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Interview: Radical Liberal John Caputo introduced Leo to his "Radical Theology" Augustine - "The new pope, Leo XIV, was one of your students. Could you tell us how his Augustinian identity connects with your theology of the event? John D. Caputo: Yes, he was one of my students in a course I taught for Augustinian seminarians at Villanova University. The seminarians, who were part of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA), had to complete a rigorous philosophy curriculum, and one of the required courses was mine: German Existentialism and Phenomenology"

The new pope, Leo XIV, was one of your students. Could you tell us how his Augustinian identity connects with your theology of the event? John D. Caputo:  Yes, he was one of my students in a course I taught for Augustinian seminarians at Villanova University. The seminarians, who were part of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA), had to complete a rigorous philosophy curriculum, and one of the required courses was mine: German Existentialism and Phenomenology. In that course, I taught Kierkegaard and Nietzsche in the first half, then Husserl and excerpts from Heidegger’s  Being and Time  in the second half. He was part of a sharp group, including Robert Dodaro, who became a leading Augustine scholar. Dodaro and a few others were more vocal, while the future pope was more reserved—he listened more than he spoke. That trait became significant later when the cardinals explained their choice: he’s a good listener. People feel heard in his presence, which enhances his communicat...
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Google AI: Postmodern philosopher and radical theologian John D. ("Jack") Caputo argues that a traditional, omnipotent Supreme Being does not exist. Instead, he asserts that God "insists" as an imaginative event, a weak force, and a call to unconditional love whose actual existence relies entirely on human agency and action.Caputo's post-theistic philosophy reframes how we think about the divine:God as Event: Caputo argues that God is not a being with physical reality or controlling power, but a dynamic, unfolding event of love and justice. He posits that "without the world, there would be no God".The Weakness of God: Rejecting the classical concept of an all-powerful, sovereign God, Caputo wrote his seminal book, The Weakness of God, exploring a God who operates not through domination, but through vulnerable love and the “foolishness” of the cross.God Insists, We Exist: In The Insistence of God: A Theology of Perhaps, he further details how God does not "exist" in the traditional metaphysical sense, but "insists" as a calling and an intervention that depends on us to realize it.Caputo does not adhere to classical atheism; rather, he embraces a form of "radical theology" designed to reconstruct religious faith in an age where traditional, metaphysical deities are largely unbelievable. His work has sparked broad discussion on how to reinterpret religion; on the Reddit RadicalChristianity Community, some users suggest that Caputo's "theopoetics" helps disrupt dogmatic religious views by giving believers creative freedom, while others find the absence of an agential God challenging to traditional faith.

Postmodern philosopher and radical theologian John D. ("Jack") Caputo argues that a traditional, omnipotent Supreme Being does not exist. Instead, he asserts that God "insists" as an imaginative event, a weak force, and a call to unconditional love whose actual existence relies entirely on human agency and action. [ 1 , 2 ] Caputo's post-theistic philosophy reframes how we think about the divine: God as Event: Caputo argues that God is not a being with physical reality or controlling power, but a dynamic, unfolding event of love and justice. He posits that "without the world, there would be no God". [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] The Weakness of God: Rejecting the classical concept of an all-powerful, sovereign God, Caputo wrote his seminal book, The Weakness of God , exploring a God who operates not through domination, but through vulnerable love and the “foolishness” of the cross. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] God Insists, We Exist: In The Insistence of God: A T...
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Is Leo a Caputo Heideggerian?

https://cbarnett.substack.com/p/june-30-2025 Not surprisingly, my colleagues at Villanova were having similar thoughts. For example,  Greg Grimes  wrote  an insightful piece  on Pope Leo XIV for the Notre Dame-based publication  Church Life Journal . Yet, perhaps the most eye-catching statement was issued by John D. (“Jack”) Caputo—longtime philosophy professor and almost legendary presence at Villanova—who posted the following statement to social media: I’m proud to say that I had the pope in my ‘German Existentialism and Phenomenology’ course in the spring semester of his senior year (1977). So he’s fully prepared for the job based on what he read about Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl and Heidegger. So, Pope Leo XIV studied existentialism and phenomenology with noted  deconstructionist  Jack Caputo. What, if anything, might this detail tell us about his pontificate? First, it is worth noting that Caputo’s career is often divided into “eras” or “perio...
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Ralph Hancock writes that Heidegger deconstructed traditional Aristotelian and Thomist philosophy by using the radical subjectivity of Martin Luther. By adopting Luther's emphasis on faith over reason and the notion of a hidden God, Heidegger laid the groundwork for an atheistic philosophy that rejects any transcendent Good.The Breakdown of Heidegger's Philosophical ShiftPolitical scientist Ralph Hancock—such as in his essay reviews and in his discussions on the intersections of faith and reason—explores how Heidegger synthesizes (and ultimately erodes) both traditions:The Luther Connection: Heidegger's early philosophical project was heavily influenced by medieval scholasticism (including Thomism). However, his engagement with Luther’s radical Protestant theology helped him deconstruct classical teleology (the belief that the universe has an inherent, natural design and purpose).A Mutual Erosion: Hancock argues that Heidegger strips Luther of his underlying theology of God, while stripping Aristotle of the Good. Without the anchor of a rational God or a transcendent Good, this synthesis culminates in a post-Christian existentialism.The Atheistic Outcome: By discarding rational proofs (like those used by Aquinas) in favor of the Lutheran idea that God is fundamentally hidden or inaccessible to human reason, Heidegger arrives at atheism. For Heidegger, authentic human existence becomes confronting the existential reality of the world without a divine or natural order.

