tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974608901420958417.post1904036802640528807..comments2023-09-28T04:02:49.302-07:00Comments on CHURCH GOING: Dead ends: William Cavanaugh and the limits of consumer-centred critiqueJonathan Dyckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194916255158876400noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974608901420958417.post-24484794108906713082012-02-03T10:55:33.491-08:002012-02-03T10:55:33.491-08:00Andre! I see that you've entered the blogosphe...Andre! I see that you've entered the blogosphere. Welcome and thanks for the kind words re: my post. I think you're pushing me on exactly the right tension: it's that classic dialectic that between structure and agency. More often then not, these emphases correspond to the apparent sides of our political spectrum. (You can see it most clearly in the way certain media outlets cover certain events. I did a brief review of responses to the UK summer riots where the split was very noticible: http://www.latechurchgoers.blogspot.com/2011/08/on-london-riots.html) <br /><br />In response to your final question: I think you and I would probably agree that some form of synthesis between a radical political horizon (alert to structural injustice by way of immanent critique) and the kind of ethical discipline regularly called for by the Christian tradition. I'm just as critical of those structural critiques that let individuals off the hook as I am of moralizing critiques that fail to look beyond isolated acts to their larger socio-economic position. This might be one reason why I'm more and more convinced by dialectical criticism. It takes such contradictions quite seriously and seeks to make them visible.Jonathan Dyckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18194916255158876400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974608901420958417.post-7510307167426343682012-02-02T22:29:22.250-08:002012-02-02T22:29:22.250-08:00Thanks, Jon, for what is I think an extremely impo...Thanks, Jon, for what is I think an extremely important criticism not only of Cavanaugh but of an entire movement in theology which seeks to turn back to clock. I think the motivation for such a desire is good-hearted, but there is something fundamentally conservative about Cavanaugh's approach which is unhelpful for all of the reasons you bring up - he wants to bring us back to something that was abandoned for a number of reasons. There is something I'd like to push you on, though; Cavanaugh is appealing to the listeners conscience in an attempt to encourage people to make small changes but fails to address practical ways in which a fragmented and secular society can effect large-scale transformation. What I find with many more revolutionary critiques is that they excuse my individual behavior in the here and now by claiming that the whole system is tainted, and therefore nothing short of complete overhaul is worth pursuing (a complete overhaul which is then generally deferred). Is there any way we can develop an imminent ethic that has revolution on the horizon but which doesn't let us off the hook as we act within the system? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com