Richard Rorty on Liberal theology
Here’s an interesting excerpt from an interview Michael Horton did with now deceased Stanford postmodern philosopher, Richard Rorty:
“I’m delighted that Liberal theologians do their best to do what Pio Nono said shouldn’t be done – try to accommodate Christianity to modern science, modern culture, and democratic society. If I were a Fundamentalist Christian, I’d be appalled by the wishy-washiness of their version of the Christian faith. But since I am a non-believer who is frightened of the barbarity of many Fundamentalist Christians (e.g., their homophobia), I welcome theological Liberalism. Maybe Liberal theologians will eventually produce a version of Christianity so wishy-washy that nobody will be interested in being a Christian anymore. If so, something will have been lost, but probably more will have been gained.”
Michael Horton, “Truth, Evil, Redemption: A Neo-Pragmatist Perspective,” Modern Reformation, July-August 2003.
“…will eventually produce…”
Neat; it’s like prophecy in reverse…
It always occurs to me that when someone like Rorty or Richard Dawkins praises fundamentalists (their word) that these are their preferred opponents – the more extreme the better. In their ideal world, they’d only ever have to engage people who are KJV-only, think rock and roll is from the devil, and are convinced that having a tattoo condemns one to hell.
They only ever employ straw-man arguments. I watched a debate between Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens, and Hitchens hardly ever addressed any of Sharptons’s arguments. Never mind, “their ideal world” in the real world they only engage the types you mention Dan. They become boring to read after a while.
Please tell me you did not just compare Richard Rorty to Dawkins and Hitchens.
Is that Matt Lortie I see?