus Christ only if we are able to demonstrate that God created the world in seven days or that Jesus himself actually rose on Easter morning and by extension that man is by nature one thing or another or that the family is by nature monogamous and heterosexual, that matrimony is by nature indissoluble, that woman is incapable by nature of entering the priestly office, and so on? It is far more reasonable to believe that our existence depends on God, because here, today, we are unable to speak our language and live out our historicity without responding too the message transmitted to us by the Bible.
That message is the message of love, charity, and hope.
This slim book is a philosophical discussion with frequent references to Heidegger and Nietzsche and I found myself having to reference Wikipedia at several points along the way, but I still quite enjoyed it. At minimum, no matter what your beliefs or background, there is surely something here that will challenge your preconceptions.