Ralph Hancock writes that Heidegger deconstructed traditional Aristotelian and Thomist philosophy by using the radical subjectivity of Martin Luther. By adopting Luther's emphasis on faith over reason and the notion of a hidden God, Heidegger laid the groundwork for an atheistic philosophy that rejects any transcendent Good. [ 1 ] The Breakdown of Heidegger's Philosophical Shift Political scientist Ralph Hancock—such as in his essay reviews and in his discussions on the intersections of faith and reason—explores how Heidegger synthesizes (and ultimately erodes) both traditions: [ 1 ] The Luther Connection: Heidegger's early philosophical project was heavily influenced by medieval scholasticism (including Thomism). However, his engagement with Luther’s radical Protestant theology helped him deconstruct classical teleology (the belief that the universe has an inherent, natural design and purpose). [ 1 , 2 ] A Mutual Erosion: Hancock argues that Heidegger strips Luther of h...
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Modern subjective "rights" are legalized license vs. objective rights are love and duties for others for the sake of love of God = Charity "Villey saw in this argumentation a perfect example of the ‘objective right’ in traditional Roman law (in the sense of the ‘right thing’; jus should be understood as id quod justum est). In order to refute this opinion, William of Ockham was obliged to deny the classical sense of ‘right’ and to link it with power (potestas). In his Opus nonaginta dierum (1332), he argued that the right of an owner (ius) should not be confused with the license of using something (licentia). The difference lies in the power of the owner over his possession: ‘right differs from license in so far as the one who gives another the license to use his clothes has the power to call it back when he wants’"

The concept of subjective right and the Anthropocene https://www.landecon.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-05/wp12.pdf
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Google AI: Augustinian Love: Aquinas agreed with Augustine that the core of the will's movement is love (amor or caritas). He posited that the will naturally seeks the universal good (beatitude/God) without needing to choose between alternatives.Anselmian Voluntarism: Conversely, when dealing with specific earthly goods or means to an end, Aquinas adopted aspects of Anselm's volitional focus. He recognized a capacity (liberum arbitrium) that allows the will to freely evaluate alternatives and deliberate.The Intellect as Guide: To avoid pure Anselmian voluntarism, Aquinas made the will subordinate to the intellect. The will is drawn toward what the intellect perceives as good, which makes love both an emotion and an act of the will directed by reason.

Thomas Aquinas navigated the divide between Augustine’s integrated notion of will as caritas and Anselm’s reified voluntarism by distinguishing between the will as an innate, natural appetite ( voluntas ut natura ) and as a deliberative faculty of choice ( voluntas ut ratio ). [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] Aquinas synthesized these traditions through a carefully structured framework: Augustinian Love: Aquinas agreed with Augustine that the core of the will's movement is love ( amor or caritas ). He posited that the will naturally seeks the universal good (beatitude/God) without needing to choose between alternatives. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] Anselmian Voluntarism: Conversely, when dealing with specific earthly goods or means to an end, Aquinas adopted aspects of Anselm's volitional focus. He recognized a capacity ( liberum arbitrium ) that allows the will to freely evaluate alternatives and deliberate. [ 1 , 2 ] The Intellect as Guide: To avoid pure Anselmian voluntarism, Aquinas ...
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Ernest Fortin collection Crisis: Their Limits: Two Cheers for Capitalism A discussion of John Paul II’s latest encyclical, Centesimus Annus, begins logically with a brief examination of the famous document whose centenary it commemorates, Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, the grandfather of the great social encyclicals of our century and the one that singlehandedly created a new theological discipline now commonly referred to as the … Read more

Ernest Fortin Ernest L. Fortin, A.A. (1923 - 2002) was a professor of theology at Boston College. While engaged in graduate studies in France, he met Allan Bloom, who introduced him to the work of Leo Strauss. Father Fortin worked at the intersection of Athens and Jerusalem. recent articles Pros and Cons of Disestablishment: Did the Separation of Church and State Benefit Religion? Ernest L. Fortin De Tocqueville is remembered among other things for having taught us that disestablishment or the separation of church and state, which America was the first nation to institutionalize, was good for both civil society and religion. That it should have been regarded as good for civil society is not surprising since state neutrality in matters …  Read more The Natural Wrong in Natural Rights—and the Problem With Communitarianism For all the benefits that it provides and for which we can be immensely grateful, modern liberal democracy does not of itself produce a strong attachment to the com...
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