On Real Clear Things Filed under: Postmodernism David Fahrenthold @ 10:05 m !

! thin" #e should steer $lear o% sa&ing that an&thing is '$lear( or that there is a ' lain meaning( o% a te)t* This is a %airl& naive + istemolog&* This is more o% a ,odernist + istemolog& -read Foundationalist or Corres ondan$e.Coherentist theor& o% truth/0 and has 1een thoroughl& De$onstru$ted 1& Postmodernism* 2e all $ome to the te)t #ith Presu ositions0 so 3ust 1e$ause the te)t is '$lear( to &ou doesnt mean it is to me* This is 1e$ause there is no neutralit& in + istemolog& -! am %ollo#ing the tra3e$tories o% arti$ular Dut$h Re%ormed thin"ers0 i*e* 41raham 5u& er0 6erman Doo&e#eerd and Cornelius van Til/* This is #h& that ! am $on%essional and argue vehementl& against ' rivate 3udgment(* Onl& in side the $onte)t o% the "oin#nia are #e a1le to inter ret s$ri ture -this is not e)a$tl&0 1ut similar to 7tanle& 6au#eras argument in 8nleashing 7$ri ture0 although 6auer#as uses 7tanle& Fish to sa& that the te)t means nothing until inter reted 1& the $ommunit& o% %aith0 #ith #hi$h ! vehementl& disagree/* There is no su$h thing as a resu ositionless 'inter retation(* 4s Derrida ut it0 'there is nothing outside the te)t*( This has 1een inter reted in man& #a&s0 1ut ! ta"e it to mean that there is nothing outside o% our arti$ular ervie#* 2e $annot es$a e our resu ositions0 and this is #hat Derrida is sa&ing* 4ll o% li%e is a 'te)t( and all o% li%e is 'inter retation(* 2e ersonall& $annot $ome to the meaning o% the te)t o% the 9i1le #ithout the arti$ular $ommunit& o% %aith* This is a t#ist on a 2ittgensteinian vie# o% language* Thus0 the $ommunit& o% %aith $an onl& $ome to meaning in so %ar as it arti$i ates in :od -1uilding o%% o% the $hie% theme o% Radi$al Orthodo)&0 that something onl& ;is; inso%ar as it arti$i ates in the Triune :od0 #hi$h guards against an& sort o% autonom& o% thought/* 6o# do #e arti$i ate in :od< ! #ould argue %or three #a&s in #hi$h #e arti$i ate in :od: through divine liturg& and the aestheti$s thereo%0 through the eu$harist0 and through 1a tism* 6en$e0 all o% our "no#ledge and inter retation is redi$ated through the $ommunit& o% %aith 1& arti$i ating in the divine*